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“She deserves what her husband’s position dictates. The wife of a miner gets to live in a hovel, the wife of the Mudden heir gets a palace, and the wife of a non-heir gets to live in a comfortable house wherever he is stationed to work.”
Lauren gave Nova an exasperated look.
“But the miner would give his wife a palace if he had the opportunity.Youhave that opportunity.” Devon’s voice became louder.
“When my work is done,” Altair insisted.
“Maybe we could arrange for your brother to visit the palace and meet Meghan,” Devon said, not letting the subject go.
This time Altair did not mask his reaction, and it was fury.
“That won’t be necessary.” The tone of his voice was final.
The rest of the dinner proceeded in uncomfortable silence, interspersed with small talk.
After they’d said their goodbyes, Altair turned to Nova.
“I can’t give you a palace.”
He was still angry enough that she couldn’t tell if it was an apology or accusation.
“I’d live in a hovel if it meant wiping that smug smirk off of Devon’s face.”
The fear and anger disappeared from Altair’s face. He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat. The smile lit up his face. She felt her cheeks heating up and looked away.
“What was that about your brother?” She needed to change the subject so she could forget just how good looking he was when he looked at her like she was aKentirdiamond, and he couldn’t believe his luck for having found her.
“My brother is in exile with my parents,” he said. “Devon was trying to bribe me by allowing him to visit. I haven’t seen him in five years.”
“Why does he want you to go to the palace so badly?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to think that he misses me, but that seems unlikely.”
Nova laughed.
“Yeah. Keep dreaming.”
* * *
Looking back over her shoulder, Nova removed the small knife from her pocket. The streets were empty. One thing she could be grateful for in this place was that Baeddan had no nightlife to speak of. It made sneaking around much easier. On space stations, where the day was divided into two to four shifts, it could be near impossible to find a good time to steal. Just in case, she’d put on the plain dress she’d purchased at the market so she wouldn’t be so easily recognizable.
She’d broken into so many locked rooms in her day that she could do it with her eyes closed. The knife in her hand felt a little awkward, but it would work with a little extra patience. Brent said he had it made by hand, but obviously not by a lock-picking expert. She didn’t actually close her eyes, though, but kept them scanning the street for anyone passing by.
The lock came undone, and she quickly stepped inside. She had no light with her, she hadn’t been able to find anything in the apartment in the middle of the night, so she went by feel and memory.
She found the stairs easily and slowly made her way up. Moonlight from the two moons currently out in the night sky poured into the upstairs landing from a large window, making it easier to see. She counted the doors as she passed. This time she did have to unlock Altair’s office door completely by feel, but after practicing on the downstairs lock, this one came open easily.
She kept the door open just in case. She didn’t want anyone sneaking up on her. She’d noticed a small desk lamp on Altair’s desk when they’d been in there earlier. She closed the curtains on the windows, put the lamp under the desk, and turned it on. The room remained dark, but that was the point. She didn’t want anyone outside to see light in the office. She only needed it to read the documents she found.
She moved quickly, mindful that she didn’t have that much time. She’d had to wait long enough to be sure that Altair had fallen asleep before sneaking out her bedroom window. She didn’t know exactly how much time she had left before people would start waking up.
She searched through the documents on the desk first as the most likely location. It wasn’t there. She eyed the floor-to-ceiling cabinets against the wall. Hopefully, Altair used an easy filing system, like alphabetically. She opened a few drawers, trying to find a pattern, until she pulled on a drawer that didn’t open. Locked.
Got you.
The lock was more complex than the one on the door, but it was another Fartech model. For a planet that claimed to hate outside influence, they sure loved their Fartech tech. Well, some of their Fartech tech. She’d kill for a comm.
After a few frustrating failed attempts, the drawer opened with a squeak of protest. The file was easy to find. The hard part was memorizing the names of towns she’d never heard of before. She couldn’t risk taking the paper with her because if they found it missing they might change their route.
