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Zeff could hear a few of the others chatting, including the reapers, but he wasn’t done with Hector. An important question had occurred to him. “Do you still have the Shard that Asad gave you?”

Hector threw Zeff a look, paused from his practice, and reached through the misty armor’s gap in the armpit to whip out the Shard. He held it out for Zeff, but the Rainlord didn’t take it.

“As long as it is safe,” said Zeff.

Hector said nothing, only recoiled his hand.

And maybe this wasn’t the appropriate time, but Zeff still felt compelled to ask, “Can you contact her now?”

The young lord’s expression was unreadable beneath his helmet. “I’ll try.” Hector closed his eyes and fell silent again.

Zeff waited. Impatiently, perhaps, but he waited.

When Hector opened his eyes again, he said, “S-sorry, it’s... it’s still not working.”

“Why?” growled Zeff, more at the universe than at Hector specifically.

Hector didn’t seem to interpret it that way, though. “I don’t know...”

It probably wasn’t the boy’s fault. Zeff knew that. Hector had no reason to lie that Zeff could think of.

Unless Emiliana was telling him not to say anything, of course. That was certainly possible. And it wasn’t difficult to imagine what her reason would be.

The Black Scourge. That bastard. What did he want with her? If he was hurting her in any way... it didn’t matter how powerful he was. Zeff would find a way to kill him.

If all of that was true, however, then Hector would be at fault. For listening to Emiliana over Zeff. For thinking that Zeff wouldn’t do what was best for his own child.

That was what was bothering him. That possibility.

But it was only that, he knew. A possibility. And an unlikely one. The boy was probably telling the truth. Probably.

Probably...

He scowled and heightened his pace in order to put some distance between Hector and himself.


Chapter One Hundred Fifty: ‘O, hidden Liege...’
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Royo Raju listened silently. The surface-dwellers seemed to be under the reasonable impression that none of the Hun’Kui here knew Mohssian, and he didn’t see much point in correcting them.

Certainly, his life was currently depending on these people--and in fact, the one apparently named Manuel had already saved him from falling to his death--but Royo didn’t think that reason enough to give up a potential advantage.

Primarily, though, that was not his motivation. It was not the superhumans that he was truly concerned about. They seemed like they could be effectively lied to and/or reasoned with. It was the other Hun’Kui he needed to be careful of. If they realized that he was not, in fact, a real militiaman, then they would either tell the supermen or try to kill him themselves.

And those were far from desirable outcomes.

So he decided to stay quiet, to not draw any unnecessary attention to himself.