Free The Forgotten City by Nina D'Aleo Page A

ruby red. Diega had never seen another person with a red Tehron . There were no red stars in the Aquaian sky, which meant only one thing – Silho wasn’t born on this planet. Diega knew all the other Fens saw it too – only her kind could see Tehron – but it was completely taboo to discuss it among themselves and held dire consequences if discussed with outsiders. So Diega kept her mouth shut. Telling Silho wouldn’t change anything anyway.
    In front of the stars a set of lights flashed, growing larger by the second. Diega spotted a craft, something unlike anything that she’d seen before, flying straight for them. Her first thought was Eli . Jude cursed and laughed behind her. She turned to smile at him and he smiled back. Eli Anklebiter – always bringing people together. Loving him was not optional. She just did.
    Eli soared the craft in, grinning and waving at them through the front windscreen, not seeing the unilluminated AOX sign he was flying straight toward. Both Diega and Jude started waving their arms, yelling for him to stop – but he zoomed past and smashed straight into it. The new transflyer ricocheted back, the engines cut, and the craft plummeted to the roof, hitting with a resounding smash. Diega and Jude sprinted together toward the transflyer lying on its side. With the strength of his metal prosthetics, Jude heaved the craft back upright. Eli was hanging half out the pilot-side door, looking dazed. Diega helped him down to lie on the ground, all her personal distress forgotten in the shock of watching her friend falling from the sky.
    “What was that?” she yelled at him, half-laughing, half-upset.
    “You okay, buddy?” Jude asked, kneeling beside him. SevenM’s many eyes scanned over Eli checking for injury.
    Eli clutched his otter, which Diega always called an overgrown rat to tease him, and said in a small voice, “No … I mean, yes … I’m okay, I think.” He let out a peal of laughter, then cut himself short. “Sorry … sorry … I’m just … really sorry – I’ve never crashed before.”
    “Sometimes watching where you’re going is useful,” Diega told him.
    “I thought you were waving to me,” he said, then giggled again.
    “We were – we were waving, as in, don’t crash into that sign .”
    “Maybe something’s wrong with me.” Eli looked up at them with worried eyes.
    “It’s called stress,” Jude said. “Go easy on yourself. We’re all dealing with it – hopefully there’ll be some kind of relief up ahead.”
    Boots thudded toward them, and Silho and Copernicus appeared beside Jude.
    “What happened?” Copernicus demanded.
    “He was waving to us and not looking where he was going.” Diega gave Eli a light, playful shove.
    “Are you alright?” Copernicus asked him.
    “I think so.”
    They all helped him sit up and his otter scrambled back into his pocket.
    “I just …” Eli made a choking sound and burst into tears.
    Jude thumped him on the back and Silho held his hand as he tried to compose himself.
    “I’m sorry,” he snuffled. “I’m a mess.”
    “It’s fine,” Copernicus said stiffly. “There’s nothing wrong with expressing emotion.”
    Diega burst into laughter. “Coming from you, that’s hilarious,” she said. Copernicus was so repressed, controlled and hardened that he could barely smile, let alone cry.
    “You don’t cry,” Eli said to the commander, then found a hankerchief in his pocket and wiped his nose.
    “No …” he said with a hint of discomfort. “Not – outwardly.”
    Diega laughed louder – not outwardly …
    “It’s just you, Eli,” she teased him. “You, pregnant women and small children.”
    “It’s called having emotions, Diega,” Jude said, taking it too seriously as always. “You should try it someday.”
    “Really? Thanks, your majesty,” she snapped back at him.
    “Okay, enough – time to fly out,” Copernicus told them.
    Eli scrambled up and they all climbed into the brand new Ory-5 .