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Whoa. Whose sister was being tortured by the Kronock?
“I’m not suggesting you do nothing, but you don’t know where she’s being held. All you know is that they have your sister. What are you going to do if you leave? Fly around hoping to run into a Kronock prison?”
Holy shit, Morgan mouthed to me.
Holy shit was right. I’d known that Ariana’s sister had been killed defending Earth from the Kronock—everyone had known that, even though the lieutenant hadn’t been the type to talk about it—but had that been wrong? It sounded like it, and from Ariana’s frantic voice, it seemed like she’d just found out.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Ariana’s tone softened. “All I know is that I have to do something. I can’t let her waste away…” Her voice cracked and bed springs creaked.
“Listen,” Fiona’s voice had also softened. “I know you feel compelled to do something. You’re a pilot. Action is your answer.”
“Actually, flying is my answer.”
Fiona let out a low laugh. “Well, my answer to any problem is planning. What your sister’s rescue mission needs is a solid strategy.”
“My sister’s rescue mission?”
“Yeah, your sister’s rescue mission. What? Did you think I’d let my new best friend fly off without a plan—or without me? And no way will I let your sister spend one more moment with the Kronock than is absolutely necessary.”
“Really? You’d come with me to find Sasha?”
“You don’t even need to ask. Of course, I’m coming. But first, I need to have a plan. You need to have a plan. And that means we have to find out where they’re keeping Sasha.”
Ariana exhaled loudly. “How do we do that?”
Without thinking, I walked into the room. “I can help.”
Both Fiona and Ariana looked up from where they were sitting on the foot of the bed, startled that I’d materialized.
Only a beat behind me, Morgan strode in. “I can help, too.” She cut her gaze to me and nodded. “We’re Assassins. We know how to find information. If there’s any way of tracking your sister, we can do it.”
Ariana’s eyes swam with tears as she smiled at us. “Thanks.”
Fiona hooked an arm around her shoulders. “See? Leave it to the Assassins. We’ll find your sister.”
Ariana twisted her head to give Fiona a serious look. “I promise I won’t fly off looking for Sasha on my own, but as soon as we have a good idea of where she might be, or can narrow it down to a few sites, I’m going. Got it?”
“Totally fair.” Fiona gave her shoulders a squeeze. “But not without me, remember? And I’m guessing your boy toy will want to join the party?”
“Volten?” A laugh burst from Ariana. “I’m sure he’ll insist on coming, but you have to promise me that you won’t refer to him as my boy toy.”
“I can only promise that I won’t call him that to his face. When it’s just you and me, all bets are off.”
Ariana groaned but she was smiling while she did it. “I can’t wait until you pounce on one of these Drexians, and I get to make up a pet name for him.”
Fiona made a face. “You and me both.” She turned her attention to us. “What about you two? Any gorgeous cadets catch your eye?”
Morgan and I both shook our heads quickly, our hasty denials becoming a jumble of nos.
Fiona’s eyebrow lifted, but she didn’t comment on the fact that we both protested a bit too much. “Good to know. That means none of us will be distracted by boys. We have all the time in the world to hunt for Ariana’s sister.” Then she added with a stern expression. “After classes, of course.”
Classes and my forced tutoring sessions, I thought. At least I had plenty to distract me from the battle of the schools, which I was already dreading.
Chapter
Eight
Torq
