He shook his head. “Of course not.”

They stood in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company, their free hands resting on the railing in front of them, millimeters from each other. Elzar felt the tip of one of Samera’s fingers brush his own and turned to find her looking intently at him.

Their heads came together, lips parted, arguments forgotten.

Elzar couldn’t be sure that Samera hadn’t timed the moment to coincide with the beginning of the fireworks display, the skies above them erupting in color and sound. All across the park—across the city—delegates, citizens, politicians, and Jedi looked up, all except for Elzar and Samera Ra-oon. They were otherwise occupied.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The Republic Gardens, Valo

The sun shone brightly the next morning as Stellan joined the chancellor’s party on a tour of the botanical gardens at the edge of the Technology and Science zone. All around, everything was as he’d expected. A steady stream of visitors flowed through the gates, and spirits were high, but for some reason he couldn’t fathom Stellan was on edge. Before the tour, he had dropped into the administration building, checking on Captain Snat and Coordinator Ra-oon. The Valon had seemed a little flustered when he walked through her door, but he soon put that down to a Jedi Master sticking his nose in when everything was running as it should. She certainly didn’t need him interfering, and so he had made his excuses and left.

Now, as he followed the group, archivist OrbaLin delivering an in-depth monologue on a spectacular display of Selabbian roses that had been cultivated on Starlight, Stellan meditated on the cloud that marred the otherwise perfect morning. Something in the Force felt heavy. At first, Stellan put it down to his duel with Ty Yorrick the previous evening. She had fought like a Jedi, but there was no record of anyone with her name in the Jedi roster. He hoped that Elzar’s examination of her lightsaber would uncover something, but surely a rogue Force-user wasn’t the cause of such unease. He glanced at Indeera Stokes, noting that she was frowning. Did she feel it, too? He reached out with the Force, sensing the people that wandered the gardens and the walkways beyond. Yes, there were concerns out there: Parents worried about losing sight of their children in the crowd, exhibitors fretting over headaches with their displays, and the park’s chief gardener who wanted to point out to OrbaLin that he was the one who was supposed to be giving the tour. Then there was the Togruta guard captain, Maramis, who was becoming increasingly agitated that spectators were gathering on the periphery of the gardens to catch a glimpse of Regasa Elarec. None of these things, important though they were to those in question, justified such a sudden sense of foreboding. What was it?

He was still pondering the question when Indeera drew near.