even more Seniors there.”
“All this uncertainty you folks have going on here is a tad concerning,” I muttered. “Almost nothing of what Danika, Petra, or even Acheron told us holds any water. Speaking of, why did they welcome us initially, if they had so many problems?”
Kalon shrugged. “My guess is they were afraid of an all-out war. They’re probably confident they’d win it, if it were to happen, but the loss of life would be catastrophic. I suppose they were trying to accommodate you so you’d get on with your work and be gone before any of our filth came to light.”
“Well, that didn’t turn out as they’d hoped.”
“Which is why they’re now being forced to improvise by coming out into the open and asking the empire for public acceptance,” Kalon said. “They know the war is still a possibility, so they’re in survival mode. They no longer care about loss of life—they only care about using the innocents as leverage in order for their Darklings to get away with all this.”
“I’m sure there are things we still don’t know,” I replied. “They’re up to something, even now.”
“Oh, absolutely. That’s why we’re here trying to gather some allies.”
As we drew closer, the island came into focus. It reminded me of a densely populated Greek island. The whitewashed houses were neat, with sharp edges and sloping roofs. Each home had a luscious garden, and blossoms filled every single tree, a surprising sight this time of the year.
“Isn’t it supposed to be a harvest season?” I asked, and Kalon nodded, equally surprised by the sight before us. “Then why are all the trees flowering now? Am I missing something?”
“Not really. This is one of the few islands this far south, so we can’t be sure what the climate is like in these parts. It could be normal for this time of the year.”
“Fair enough. It’s gorgeous,” I added, my gaze wandering along the many snaking paths that seemed to connect all the houses. The trails had been set with stone slabs of various shapes and sizes, going up and down as the land elevation allowed. “It’s like a Mediterranean wonderland,” I mumbled, mostly to myself.
“Let’s land over there, beneath the star trees,” Kalon said, pointing to the east shore. The beach was smooth and clear where he indicated, and massive palm-like trees arched above with white, star-shaped crowns. Each leaf was long, with a sharp tip, forming a succulent star shape. They looked weird but wonderful. “It’s the least populated part of the island, as far as I can tell.”
As soon as we landed, I made sure the shuttle stayed hidden from sight and ready to go at a moment’s notice. I reached for one of the pulverizer weapons, but Kalon stopped me.
“They might try to kill us,” I said.
“We don’t want to give them any reason to do that,” he replied. He had a point. “Besides, you’ve got those invisibility pellets, right?” he asked, and it was my turn to nod. “We’ll keep ourselves out of sight until we find the right Senior and the right moment to reveal ourselves.”
Following his advice, I left the pulverizer weapons in the shuttle and followed him out. We each ingested an invisibility pellet and put on red garnet glasses. Kalon led the way as we went uphill through a plethora of waxy bushes and oversized pink flowers. It looked like something out of a botanist’s wildest dream. The explosion of lime green and fuchsia and bright yellow was almost hypnotizing. We paused once we reached the first house.
“Let’s keep a safe distance from them,” Kalon whispered. “They might smell us.”
“Old noses, eh?” I replied.
“You could say that.”
A couple came out, both wearing white robes with gold embroidery that formed large wings on their backs. They held hands as they walked down the stone path toward the sound of voices, laughter, and string music.
We followed them. Tingles traveled down my spine and expanded into pricks across my skin as the island’s center came into view. It formed a basin between the rolling hills, and dozens of paths led to its core. Colored lanterns hung from the rooftops, and a fountain gushed in a round plaza. There were thousands of Aeternae gathered, and they all looked like angels in their white hoods with gold embroidered wings.
They smiled at each other. They danced. They feasted on pitchers of blood. Some of them played music on harp-like instruments. Others cheered and whistled. The atmosphere was incendiary and exhilarating.
“This