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We’re not on a planet; that much is clear. So, I turn my gaze up, seeking the source of the light all around. It’s not true sunlight, but rather a false one. I crane my neck to stare up at the shining orb suspended above by an ornate bronze mast that shoots up from the center of the ship’s deck. I can’t look for long, so I turn my head away.
“Niko didn’t tell me anything,” I say. “What am I looking at right now? Is this a station?”
“It’s a ship. It’s calledThe Rightful Heir, and it was wrecked ages ago. This floating pile of bolts is thousands of passings old. And we Kar’Kali have inhabited it for generations now. Eight hundred and thirty . . . seven? I don’t know the precise number.”
“And where are we?” I feel like a blithering idiot, staring out at a deck that continues farther than my vision can perceive.
“That I cannot say. Not even to those I trust most,” Lakkavi says. “There are only a select few that know the coordinates at a given time. It might be slow, but it moves around. It can’t fork, and this is a sanctuary for our people. Its very existence is a vital secret.”
“Niko’s not, like, royalty, is he?” I ask.
Lakkavi bursts out laughing, which surprises me because he has a serious aura about him.
“No, no. I see why you might be confused if he told you nothing. Like I said, Lalo serves the highest house, which is royalty in the traditional sense. The eldest male of the highest house is known asKa’lakka, Spirit Chosen. She was a handmaiden to the lastKa’lakka’s mate, who has unfortunately returned to ashes. There has been no new mate for the youngKa’lakka, so she has been welcomed to remain in the Servant’s Turn.”
“And she took Niko in when he was orphaned. That much I do know.”
I must look overwhelmed, because Lakkavi sighs and pats my shoulder.
“I hope you won’t be upset at him for keeping this from you. Niko might seem like an uncomplicated rogue frolicking across the universe, but he’s deeply wounded by the circumstances our people are facing right now. I suppose his instinct has been to turn away from it.”
“It’s all right,” I assure him. “I was starting to realize that. I was trying to dig deeper with him, make him talk to me about it . . . I couldn’t be upset about anything right now. I just hope I get the chance to speak to him again soon.”
“You will,” he says with a certainty I wish I could share. “He might not be Spirit Chosen—” He snorts once more at the thought of Niko as royalty. “—but he is spirit blessed.”
I don’t know what the fuck that means, but I hope it’s true.
“I must return to Banna. I will get in touch soon to check on his status. Wander wherever you wish. There is no place on this ship you need to be wary of. Unless you are afraid of ghosts.”
I blink. “What?”
He chuckles. “I tease, I tease.”
“We were on Station City for a reason,” I quickly blurt more information before I can think whether it’s appropriate to share with this semi-stranger. But if he holds one of the Kar’Kali secrets like this hidden location, I should be able to trust him.
“Tell me, and I’ll see that it’s taken care of.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
RAINA
If I had thoughtThe Primordial Avengerwas a massive ship, I simply wasn’t prepared forThe Rightful Heir. As I settle in, I learn that there’s a good reason I’ve never seen anything like it in the modern age. It can barely move through space. It’s essentially a wrecked ship adrift in the ocean. A few modern ships have clearance to park themselves on this ancient barge for spans of time, and they bring everything the community needs to survive—food, water, other resources, news from the real world.
Lakkavi promised me before he left that all would be well with our side mission for Rossa, who he apparently knows quite well. He seems to know everyone in the Kar’Kali world, maybe because of his position as a guardian of sorts.
When he takes that one job off my plate, I’m left with nothing to do but worry over my mate.
I keep thinking of how he dragged himself across the ground to save my life. The trail of blood on the dark ground is imprinted permanently on my mind. Every time it appears in my head, I squeeze my eyes shut. Then all the questions start churning. Who was that Azza assassin? Could I have done more? Could I have searched his body for clues? I left his body there, along with all the evidence of my literal murder, on a public street.
He was looking for someone called the “Ashbringer.” And all I can think of is Kallasiko, that friend of Niko’s. I’m certain it’s related to him.
I spend half my time wandering and half my time sitting by Niko’s side, staring at him and hoping he’ll make the slightest twitch. A shallow bath has been set up beside his bed, and it’s filled with a luminous blue gelatin mixture. Niko’s body is submerged in the stuff, only his head propped out of the tub. He has a nasty scar on his stomach, and it seems to be less hideous each day he spends soaking in the magical goo.
Lalo visits me every morning, bringing a tray of breakfast foods and telling me her plans for the day. When I take a liking to a milky floral tea, she makes a point of including it without fail. She asks me if there’s something she could bring me to help occupy my mind while I’m with Niko. I tell her about the special hair ornaments that he once had on a tray on his dresser, the ones that were ruined when I tied him to a chair with them.
I’m glad she finds it amusing that they were destroyed by hisikani, because I never thought Niko would let me live it down.
“We’ll go to the market and get some things to make them anew.” Nothing seems to bother Lalo. She’s an even-tempered woman who always has a positive word to say. “Every male treasures his mate’s gifts.”
