Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

After completing her research, Zella indicated the northern magnetic pole. “He’s thaur, in Edenbridge Palace, smack dab in the middle o’ Sunset Beach. We’ll need tae hunt around fir it when we get thaur, but A’d be shocked if it was hard tae find.”

“Good.” Ellylle’s branches slowly rustled. “What’s our ETA?”

Reggie studied the navigation display. “Assuming we refuel at the station, we could push it to sublight-15 and get there in… five days?”

“No, please conserve fuel,” said Ellylle.

He performed some calculations. “In that case, fourteen days at sublight-5.4.”

Ellylle bowed forward slightly. “That’s much more reasonable, and slow enough to use matter scoops along the way. Please do so.”

“Hey, we aren’t new at this,” said Lomomu.

Ellylle straightened. “That’s not what I’m implying. Lately, you and your captain prefer to spend where you can save, and that’s going to draw unwanted attention. I won’t let either of you put my mission at risk because of your spending habits.”

“Implying what?” asked Reggie.

Ellylle’s flowers bloomed orange. “I’ll remain in my quarters for the duration of the journey. Don’t disturb me, even when we arrive.”

◆◆◆

Two weeks later, Reggie, Lomomu, and Zella sat at their bridge stations, chatting lightheartedly. Trionides twinkled on the viewscreen, cloud-spangled and wreathed in navigation data. On the planet's sunward hemisphere, deep canyons and barren, windswept spires covered the surface of a rocky supercontinent.

Where light faded into twilit beaches, a vast metropolis glowed within the mantle of a perpetual sunset, stretching from pole to pole and back around again. Beyond the city shores, an immense dark ocean spread out across the eastern hemisphere, sheltering a thousand island cities, their walls drenched by slowly rolling waves. Scattered red warning lamps blinked in the night.

Orbiting the habitable zone, a single space station traced the ring of twilight. It continuously skirted the bright and dark sides of the planet. As snowy white as Old Siberian, three rings surrounded her cylindrical axle, joined to the decks by dozens of spokes.

As Old Siberian’s crew discussed possible activities and leisure destinations aboard the station, Ellylle appeared on the bridge. “Just in time to help us decide on our first stop,” said Reggie. “Sun Circus's Flow, or an enchanted evening at the Magic Fortress. Both can be found on the central ring.”

“Don’t be juvenile,” said Ellylle. “We have a very small window of time to accomplish what we’re here to do. Take fifteen minutes to get ready and meet me in the shuttle hangar.”

Reggie swiveled in his chair. “Conservation was the standing order, just two weeks ago. Seems you were implying we ought to do a better job of blending in, too. Taking those things into consideration, wouldn’t it make more sense to do a little shopping, take in a show, play a few hands, and fly the municipal skies, like normal folk?”

“Don’t be thickheaded,” said Ellylle. “Mobility is key, and you don’t need to worry about blending in if you never set foot in the crowd in the first place.” She glanced at the console’s clock display. “You have fifteen minutes,” she said, and she boarded the lift.

Zella waited until the doors closed and the lift descended. “Whit a surprise—Lady Greensleeves woke up on the wrong end o’ the vide again. I swaur she seems tae get nastier an nastier with each day ‘at passes.”

“I bet she misses the sun,” said Lomomu. “She runs some pretty serious stuff in her quarters, but it’s gotta feel like junk food after a while. Even such fine folk as us could be a little cranky if all we ate was cheeseburgers and fries.”

Reggie smiled. “Your compassion knows no bounds. She ever tell either of you what we’re doing here or why she’s so interested in meeting with Lord Blösch? I get she’s a prime minister and all, so it’s within her wheelhouse to meet with other politicians, but Trionides is pretty far off the beaten path, even for her.”

Lomomu shook his head. “Nothin’.”

Zella got to her feet and stretched. “Nae word one tae me either.”

Reggie drew a deep breath. “All right then. Guess it’ll be a surprise for all of us. Let’s grab our gear and get down there. Hate to keep Ellylle waiting.”

◆◆◆

With a sonic boom, they plunged through the northern sky. Lomomu signed off with landing control, and as flames roared around the outer hull, he programmed the shuttle’s autopilot. In time, the fires subsided, and they dove below the clouds.

An endless beachfront city zipped by, a dizzying collage of scattered neon signs, LED billboards, and aesthetic holography that illuminated the dusky skyline. To their right, waves crashed against the shore. To their left, soaring city walls flew by in a blur of solar panels and power plants.

Zella reviewed the navigation display. “We should be gettin close. Another ten minutes, tops.”

“How far is the starport from Edenbridge Palace?” asked Ellylle.

“Nearly adjacent,” said Zella.

“But it’s a big starport,” said Lomomu. “Dependin’ on where we set down, it could be a ten-minute walk, or a ten-minute cab ride.”

“I see. Do what you can to touch down closer, will you?” asked Ellylle.

“It isn’t up to me,” said Lomomu. “They follow a certain protocol, and that’s all there is to it.”

Ellylle slowly, gracefully shook her head. “You’re right, of course. Next time seek local political favor before negotiating with landing control. You wasted two weeks on the bridge, all of you.”

“Transport crew, remember?” said Reggie. “Plus, spending two weeks chatting up politicians for a better parking space seems like the real waste of time to me. Seeing as how you’re the savvy one, maybe you should’ve made some timelier recommendations instead of holing up in your quarters.”

“I’m making recommendations, now,” said Ellylle. “I expect you to adhere to them from this point forth.”

Reggie smiled thinly. “Roger that.”

In time, they touched down on a well-lit circular tarmac. Wind whistled across the hull. A nearby trio of lights switched from blue to red, and an instant later, all the lane lamps bathed the rugged old