“Yes, well,” my voice comes out hoarse and strained. Just as quickly the anger fizzles, and the sadness I’ve become accustomed to returns. “There’s not much that can be done about that now, is there?”
“Treto—" Rovos starts, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
“Don’t. It’s fine.I’mfine,” I lie. “I think I’ll go for a walk.I’ll find you later.” Without waiting for their responses, I shove my stool back and storm out of the compound.
I’m not terribly familiar with the layout. I only know that Xan and Deja started out with only a single building. Over the last thirty revs or so, they’ve added on to it—both above and below ground—increasing its size, along with its inhabitants, a little at a time.
Lost to my thoughts, I find myself in a cavernous bunker filled with every kind of vehicle you might imagine. Everything from hovers to shuttles to at least three class A fighters. How in the worlds Xan got his hands on them is a question I probably don’t want to know the answer to.
Letting out a low whistle from between my teeth, I run my hands along the side of a sleek cruiser. The smell of ions hang heavy in the air around it, and the composite siding is warm to the touch. I’m wondering what Xan would be doing with such a ship when the tinkling sound of giggles catches my attention.
The sound itself isn’t familiar, but the tone has me coming around the cruiser and face to face with Ravi and Skylar. Their hands are clasped together, and Skylar starts giggling again when Ravi whispers in her ear.
Folding my arms across my chest, I clear my throat. Loudly.
It’s almost comical, the way their heads snap up and they freeze, guilt rolling off them.
“Uh, hey, Treto.” Ravi gives me a short wave. “We were—uh—I was just showing Sky the ships.”
I arch one of my brow ridges. “And I suppose Keehgan knows you make a habit of bringing girls you just met to the hangar?”
His brown skin loses a shade, making the textured markings stand out.
“Please don’t tell Da.” He turns pleading eyes on me. “I’m just showing Sky around, I swear. Did you know her planet has only sent satellites beyond their system? She’s never seen anything like most of the tech we have. I’m just….”
“Trying to impress her?” I offer.
“Yes!—Wait, no!” He looks to the ceiling and lets out a long sigh. “Kinda.”
For all that he is young and cocksure, I know Ravi isn’t a bad kit. “This will stay between us,” I say and then hastily add, “but,if I find out you’ve been less than gentlemanly toward Skylar, your father’s wrath will be the least of your worries.”
Ravi yanks his hand out of Skylar’s and nods quickly. Skylar, in turn, shoots him an angry look before turning that same look on me. Her eyes are just slightly unfocused, which Bela told me is because she has poor vision. So I can’t help noticing when her vision seems to sharpen and focus on something just over my shoulder. I watch as much of the color in her face drains away, and her large gray eyes widen to nearly double their size.
A moment later, Ravi’s eyes land on the same thing, and he grabs Skylar’s hand again, pulling her behind him. I barely have a moment to approve before I hear the soft whine of a blaster charging behind me as it presses into my back.
My hand goes to my hip, but I realize I left my weapons belt back on theShade.With my teeth clenched at my carelessness, I slowly turn to face my adversary.
Kurva!
The Shihras standing before me is well known, although I’ve never had the displeasure of actually meeting him. The fact he’s here now is very bad news.
He cocks his head to the side, and the tentacle-like coils that grow out of his chin writhe. “Treto, I didn’t think we shared the same tastes when it came to bounties.”
Bounties?I want to look over my shoulder at the human, or at least partially human kits behind me, but I don’t dare take my eyes from him.
“Tenir, this is certainly a surprise.” I try not to let him know just how surprised I really am. “Whose bounty are you collecting?”
Tenir shrugs. “Madame Athea has put out a healthy amount to return some escaped girls.” His eyes dart behind me once more. “You wouldn’t know anything about them, would you?”
“Well, unless she’s started peddling kits, I’m not sure why she would have led you here.” I’m helpless against the Shirhas in front of me. In my mind, I’m screaming for the kits torun!Of course, they do not have the telepathy of my people, so they just stand frozen.
How am I going to get us out of thiskurvingmess?
“Skylar, no!” I hear Ravi hiss behind me.
Before I have a chance to turn my head, she is suddenly at my side. “Please, don’t hurt him!” she begs, and my stomach cramps when the blaster that has been trained on me swings to her.
Grabbing her arm, I yank her behind me, expecting to feel the burn of blaster fire at any moment. But Tenir isn’t paying me any attention. In fact, he looks like he’s just seen a ghost. His blaster is pointed at the ground, his eyes are wide, and he’s staring right at Skylar.
