Free The Blood Solution (Approaching Infinity Book 3) by Chris Eisenlauer

take two days. I give you leave to prepare your home. Once the jump system has been integrated into the new length of Vine, you will be free to return, but from now on you will reside in secret in the Root Palace, making advance forays when necessary.”
    “Understood.” Stoakes was about to turn to leave, but was compelled to ask a final question. “Lord Emperor?”
    “Yes, Salton Stoakes?”
    “What do you fear would occur if Holson and the woman were allowed to meet?” Stoakes asked.
    “They have met and more than once, but I believe that whatever is destined to happen has yet to run its course. I will confide and confess that I do not know the ultimate result of their coupling. But every fiber of my being—which you know to be of considerable size—screams out that it should not be.”
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    For two days, Salton Stoakes was subjected to hell. Travel through the old, disused phloem tubes was, as the Emperor had indicated, not pleasant, but never had Stoakes been inside so long or travelled so fast through the tubes. Though there were no jump stations, he knew that, under the Emperor’s control, he was making use of the fold zones at key stitch points to speed his progress. At journey’s end, he was disgorged, wet and exhausted, from parting Vine fibers into a hidden chamber in the Root Palace on Planet 1401 that would serve as his quarters for the duration of his assignment. He was given the leisure of a third day to use as he would before beginning, but only took half of it to clean up and to sleep.
    Now he dressed in his charcoal gray clothes as he reviewed the video record of Anis Lausden. A pretty girl. A giantess, but a girl nonetheless. And pretty. It was a shame. He went Dark and passed through the slit in the wall that was the only access to his quarters.
    He emerged into a service hall that fed into one of the main corridors. He returned to normal and joined the light traffic walking the halls and made for the main gate. Many had the same idea. The Palace was still settling into the planet and expanding to its final proportions. Before that was done, no one could really start their proper work. There was a certain amount of restless excitement that had no other outlet than to lay eyes on Planet 1401. The courtyard, with its enclosing walls nearly complete, was filled with people wanting to get a look from the courtyard gates and just beyond. Many more were already atop the walls.
    Stoakes snickered to himself. There was nothing to see, especially on a planet with no real threat to offer. The seas were past the horizon, the sun was weak, and the atmosphere was lazy, making for a boring sky. But they’d been cooped up for a year and scared senseless by Ty Karr. He understood their need, and their presence would make it easy for him to slip out unnoticed.
    Holson was still being kept busy and would soon be sent on an assignment that should be a good start to taking his mind off of Anis Lausden. Stoakes wasn’t afraid of Holson, but when he thought of meeting the man, even in passing and even with Holson none the wiser to his identity or his deeds, he couldn’t help feeling an irrefutable sense of dread. Perhaps that was healthy. Though Holson was still new as a Shade, Stoakes couldn’t help but be impressed by his accomplishments. Stoakes had fought side by side with Laedra Hol, and if Holson was anything like his teacher, there was good reason to be impressed—and cautious.
    Once past the courtyard gates, Stoakes drew his loose collar up over the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. With a quick look around, he went Dark, becoming a true animate shadow. He blended easily with the other shadows and no one thought to pay him any attention. He kicked off the ground and and propelled his significantly reduced mass—a single kilogram now—for kilometers at a time before having to touch down and kick off again.
    Along the way, he overtook Barson’s marching tank troops in their