The humans’ footsteps on the polished marble echoed back from walls so far away they could only be dimly guessed at. Spidery silver columns soared from the floor to the haze-hidden roof, and S’sinn were everywhere—hanging from struts, perched on platforms, gliding from balcony to balcony on black leathery wings. A thousand gleaming red eyes watched the humans approach the dais at the vast hall’s centre. And it was cold. Kathryn, arms bare in her blue Translator’s uniform, shivered as goose bumps raced over her body. She clutched the small metal case in her right hand a little tighter, remembering the last time the S’sinn had darkened her sky.
“These negotiations were to be private!” Ambassador Matthews complained.
“They are,” Kathryn said. The vast weight of hostility she sensed from the
