Page 66 of Abducting Sarah

“Thank you for chasing them away,” Deacon said to Camp Deo as he took my hand in his, “but if you’ll excuse us, we have somewhere we need to be.”

Camp nodded. “Of course.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you for saving me,” I said as Deacon started pulling me toward theAllegiant. “Why are we suddenly rushing?” I asked him.

“Now that the jem’hora are gone, there is no need to waste any more time. We are going to the temple.”

“The temple? Should we call Drift to fly—”

“I can fly my own ship,” he said, sounding a little miffed as we entered the cockpit.

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

“I can dosomethings myself.” He still sounded annoyed.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Deacon.”

He huffed, then calmed down. “I know. It is only that, being classed, many unclassed assume we are helpless.” He flipped some switches, then placed his hands onto the touchpad thingie I had seen Drift operate. “Take a seat.”

I sat next to him and watched as we soared into the air, just above the treetops. Truthfully, Halla was beautiful at night. Very few artificial lights meant the trees were bathed in pure moonlight. Every once in a while, one of those silver roofs shimmered between the trees.

“So, I’munclassed, right?” I asked him curiously.

He laughed, then said in a proud tone, “You are unofficial royalty, consort.”

Royalty, hmm. “That’s classed?” I asked, trying to understand.

“It is like a triangle. Royals are the top point. The next level is classed. The widest level is unclassed. But all of the parts are important—it is how Ladrian society has functioned for many generations.”

I processthatfor a moment. “Oh. So, in Ladrian society, I am more important than you?” My voice cracked because of how uncomfortable I was with the idea.

He smirked, confirming my question. “This disturbs you, yes?”

I shifted in my seat. “It’s definitely a strange idea for me.”

“Quite honestly, with your bloodline, you would need to be legitimized through acknowledgement by an elder Bateen, before anyone else would officially declare you a royal,” Deacon said, pressing a button on the console before meeting my gaze again. “Being a royal conduit is a special thing, but it would put a target on your back, so I am in no hurry for any of them to know you exist.”

My head dug back into the headrest and I pressed my fingers to my forehead. “I do not understand any of this.”

“I had hoped it would be obvious to you by now, that you have Ladrian blood.” He sounded genuinely contrite. “I am sorry I did not tell you about your father before—I was not sure how to bring it up.”

“No, that part I understand, actually.” I watched his handsome face smile in the moonlight. “I have no idea how I would have broken the news to you about something like that, either.”

“Then what is it that you do not understand?”

“What I don’t understand is, in the middle of all of this chaos, why are we going to temple?”

“Because conduit temples are holy sites.”

I frowned, still not comprehending. “You said that like it explains something obvious.”

He chuckled. “I suspect your questions will be better answered when we are there.”

“Okay.” I stared ahead into the darkness.

Before long, a clearing parted the trees. It was on a hill with all the bushes cut away. On the top of the hill sat a tall cylindrical building. The whole building was dark, like it was painted black. Deacon landedAllegiantnext to the building.

“This is the temple,” he announced.

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