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confirming his suspicions.
    “Frek!” he hissed, his hand beginning to throb in earnest.
    “What is it?” Alara asked.
    He shook his head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry.” Probably a bee, he decided, remembering the hanging fronds of flowers they’d passed through. Whatever it was, he assumed it wasn’t venomous. Paradise wouldn’t be paradise if it were infested with venomous bees.
    Ethan looked up and now he saw a modern-day palace shining on the horizon. It was four levels high with parapets, archways, and columns rising into the night. Prevalent windows glowed with a soft light, but the windows were blurry from the outside, obscuring whatever lay within.
    “I wonder who lives there,” Alara whispered.
    “This is where you’ll be staying for the duration of your tour of Celesta,” the Peacekeeper answered from the head of the group.
    “I guess it’s a resort,” Ethan said.
    “No, martalis , this is a home. There are many homes like it in Celesta.”
    Rumblings of shock and surprise rippled through the group.
    “What?” Atton said. “So who lives in the city we saw when we were fighting around the Zenith Tower?”
    “The same Celestials who live in neighborhoods like this one,” the Peacekeeper replied. “Most Celestials own several homes and apartments. Some homes are found by the beach, others in the mountains, still more are floating in the clouds. And yes, there are city apartments for those who prefer a metropolitan lifestyle.”
    “Hold on a minute,” a new voice said. Ethan recognized it as that of Captain Loba Caldin. “If Avilon is so crowded with trillions of people, how is it that you have space for homes at all, let alone ones that are built on beaches and mountains?”
    “Some environments are simulated, others are real. While it is true that most of the planetary surface is covered by the cityscape, ample space has been made for Celestials to live however they please.”
    “What about everyone else?”
    “Everyone else is trying to become a Celestial.”
    “Aha,” Caldin grunted, as if that had confirmed her suspicions.
    “Where are we now?” someone else asked. Ethan didn’t recognize the voice very well, but it was soft and feminine—girlish even. He thought it might belong to the young Nova pilot he’d seen with Atton.
    “This home is built on the rooftops of Etheria,” the Peacekeeper replied as they walked past a shimmering fountain in the driveway of the palace. “We are at the top level of Destiny Tower, where all Avilonian children go for The Choosing .”
    That was news to Ethan. “We’re staying with kids? How old are they?” he frowned, thinking of little feet pounding down the hallways of the palace and little lungs screaming long after they should have gone to bed. He was too tired to deal with that.
    “This house has been reserved specially for you. It would be inappropriate to leave refugees unsupervised around Avilonian children.”
    “Hold on—” Ethan objected. “ We’re the ones who need supervising?”
    “Yes.”
    They came to the doors of the palace—two large, frosted glass slabs flanked by a pair of intimidating statues. The statues looked almost human, but taller and broader than the average man, with limbs that looked thinner and more articulated. Where the head should have been was a dark, shiny ball. As they drew near, those ball heads sprang to life with a glowing red eye in the center of each that slowly swiveled and rolled to track their approach.
    “What the frek are those?” Atton exclaimed.
    “Bots,” Ethan suggested.
    “Drones—also known as Omnies,” the Peacekeeper supplied, stopping at the doors to be scanned by a fan of blue light that quickly washed over him from head to toe. A pleasant tone issued as the doors slid aside, revealing a massive entryway with polished marble floors, a spiral staircase, and bright, recessed glow panels running along the tops and bottoms of the walls. A large, crystal chandelier hung