‘Thank you,’ I tell her sincerely, and she pats my arm as she exits. I feel my chest constrict, the memory of my last stewardess tugging at my mind.
After the door is shut, the room begins to shimmer, fading in and out around me. This time without the helmet blocking my vision, I’m struck by how beautiful it is. Strands of golden light wind around me, and the rebound chamber gradually dissolves. I relish the few moments when everything is pure time, knitted with raw material, as it is seconds before the weave binds together into the new room. I forget about the tea and the digifile I’m clutching in my sweaty palm as the room flickers in and out of my vision and another slowly and gracefully replaces it. I relax back into the chair as the hour passes, noting how each piece of the room is carefully rewoven until I’m in a bright red space decorated with a vibrant pattern painted in gold along its walls. As the last bit of the chamber settles into place, a pretty young girl bounces into the room.
‘Welcome to Nilus Station, Miss Lewys,’ she bubbles, pushing my tray back and undoing my restraint. ‘The rest of your party will be here shortly. Please rise carefully.’
As soon as I start to rise I understand her warning. My legs wobble and shake as though I’ve been sitting for hours. Clutching the arm of the chair, I force myself upright and take a deep breath.
‘It takes a long time to get used to it,’ she says. ‘At least that’s what most people tell me.’
I survey the girl more closely. She can’t be much older than me. She was probably assigned here shortly after my retrieval. This could have been my assignment.
‘Have you ever rebounded?’ I ask her.
‘Oh, no.’ She flushes. Dropping her voice as she helps me off the small platform, she confesses, ‘My boss told me he’s going to rebound me to Allia. The station manager there owes him a favour.’
‘Well,’ I say, trying to sound enthusiastic, ‘the first trip is the hardest.’
‘I know!’ she squeaks. ‘I’m nervous, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.’
Jost is waiting for me in the hall and the young stewardess flashes me a grin as she disappears around the corner. ‘Nice to see some enthusiasm,’ he says drily. ‘Erik is checking to make sure everything is in order.’
‘Great.’
I can’t think of anything to say to him, so I press my lips together apologetically. I hate having to pretend he’s beneath me, but I don’t want anyone questioning our familiarity with each other.
‘I know,’ he whispers.
‘I’m sorry.’ The understanding look he’s giving me makes me feel worse.
‘Hey, I told you to play dumb.’
I nod and vertigo from the rebound sends me reeling forward. Jost catches me easily, and my arms tingle where he touches my bare skin. The sensation travels up my arms and settles in the nape of my neck. I know I should pull away, but before I can, the click of shoes in the hall behind us startles us apart. Jost casually steps back as Erik comes into view.
‘Cormac won’t be joining us until Allia,’ he tells us. ‘Something’s come up in the Eastern Sector. Adelice, do you need to use the powder room?’
I shake my head, anxiety twisting my stomach into knots again. I’ve never spoken in public before.
‘Don’t worry,’ he says, extending the crook of his arm. ‘The reporters are limited to fifteen minutes. You remember your answers?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’ll be fine.’ His tone is reassuring, but it does nothing to steady my nerves. Erik strikes me as the type who doesn’t ever get nervous.
We exit through the rebound company’s lounge into the station lobby. It’s empty except for strategically placed guards.
‘No travel allowed between stations today, except for invited dignitaries, and we’ll have Special Service guards at every stop,’ Erik says.
‘I’m a dignitary,’ I say, willing myself to believe it.
‘Hard to believe, right?’ he teases, which makes me smile a little.
Jost ambles up beside me, and I realise the two are now flanking me like I’ve seen Erik and Maela’s guard do with Maela. Standing between them, I shift uncomfortably while we wait for the guard at the main entrance to clear us. After a few minutes, the guard motions for us to continue.
Without the usual foot traffic of businessmen, the grand marble hall of the station is quiet, the only noise coming from a small group of Stream reporters. As soon as they spot us, they snap to life and swarm around. The guards keep them at a safe distance, and I’m glad to have Erik and Jost standing by me, but when Erik steps forward to speak, the guards are the only buffer between me and the vlip recorders.
‘I’ve been assured you’ve received your assigned interview questions and placements. You have fifteen minutes to get your footage before Miss Lewys’s next rebound.’
The group organises itself quickly and I’m met with the questions Enora prepped me for yesterday.
‘Miss Lewys, what is your favourite privilege as the newest invited Spinster?’ a boyish reporter asks me in a clipped, businesslike tone as a vlip operator looms over his shoulder.
‘The clothing,’ I respond automatically. I try to sound casual, but I know my words are being broadcast on live feed across Arras as part of the promotional tour. ‘It’s so nice to have pretty things to wear every day.’
‘Bit of a change from the old purity standards?’ another rosy-cheeked reporter breaks in jovially, and a few others laugh, but a guard pushes him back and the group returns to the business at hand. It’s enough to loosen me up though.