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I catch up to them a moment later, just as I hear more of Xanthos’ entranced bodyguards coming down the stairs, their armor clinking and echoing around the icy corridor. The faces of ill-fated indentures stare out at us from the glacial walls, eyes and mouths frozen in sorrow or terror. I usher Fiona along the corridor, moving us toward where the Wrath waits, hoping that Kye and Taln and the rest of the enlisted Merati crew have managed to fend off anyone who might keep us planetside.
I will wrench the chains away from the ship myself if I have to.
I scoop Fiona into my arms despite her protests, and we finally catch sight of the Wrath. The jets on the sides are already glowing as they prepare for launch—Fiona must have contacted Kye. My stomach churns as the first tremors of adrenaline leave me, a sudden absence that makes me nauseous…
“You’re okay,” Fiona whispers against my neck. “Thank Yrsa you’re okay.”
It only occurs to me then how close I came to dying back there. To staying and slaughtering Xanthos even if I knew it meant my crew would leave me behind.
And I realize then that, for her sake, Ihaveto get myself under control.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KYE
“I’m sorry about your planet, Gliss,” I say. She’s humming something happily right now as she works on unscrewing a panel. The Nyeri’i has bundles of energy, and I have no idea where she gets it from.
This mess has me totally exhausted.
“Thank you,” she says. “From what my parents used to say, Eyela was a beautiful place. I don’t really remember.”
“Is the lack of Elixir what caused males Nyeri’i to be so rare?” I ask. “I remember you telling me a bit about it when I met Nuvar.”
A smile—a sad one, not like the grins she normally flashes at me—crosses her face, but it’s barely visible from where I’m sitting. “I’ve heard of him,” she says. “I guess it doesn’t take much to become notorious when you’re one of the last of a species. Anyway, nobody knows why Nyeri’i stopped having male children, but it’s a pretty good guess that the Boreans mining had something to do with it. It’s not like we can study the fragments of a long gone planet. We don’t have the technology or the means.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand,” I say. “If I were in your position, I would be…”
“Sullen and dark?” she asks, this time sliding away from the panel as she replaces it. “Seems a little like fighting a losing battle. Have you considered that being happy despite the circumstances is a rebellious act in and of itself?”
“But you were never…you were never a slave, right?”
“No,” she says. “Just a refugee. Learned to work on ships when I was young so I could make myself useful to any crew, any ship. I have traveled across worlds and seen more than most. Made some great friends. I consider myself lucky.”
I feel a stab of guilt. I don’t mean to be sullen or cranky. It’s just hard to bring myself to be happy when I can feel everything spiraling out of my control. “But how do you…”
I’m interrupted by my comm chiming on my wrist. “It’s Nereus,” I say, my blood running cold.
“Kye,” he says, breathlessly. I can barely see him, the image of him flickering in and out of view. There’s blood smeared on his forehead, a fresh cut on the skin across his cheek. “We need to get out of here. Are you ready for launch?”
“What? What do you mean?” I ask, the words bitter on my tongue, each one twisting around my heart. The idea that the Boreans have Fiona—that they could’ve captured her at all—makes me ill with worry. “Ner, where are you?”
He mutters a swear word under his breath. I can’t understand it. “It was a trap,” he says. “You were right, it was…”
And then the connection breaks, and I’m left staring at nothing but flickering static. Fuck.
Fuck!
Gliss stands up straight as I hear Taln walk into the cockpit. “Is she in trouble?” he asks. He looks frustrated, like he wants to get out of here and go save her, but he knows he won’t be fast or strong enough.
“Yes,” I say. “I think they all are. I only heard from Nereus.”
“Fiona?”
I shake my head. “No,” I say. “Nothing yet.”
His expression darkens. “I’ll stand guard by the entrance,” he says.
“I will help you,” Sten replies. He’s so quiet, it’s hard for me to remember we live together on this ship. Probably because it’s so large. I can’t read Taln’s expression from where I’m sitting, but his relief is palpable, and I’m glad we have a last line of defense against the Boreans. I don’t want them boarding this ship. The very idea of it makes my stomach tighten with worry.
