Antonias and I sat in his hovercar as it flew to Caesia’s family’s estate to pick her up. After getting her, we would be going to Kato’s family estate to grab him. I had never been there before.

“I haven’t heard anything so far.” Antonias said. “If you were wondering. I kind of probed at Kato and Caesia and they haven’t heard anything either though I think they think I’m weird now for asking.”

“Heard what?” I asked.

“Hearing Voices like you.” Antonias said.

“Oh.” I said, the subject uncomfortable for me.

“I’m still convinced it’s a Path and Bronze thing.” Antonias said. “We just have to figure out how it works. Maybe it only activates when you feel slighted, like when Junia smacked you. A pride based thing, when one on a lesser Path slights you.”

Lesser Paths. There were three types and varieties of Paths. Servile Paths, Plebian Paths, and Patrician Paths. Each ascending in social order, starting with Servus and leading all the way up to the lofty, Skyfather chosen heights of Imperator. The Servile Paths were Servus Slaves, Hetaira Courtesans, Navitae Sailors, and Parens Matrons. Obviously, the humble Servus was the least honored Path even among the Servile. The Plebian Paths were the Magister Teachers, the Delirus Berserkers, the Militaris Soldiers, the Venator Hunters, and the Medicus Doctors. The Patrician Paths were the Campeador Champions and the Imperator Emperors.

“Celebrations are important.” Antonias said. “Without them we lose track of the importance of what we have achieved. Really Bronze Rank deserves far more than just a mere dinner. We should be having parades and station wide festivals and events in our honor.”

The hovercar turned automatically onto the road leading up to Caesia’s estate. Outwardly the damages done to the main house seemed to have been completely repaired, including the window that Bellias had been thrown out of. I expected all the wreckage of Cornelias and my fight had been cleaned up inside as well. Caesia walked out of her house and got into Antonias’s hovercar. She slammed the hovercar’s door shut roughly and Antonias winced.

“Toni.” She acknowledged him. “Adrias.”

“Hello, Caesia.” I replied.

The hovercar set off for Kato’s estate.

“I’m hungry, aren’t you?” She said brightly.

“Starving.” Antonias said.

“I could eat.” I admitted.

“How have you been acclimating to Bronze?” Antonias asked.

Caesia groaned. “It’s been rough. I’ve broken so many plates and glasses.”

She flexed her fingers.

“It definitely takes a bit to get used to the instincts and hyperreactive reflexes and lack of control of strength and speed.” I said.

Bronze certainly brought its own challenges and tribulations in addition to its gifts and powers.

We stopped at Kato’s home and he got into the car.

“Fellas. Caesia.” He greeted us, smiling. His violet eyes were bright.

“How is everyone’s family taking your transformation?” Caesia questioned us.

“My little brother is so jealous.” Kato said.

“My parents are thrilled. But they’re fighting over me more than usual. Guess Bronze reminded them I existed.” Antonias said with a touch of bitterness in his tone.

“And yours? Have you gotten in contact with them, Adrias?” Caesia asked me.

“Adrias’s family is… uhh…” Antonias said.

“My family is dead.” I said bluntly.

Caesia’s smile froze on her face.

Kato coughed awkwardly.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. How did they…?” Caesia asked.

“Adrias doesn’t like to talk about it.” Antonias cut in, saving me from having to answer.

Thank you, Toni. I thought to myself. I felt a sudden wave of melancholic passion. I hadn’t thought of my family in a bit. I thought I might have even missed Flavias, if only slightly.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Kato changed the subject and we talked about lighter subjects the rest of the way.

The Undersea Bohemian was a large extravagant restaurant. It was decorated with blue and green tinted glass, gold, silver, and white marble. Carved into the alabaster marble and the metallic material was images of Depthdweller merpeople, fish and octopi, crabs and lobster, coral reefs, and sharks and whales. A white statue of the Earthshaker, God and Lord of All Oceans on all worlds held by humanity, stood on a granite plinth in front of the restaurant. The statue of the Earthshaker held a golden trident in his right hand and a silver conch shell in his left hand. The Earthshaker wore a white metallic Jovium crown with swirling wave designs and with sapphire and emerald gems set in the Jovium metal. His eyes were completely painted an azure blue. Etched into the granite plinth that the white marble statue sat on regally was four letters separated by dashes. P-S-D-N. As much of the Earthshaker’s name that sculpture maker dared to carve into the material with the chisel he had formed the rest of the statue with.

The restaurant was packed with a massive line of people waiting outside. Servi dressed in fine clothes and expensive jewelry bickered with one another as they had presumably been waiting a long time to get into the Undersea Bohemian even with reservations.

