Everything proceeds a bit too fast for me to analyse properly. In just a few minutes, we leave the ship and we find ourselves on a runway, surrounded by buildings from all sides. Nebula's premises would be a typical complex of administrative buildings and small factories if it weren't for all those small details that make the place look alien.
I notice something that looks like a levitation platform transporting huge containers, almost everything is in the Divementis writing and, most importantly, the workers here are Divementis. I'm surprised to see quite a few human faces in the crowd of onlookers, but then I remember that my Mom also used to work here. I guess even the mighty Divementis need help from the locals to survive.
My father tells us to follow him. We navigate the complex and enter one of the super modern administrative buildings. All the buildings here have human architecture, most probably so that the Divementis don't attract unwanted attention from the orbit.
"Knowing that Celestials love heights, we reserved the top three floors just for Your Majesty and your entourage," Nyx explains. "I'm afraid your companions will have to share rooms, but everybody should fit comfortably. We didn't have much time to prepare, but we managed to adjust some furniture to your specific needs."
"That's... more generous than we expected," I admit hesitantly. "Are we given autonomy here?"
"Yes," Nyx nods. "Normally, we would assign guards to protect our Crown Prince, but your battle mages should be more than enough."
"We are," Soren speaks up and orders his subordinates to start checking all rooms immediately and take positions.
"Still," Nyx coughs, "we will be sending our people here to clean the rooms and deliver you food. We kindly ask for your cooperation."
I assure her that we will cooperate and then she shows us our apartment. The guards check it thoroughly before they let us come in. I'm pleasantly surprised that we have three rooms at our disposal. The apartment might not be as big as our entire floor in the Draconian skyscraper, but it isn't shabby either. The living area is spacious enough for holding meetings and there's a smaller study.
"Have a good rest, son, we will start in the morning," my father tells me and simply leaves, just like that.
"That went surprisingly smoothly," Liana comments when the last Divementis disappears. "They're trying hard to build mutual trust by giving us some freedom here."
"Your Majesty, Your Excellency, we checked all three floors and didn't find anything suspicious," Soren comes with a report. "We're getting settled and I stationed the first guard shift."
"Are we really safe here?" Liana asks anxiously, still gently touching my feathers to benefit from my telepathic protection.
"I think so," I nod. "Go rest, Li. Who knows what awaits us tomorrow."
"Okay, my apartment is just next door," she reminds me and leaves to settle as well.
"My Emperor, Cien is unpacking and Dalia is preparing a bath for you and your Consorts," Ayala informs us. "You will have to squeeze a bit, but the bath should be large enough."
"Let's check the bedroom," Erik pushes me for a little tour.
"Right, I worry about the bed size," Gotrid chews his lip.
We find Cien already there and stuffing our clothes into the wardrobes. The Divementis obviously didn't have time to custom-made a bed that would fit two Celestials and one human, but they did their best and put two double beds together. There's not much space left in the room as a result, but it should be reasonably comfortable like that.
"It doesn't feel like a secret alien base," Gotrid comments, "more like a hotel."
"Don't let your guard down, we're still surrounded by telepathic aliens," Erik sighs worriedly and pets my wings. "How does it feel, love?"
"Quieter," I say. "Unlike humans and other Draconians, the Divementis don't leak their thoughts and feelings."
"Is it less strenuous for your brain?" he wonders.
"You could say so," I shrug. "Celestial minds don't bother me, though. To be honest, I don't think I would be able to withstand telepathic silence."
"We thought that you wish for it?" Gotrid is surprised. "We saw you overwhelmed and with a headache so many times."
"I did experience telepathic silence in the States," I remind them. "When I flew away, I was alone for several hours."
"And? How did it feel?" Erik is curious.
"It was stifling and unnerving," I admit. "I hate being surrounded by too many minds that are too different from mine, but I love the company of Celestials."
"What about me? I'm human," Erik traps me in his arms and pulls me closer.
"That goes without saying, silly," I kiss him and taste both his lips and his mind.
Erik might be human, but his mind has always been like a safe harbour for me. I wonder if it's the same for the Divementis. Do they also become telepathically addicted to their partners? Is Nyx my father's new lover because he can't stand being alone? I have so many questions about everything.
