The Lost Animas (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 5)

Chapter 1

DIVA LOOKED AROUND her at the lush green countryside of Coriolis, her home planet, and breathed in deeply with pleasure. She held the breath, savouring the chill air rushing into her lungs, and then exhaled slowly. They had just come back from burying Hanna on Pictoria, and had traveled to Mesteta to reinstate Six as her consort.

"Never thought that when I stepped foot again on Coriolis it would be in the company of a meritocrat." Tallen, who had been deposited alongside the rest of the party by Arcan, sounded disgruntled.

Diva glared at Six. "Did he have to come with us?" she muttered. "We were supposed to arrive on our own, not bring the whole menagerie."

His face assumed an expression of righteous indignation. "Don't blame me! The only person I invited is Ledin. I want to take him to the Widowmaker; there is nothing remotely like it on Kwaide."

"Yes, but then Grace decided she would come too, and that meant she had to bring Cimma, who is still in recuperation after Pictoria. So both Petra and Tallen had to tag along – after you saw fit to tell them never to let Cimma out of their sight, and then Bennel had to come too because he is keeping an eye on the two Namuri right now."

"You see," said Six, glad everything was cleared up, "I told you it wasn't my fault!"

Diva wasn't convinced. "My parents won't be expecting company."

"Hang it all, Diva! I never said I would come alone. I am not rattling around on my own in that palace they put me in. There is nothing to do there – unless you happen to like Mesteta wine baths. Which I don't."

She stiffened. "Really, no-name? Nobody would ever have guessed."

"It's just not a thing that men would do, now is it?"

"Coriolan men do."

"Yes, well. They would, wouldn't they? Stands to reason. It's either that, or talk to their wiv—" There was a small pause. "Err ... I forget what I was going to say."

Diva's eyes were flashing. "Wives, were you going to say, no-name?"

"Wives? Why would I say wives? What are you going on about? Talk to their wiv... whi... white Coriolan ceremonious robes, I was going to say."

"Huh!"

Six smiled down at her. Their new relationship was jagged, raw. It was a rollercoaster of emotion, sometimes accepted with a sort of calm resignation by Diva, and sometimes rejected ferociously. She seemed to equate the whole experience to being trapped in a Tattula pit, and was quite capable of trying to scratch her way out. Even so, he wouldn't want to change anything about her. She was like a jewel, and she shone so brightly that he had long ago accepted that he would be blinded from time to time. She was a free spirit, and he knew better than to try to tie her to him. If he did, he suspected he would be left with only the fading memories.

She stared up at him, with an uncertain frown on her forehead. "Now what are you thinking? You look awfully strange."

He smiled. "I was thinking that we should start to make our way to the palace. Your mother and father will be wondering what has become of us."

"My father will be hoping you have met your rexelene block, more like."

"Ah, Maximus! He will have missed me."

"He will be furious when he hears that I am going to reinstate you as my consort."

"He won't be the only one. Speaking of which, how is the great Tartalus?"