“Popular place.” I remarked.

“Very.” Caesia agreed.

A Servus man raised his voice with another man.

“It’s going to take forever to get in.” I said.

The others looked at me like I was crazy. I blinked. Oh. For a moment I had still been thinking like I was just another Servus among them many here, and a far poorer man than these people waiting forlornly for their dinner or to impress clients with a show of wealth and privilege. We were four Imperators. Four Imperators who had reached the Rank of Bronze which had never happened before in the history of the interstellar traveling ring of Sunburst Station. We could probably get the whole restaurant cleared out in the middle of the people inside’s meal if we wanted to. The Undersea Bohemian would eat the cost out of obeisance. And perhaps greed. Us eating dinner here would only project an image of importance and dignity. They could jack up the prices like crazy and the other patrons would pay just to emulate our majestic presence.

“Sorry.” I apologized. “I wasn’t thinking. Carry on.”

The others nodded.

We walked inside, bypassing the line altogether though no one dared say anything when Kato glanced over to them. His white hair, violet eyes, and Bronze sclera was pedigree and social rank enough to cow those on the Path of the Slave, no matter how rich they were or how important they considered themselves or how much anti-Imperator sentiment thrived on Sunburst Station. At a minimum it was simple self-preservation, I supposed. The little fish swimming away from the sharks in the hopes we wouldn’t notice them or pay too much attention to them altogether.

When we ducked under the doorway which wasn’t quite sized for our Path’s height, I could see both why this place was such an expensive, exclusive, and a hard to get into eatery and why they called it the Undersea Bohemian. The floor and ceilings were glass aquariums in which bright and colorful varieties of innumerable fish swam. Through the ceiling I could make out the second level, though my vision of the upstairs portion of the restaurant was partially obscured by all the kinds and species of fish flitting by in the tank. Antonias tapped his foot lightly against the glass floor of our level when a curious orange scaled fish danced underneath his feet.

“They catch the fish from the tanks for our meals,” Antonias commented.

“Have you been here before?” I asked.

“No,” Antonias said. “But I’ve heard about it. Well talked about, the Undersea Bohemian.”

“I have been here before.” Kato said. “When I was younger my parents brought me here. Before I was thirteen and Awakened into Copper Rank and started on the Path of the Emperor.”

There were artificial waterfalls partitioning different tables from each other to give the illusion of privacy and marble columns holding up the top half of the restaurant. Hetaira servants with blue painted skin, prosthetic gills, all green contacts, dark green dyed hair, and fish scale patterned clothing acted as waiters for the patrons and guests of the Undersea Bohemian restaurant. I wouldn’t have been able to recognize them if it wasn’t for their unmistakable beauty and their cat tails which had also been dyed dark green to match the hair on their head. I was surprised to see them. Their services were expensive to acquire and maintain. It was a status symbol, I guessed. Using Servi wouldn’t be very impressive to the other Slave visitors. Plus, the Hetairas, both male and female, were absolutely gorgeous and elfin in their appearance. I was sure they got a lot of tips from lustful guests who appreciated their inhuman beauty.

We approached the front desk and Antonias spoke up when the Servus woman smiled at him.

“Can I help you, lords and lady?” The register manning woman said.

“Four patrons for a reservation under the name of Antonias Calion.” Antonias said.

The Servus checked the reservation on her computer, though it was more a formality. We could get in without a reservation just based on our Rank. The desk she stood at was fine mahogany. It was a luxury on Sunburst Station. There weren’t many trees on the high population density ring, and what trees were there were on public parks or hidden away on private estates of Imperator households or the grounds of wealthy Servi families.

“We’ll get you seated right away.” The woman said. She turned backwards to speak with one of the present waiters. “Resia, can you take these Imperators to a table upstairs?”

Resia nodded, her Hetaira’s cat tail dancing sinuously as she walked with us behind her.

“Follow me.” Resia the Courtesan said.

We followed up stairs of glass sheets and steel supports, the glass lit blue with LED lights. We sat at a table partially surrounded by an artificial rock shield of a falling water installation. I dipped my index finger into the cooling waterfall and felt the light mist wafting off it and falling onto my cheek in miniscule droplets.

“Today, honored patrons, we will be serving you a twelve-course meal.” The Hetaira waiter said.

The others seemed to take this in stride, as if a twelve-course meal was completely normal and expected. For me, with my upbringing in a poor Servus family on Lavinius, a one course meal seemed filling enough.

The waiter brought us hors d’oeuvres of small finger food pieces of bread topped with a spread. I took one and bit into it. Savory.