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“You’re very confident,” I say.
“Probably because I was just up in the common room talking to Mai and Reza and they seem to have complete faith in Frankie and Malix. Plus, I’ve seen Frankie in action and she’s a badass.”
“There is something strange going on beneath that planet,” I say. “I didn’t recognize the technology they described, and I never got a chance to examine it myself. And I hate that they left me.”
Bekah nods. “I can’t imagine, Taraven.”
She reaches out and squeezes my shoulder, and all I can think about is how I wish it was Frankie or Malix here touching me.
“Did you find anything useful on Traika?” I ask, my voice wavering.
She ignores it—much to my relief—and shrugs before sipping her drink.
“Only if you count the same kind of beacon they’ve found on five other planets now as ‘useful,’” she mutters. “The priests on Traika are studying the beacon there, but they’re hesitant to activate it—which I think is wise. After all, it resulted in a planned alien invasion of Earth and Logos…”
“Did you speak with Ravik at all?” I ask. “He seemed to know more than he was letting on—especially with his new companion.”
“We tried to get him to stay, but he…”
She trails off.
I frown.
“He what?”
Bekah chews on her lip, then swallows the rest of her drink. “We’re not sure how, but Ravik climbed back aboard Ikaray and…they hopped. Gone just as quickly as they arrived. Zandro used Jaya’s sensors to scan for him, but he was gone. We didn’t even know there was anyone else aboard.”
“He didn’t tell you about the woman he picked up on Liatra?”
Bekah’s brow rises. “The woman?”
“A human female,” I say. “An oracle—or so Jokahn told us. Ravik took her from Liatra and she said that she was trying to escape from something terrible.”
“Well, I don’t like the sound of that,” Bekah mutters.
“Yeah,” I say. “Me either.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
??
FRANKIE
Once again, I’m reminded that we’re all just gravity’s bitch—especially when it comes to fighting a monster that seems to defy gravity at every turn.
I wish I felt empowered right now, like a badass space marine out to fuck up the world for my man, but all I feel is small. Just a small, insignificant mote of dust, a stray organism in a vast and otherworldly leviathan. I’ve made a narrow escape, sure, but I also watched the walls eat Malix.
I have to believe I would somehow know if he was dead—right?
I don’t feel like he’s dead.
And worrying about it isn’t going to help, so I have to keep moving.
I hustle over to the narrow passage on the other side of the atrium, then I’m taking a steady jog with my crossbow held out in front of me. I can barely see anything, but the vines emit a soft green glow—just enough to cast strange, long shadows on the opposite end of the corridor. I get the distinct impression that I’m not alone in here, and it makes my skin crawl when I remember the vines devouring Malix…
Not dead. Not fucking dead.
I don’t have a signal in here, but the Second House soldiers have to have constructed some kind of communications tower nearby to keep in touch with Dalphox’s forces. A commander like Dalphox wouldn’t just give his lieutenant a weapon of this magnitude without keeping a close eye on him—and I plan to use that to my advantage. I can scramble the system and get a signal out to Jaya, and with any luck I can get Malix out.
