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“Sorry to interrupt the school lesson, but we’re being hailed by planetary security,” Winkle says from the sunken communications pit His white padded chair is tilted back The araphic controls that float in front of hireen He’s done this dance before, as we’ve already passed through three levels of security with the codes received fro at Bastion station, then twice ed deeper and deeper into the maw of the enemy orbit Aside from our contact with the Society, we’ve been on a coms blackout

“Last code,” I say “Prep the engines for max burn if it doesn’t work”

Into the mouth of the beast indeed

—

After passing through planetary security, we touch down beside five older assault frigates on a quiet landing strip set into the shoal of Tharsus’s island in Venus’s equatorial seas Helmeted sentries in observation obelisks watch the ship settle onto the concrete and then look back with disinterest over the night water “That’s it?” Sevro ht there’d be at least a dozen”

“There’s probably more off-island,” I say

“And if there’s not?”

The Howlers assemble in the hold near the dise their armor Pebble and Milia escort Apollonius from his cell He doesn’t look a prisoner, dressed all in black and wearing a purple cloak that we found in Quicksilver’s closets Sevro went on ahead ofan apple back and forth with Tongueless, who takes slowers at Apollonius as a Howler tightens the screws on his aret clever, Apple?” He squeezes the fruit till it explodes in his grip He wipes the pulp and juice on Apollonius’s black jacket “A little proueless frowns at the smashed fruit

“How is your wife, Barca?” Apollonius asks after a brief pause “A nificent woman Tharsus and I shared her sister several times, of course—a venemous appetite, Antonia—but I cannot say I ever had the exquisite pleasure of the elder Julii From what Tactus told me, she was like an eclipse of the sun”

The Howlers between them back out of the way, but Sevro doesn’t

move

“No insult ”

“I have a collection you’ll be contributing to very soon,” Sevro replies, tapping his knife on his boot

I’otten us to the surface and honored his end of the bargain thus far, but how long will that last once he’s reunited with his brother? They’re a strange and sadistic pair Even Tactus, the most faithful of the brothers, couldn’t be trusted farther than you could spit

I ained almost fifteen kilos since we found hi hiood, but he’s certainly not bad I was hesitant when Sevro suggested we bring him on the mission, but we need another tall body, and he knew his way around the weapons locker better than he knows his way around our kitchen In a way, that’s , but I had Winkle put a security measure in his suit as an insurance policy