He deserved death already.
But Horos could still find ways to drive the blade deeper.
Before her abduction, Lily had secretly wanted to leave with Khar, just the two of them, and go wherever they pleased. Two against the world. Against the universe. She had not dared say it yet, not with how comfortable their work had been, not with her lack of money for long-term flight, but she had been getting closer. The solar collector alone had been a huge step. She had almost been able to feel the dream becoming real.
Horos had crushed that future with a single, filthy hand.
Lily accepted that she had to let go of what she wanted most.
The thought of a life with Khar reminded her how he had caught her attention from the first moment like nothing else ever had, and how his pull would not loosen until the last moment of her life.
He had been an axis for her. Something that anchored her after a lifetime of drifting. Something she could grow around.
And now, with nothing left to distract her from the truth, nothing left to hide behind, she had to admit she had been the same for Khar.
Singular.
Irreplaceable.
Unrepeatable.
By taking her, Horos had not only stolen Lily’s future. He had inflicted an irreversible loss and an incurable pain on Khar as well.
Unforgivable.
Something broke inside her.
And at the same time, something hardened.
No more kindness.
No more careful tactics.
No more Horos.
That hateful, scavenging creature would die.
This was not a furious outburst. Outwardly, Lily looked calm, almost as if she had accepted her fate. But beneath the surface her anger, her contempt, her wounded pride boiled together like magma building pressure beneath a volcano.
She was ready.
Ready to end it all, one way or another.
Chapter 23
Every Quiet Girl Is One Smuggler Away from Violence
Lily
“The IMPERIUM tolerates smuggling rings, to a point. Small outfits can even serve a perverse utility, imposing a code of conduct on criminals who would otherwise drain enforcement resources. But once a ring grows into a significant actor, it becomes a target. At that point, it must either launder itself into tax-paying legitimacy or face the Intergalactic Legion’s wrath. Cynics claim the IMPERIUM machine moves, if for nothing else, then for tax credits.”
Politics, the IMPERIUM’s most-read news hub
She did not know how much time had passed when the door opened again and Horos appeared, carrying a basketful of gear in one hand and a plasma weapon in the other. He kept the barrel trained on Lily as he moved quickly to the magnetic sphere that controlled her restraints, forcing her flat to the floor.
From where she lay, Lily couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, but she felt it clearly: something cold and metallic slid around her throat and locked with a loud click. It was not as smooth as the cuffs on her wrists and ankles, and one section blinked red. As far as she could tell, this wasn’t something Horos had ordered or synthesized through Vitro. He’d cobbled it together himself.
Horos cleared his throat. Loudly. For far too long. When he finally spoke, his voice was a rasping whisper. If he had been human, Lily would have said he had smoked his life away on hand-rolled, unfiltered cigarettes.
