“So you turned to theFirst Order—”
“Do you think Iwantedthis?” he hissed, and his eyes widened. He let go of me quickly, his jaw muscles feathering. The dust—it was working. He just didn’t know what it was, why he was compelled to tell the truth, if he talked at all. He shook his head. “You could have done the right thing. But then our stupidfathersent you that message—he’s always ruining everything.”
My face hardened. He really didn’t know me at all. “I’m not going to abandon the people I love.”
“And look where that got you! Locked up on aship. You can’t even tell Dad about your cute little stowaway you met out in the city. You have to lie about it, Arie!”
I steeled myself. “So you left and joined a few zealots who can’t just let the past go?”
He gritted his teeth. At least I still knew how to get under his skin. It was a little harder now, but all I had to do was dig. “The First Order is everywhere,” he hissed. “If we’re going to survive, we can’t be on the losing side. The galaxy isn’t like in your silly little holonovels. Love isn’t going to save us, Arie. We have to save ourselves.” Then he turned back to his men and waved them inside. “Take the droids. Scan their memory banks. I’m sure they know where that stowaway went.”
His men began to drag the droids away. I fought to get out of Val’s grip, but his fingers just dug into my arm harder. “Don’t you dare hurt them!” I snarled, glaring at my brother.
He scowled. “Don’t look at me like that. They’re just droids. Unlessyouwant to tell me where that stowaway went.”
“What stowaway? Ow! You’re hurting me,” I added with a wince.
His grip loosened a little. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You helped him on Coruscant. My men told me. And you helped hide him on this ship.” My eyes widened. So the men who had chased us in the city—hehad ordered them? Then…the junior officer Sian talked about…
I felt sick to my stomach.
“Nowwhere is he?” he pressed, and began to raise his blaster. “Don’t make me regret this, Arie—”
Suddenly, and with an enraged cry, Veebee threw off the two men who held her. They tumbled down the ramp. She roared, “You are the architect of your own misery!”
N2-0 blipped in concern, trying to get free, but they couldn’t.
Val, startled, turned his blaster on Veebee. “Stay where you are!”
VB-35 stalked down the ramp. Her eyes were bright, twin moons boring into him. “If I amjusta droid,” she snarled, “then you arejusta slab of meat!”
He commanded the droid to halt, but she’d never been very good at obeying orders—not mine and certainly not anyone else’s. He shot at her shoulder and then her leg, blowing off bits of metal, but it didn’t even faze her.
Veebee was terrifying.
She shot her hand out and grabbed ahold of Valor’s neck. And she started to squeeze. He choked out a gasp. His fingers slid off my arm. I backed away as quickly as I could.
“Run, Ardent,” she said, holding my brother by his neck. “Onto the ship. Take it out of here. You’re fast.And if any of you try to stop her, he dies,” she went on to Val’s men, who weren’t quite sure what to do.
Val gasped. “Let—go—you defective—”
“Vee,” I said, “don’t do this.”
Because we knew the only way it would end. If I left on that ship, she wouldn’t be going with me. And neither would Val.
This was not what we’d planned at all.
She pinned me with her bright starlike gaze and said matter-of-factly, “Your brother will never destroy me.”
The next moment, a blaster bolt tore through the side of her face.
Chapter THIRTY-TWO
The First Order
I screamed.
Vee’s hand went limp, and then she dropped like dead weight to the ground. He’d shot her. He’d actually killed her. I fell to my knees, but there was nothing to be done. One entire side of her processor was blasted through, sparks hissing out in angry static gasps. I hadn’t thought I had any more tears left, that I could ever cry when I felt so frightened, but they came out in hot, choking gasps anyway.
