A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

Author:Olivia A. Cole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-11-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

We have new skinsuits. They’re bright red, made of the same maigno-inspired material but with a couple of features we don’t have in our white day-to-day clothing. For one, they are infused with the smell of a rhohedron—the large flowers that grow in the jungle, only recently cataloged by N’Terra. The color imitates the flower as well. “Better for an animal to mistake you for a rhohedron than something more vulnerable,” says the finder in charge of the collection group we’re joining, who has asked to be called Manx.

She goes on to reiterate the majority of what we already learned from the assignment in our slates and I tune out. Instead, I watch Rondo, whose smile of greeting this morning in the commune had planted a speck of stardust in my chest, which now grows into a sun. His fingers move in their distracted rhythm—I wonder what tune he’s playing on the izinusa in his head, if he’s remembering our kiss and turning it into a melody.

“Yes?” Manx says, angling the question at me with a frown.

“Yes,” I say quickly. I have no idea what she asked, but she looks satisfied, turning away. Manx is my height and much older than I expected any of the finders to be. Her hair is a tangle of silver spiral curls; little lines extend from the corners of her eyes. Despite her age, though, she is agile: her body leanly muscled and her gait quick and impatient.

Now we stand outside in the shade of the compound, waiting for Manx to finish doing what she calls “checks,” taking stock of all the equipment and supplies that she and her group have assembled outside the compound. We’re still inside the gates, but I look out beyond them and feel a thrill in my bones. The tree line of the jungle is a mere five hundred yards away. Soon we’ll see more of Faloiv than any of us ever dreamed.

Manx looks up from securing a loose water canteen to a pack. She shields her eyes from the sun and directs a smile somewhere behind us.

“Ah, there you are,” she says, waving at a newcomer. “I’m glad you could join us. Red suits you.”

Dr. Espada wears the same red skinsuit as the rest of us. It seems strange to see him out of his ordinary clothing—the bright red makes him look younger, more daring. His gray hair doesn’t appear as scholarly alongside Manx: instead they look like two silver adventurers, ready for anything.

“Hello, everyone.” Dr. Espada smiles at us after exchanging words with Manx. “It’s good to see some of my brightest students again. I’ve been happy to hear you’ve all been doing well in your internships so far.”

“Did someone actually say that?” Alma asks him. “Or are you being generous?”

She hasn’t spoken much this morning: she’s still not thrilled about going out into the jungle. I tried teasing her about it this morning but that didn’t go over well. She doesn’t understand my enthusiasm for

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