Through Ddaera's Touch by Louisa Locke

Author:Louisa Locke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Louisa Locke

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

New Hong Kong

Mid-day, April 25, 167 AA

Two very hectic days later, I found myself sitting next to my grandmother, Dr. Eleanor, at an exclusive New Hong Kong restaurant, where we were lunching with Anne Yu, arguably the most powerful Yu on the planet. Anne Yu was Dr. Eleanor’s younger half-sister. Their older brother, Winston III, was the direct descendent of Lewis Yu, the oldest Yu Founder. This made him the ruler of all Caelestis. However, twelve years ago, as his health began to fail, he appointed Anne to the Council of Four, which governs Caelestis, and made her the Yu representative to the Council of Ten. Both of these positions gave Anne enormous political and economic power. Power that would eventually transfer to Jadyn Yu, her great-grandniece, who was Winston’s heir and who was also joining us for lunch.

And I was nervous. Not just because I had no practice with this sort of polite social interaction, but because I realized that these two women could be potential allies––or dangerous enemies––in my quest to help Jaxon and other Challenge passengers and protect the Ddaerans within the western province from my brother.

While Anne Yu wasn’t on the Council of Ten in 150 AA when the decision was made to blow up the Challenge and put most of its passengers in prison, that didn’t mean she or Jadyn didn’t know all about what had happened. Did they approve of these decisions? Were they sympathetic to the rights of Ddaerans in Caelestis and share Grandfather’s passion for protecting the environment? And, finally, how supportive would they be in the family struggles I saw breaking out once Great-grandmother died and I inherited Mynyddamore?

Today was going to be my first chance to get some answers to those questions. No wonder I was nervous.

I’d never met Anne Yu in person before. In her eighties, she shared my grandmother’s smooth skin, raisin-brown eyes, and ink-black hair. However, Anne was much taller, and, unlike my grandmother, she had the sleek elegance that came with an expensive haircut, discretely applied cosmetics, and the best tailor in the city. She also had a very strong mental barrier. Probably something you developed, along with what I believe was called a poker face, when you were a successful politician.

Last night, when Dr. Eleanor announced that she would be lunching with Anne and that I would attend, I was surprised. Surprised that my grandmother would take the time for a social engagement, when she’d been adamant about how much she had to accomplish in her brief foray into the city, surprised she wanted me with her.

When I expressed my surprise to my grandfather, he explained that my grandmother’s childhood had been very lonely. Neglected by her own mother and mistreated by her stepmother, her only positive family relationship was with her much younger half-sibling, Anne. Even after Dr. Eleanor married, she continued to meet Anne at least once a month for lunch or dinner, and in the ten years since my grandparents retired

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