He left, and the moment the door sealed behind him, I sagged against Cullen.
"You were brilliant," he whispered.
"I hope so." My hands were shaking. "Because if this doesn't work—"
"It will work." He pulled me close. "Now we practice. Until you can tap that message in your sleep."
We spent the few hours doing nothing but practicing.
Cullen would tap patterns on my arm, and I'd repeat them back. Then I'd tap on the wall, on the floor, on the edge of themetal bench. Over and over until the rhythm became second nature.
Short-long-short-short. Short-long-long-long. Long-short-long-long.
H-O-S-T-A-G-E.
Long-short-short. Short. Short-short-short-long. Long-short-short-short.
R-I-U-O-N-D-O.
Short-long. Long-short-short-short. Short. Short-short-short-long. Short.
A-L-I-V-E.
Long-long-long. Short-short. Short. Long-short-short-short. Short-short-short-long. Long-short-long. Short.
M-S-I-T-U-N-I.
Short-short-short-short. Short. Long-short-short-short. Long-long-short.
H-E-L-P.
The message was burned into my muscle memory, but the fear never left. What if I made a mistake? What if Chloe didn't recognize it? What if Riuondo noticed?
"You're overthinking it," Cullen said gently, catching my hand as I tapped frantically against the bench for the hundredth time. "Trust yourself."
"I'm terrified," I admitted.
"I know." He kissed my knuckles. "But you're also the most capable person I've ever met. This is just another negotiation."
"Except if I fail, we both die."
"Then don't fail." He smiled, but there was steel beneath it. "You're Serna. The Alliance Price. You don't fail."
I wanted to believe him. I had to believe him.
Because in a few hours, everything would depend on whether I could tap out a message while lying convincingly to two of the people I trusted most.
When Riuondo came for me, I was ready.
Or as ready as I'd ever be.
They took me to a small chamber near the shuttle's cockpit—a communications room with a single table and a holographic projector. Riuondo positioned himself in the shadows behind me, just out of view of the camera but close enough to watch my every move.
"Remember," he said quietly. "One wrong word."
I nodded and sat down at the table, placing my hands flat against the cool metal surface. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain Riuondo could hear it.
You can do this,I told myself.You have to do this.