Dalia calls that the bath is ready so we go wash after a very long and tiring day. When we return, dinner is waiting for us in the living room. Gotrid jokingly remarks that it could be poisoned, but we're too tired to even consider it and just accept the Divementis hospitality. Falling asleep in an unknown environment feels weird, but tiredness wins.
*****
It takes me a moment to realise where I am when I wake up. I'm still resting in Erik and Gotrid's minds as well as their warm embrace, but it's my automatic morning routine to telepathically reach out and make sure that we're safe.
I feel that Liana is up already and she's discussing something with Luviael. I reach further and feel the presence of Soren, Gavreel and the others. Everybody seems okay which calms me down. I spread my consciousness and I'm amazed at how quiet the building feels.
I focus and finally trace the presence of the Divementis. They are shielding their minds but, at least, I can tell where they areâI count more than two hundred Divementis in the vicinity. Suddenly, those minds try to fortify their defences as if they were panicking. Did they find out that I was scanning the building? I'm not used to others being aware of my telepathic exploration.
"Love, what are you doing?" Erik startles me by speaking up out of the blue.
"N-nothing," I mumble and open my eyes. "When did you wake up?"
"Just now," he kisses my shoulder.
"It didn't look like nothing," Gotrid is also awake and caresses my right wing that's covering him instead of a blanket.
"What I always doâchecking our surroundings," I admit.
"Why do you start working from the moment you wake up?" Gotrid gently taps my forehead and then kisses me as his good morning greeting. Erik doesn't stay behind.
I stretch my wings and yawn. I hope there will be a chance for us to fly in the afternoon and I wonder what kind of programme the Divementis prepared for us. We get up, Erik goes immediately to the bathroom while the maids assist me and Gotrid with dressing up.
"The Divementis fashion is quite similar to ours," Ayala remarks. "Their style is different, but they also like long robes with rich layers."
I don't protest even though the robe they chose for me today is quite heavy. I guess they don't want me to look shabby next to my father. With him being the Divementis Emperor and me being the Celestial Emperor, the maids probably consider it a fashion competition of sorts.
"Your Majesty, Chancellor Nyx is here," Dalia comes with an announcement. "She kindly asks you, Her Excellency and your Consorts to have breakfast with them on the tenth floor."
"We pretty much anticipated that," Erik returns from the bathroom, smoothly shaved.
"Ten minutes," Ayala says, combing my hair.
Dalia nods and comes to relay the message. I can feel that she's nervous about dealing with the Divementis even though Nyx seems amicable. I want to speed up the process, but Ayala insists on creating an intricate hairstyle into which she carefully weaves a heavy hairpin.
"What's that?" I frown and touch it.
"A new headwear," Ayala giggles mysteriously. "Her Excellency had it custom-made recently. You were supposed to wear it for the first time when you show up in public again, but we guessed that there's no better time than now. We need to impress the Divementis after all."
"Oh!" Gotrid exclaims excitedly. "Love, it's a replica of your crown from the game!"
Ayala finally puts a mirror in front of me and I touch the hairpin again, refusing to believe it. It does look like a replica of my ceremonial crown.
"I hope Liana didn't spend a fortune on it," I chew my lip because it looks real. "I wouldn't like us wasting money on jewellery."
"It has gold-plating, but the base is titanium," Cien assures me. "As for the stones, they are only semi-precious. It was the best the jewellers could do given the budget and deadline. We hope to give Your Majesty a real crown in future. For now, this has to do."
"I don't need a real crown," I roll my eyes. "I bet this one cost a lot already."
"It looks marvellous, love," Erik flatters me and inspects the crown up close. "It can't accidentally fall off, can it? Cien weaved it into your hair."
"It should hold without problems, but that's not the issue here. It's heavy!" I complain.
"It's so pretty, love," Gotrid gently pokes the crown to test its firmness.
"It never ceases to amaze me that creatures with wings who are supposed to fly more than walk are so fond of highly impractical robes and jewellery," Erik chuckles, takes my hand and kisses it. "My princess, let me be your modern prince."
"Y-you!" I nudge him and stand up. "Let's go, we shouldn't keep the Divementis waiting."