“We could have sung a duet, you know.”
“Next time. There’s a karaoke night in a few weeks. We’ll show everyone.”
And then the buzzer called time. I waved Daniel goodbye and then turned to the app on my wrist tab. My finger hovered over yes, but then panic spiked through me. What if he said no? What if he said yes? A mutual match was the last thing I needed right now. I couldn’t conscientiously object to the whole Valg thing, to the idea that marriage was necessary to solve my problems, while also actively participating. No, I needed to focus on my other plans, on getting a meeting with one of the other ship captains. Not dating.
I hit no on Daniel, and the eight boys who followed. Then, finally, the twenty-fifth guy left my room—two marathon hours of social and emotional torture complete. But we weren’t done! No, there was a dessert bar and cocktails and forced mingling for another hour. Everyone seemed to be happily conversing with someone—Carina was talking to Theo; Klara to Elliot. I hung back by the dessert table, availing myself of every variety of macaron, while I avoided speaking with Daniel again. It would be too awkward later when he realized I’d rated him no. He was nice, and it seemed cruel to lead him on.
Unfortunately, that left me wide open for Captain Lind to swoop in like a hawk diving for prey.
“Leonie, darling,” she began, pressing her lips together tighter than a finger vise, “may I ask you something rather . . . indelicate?”
I braced myself for impact as she leaned in close.
“Did you run any background checks on your renters? What do you know of them?”
It wasn’t what I was expecting. “Uh, no, I didn’t,” I said. “Their business is transports, and they were able to procure the necessary visas, so I didn’t question them. Should I have?”
“Don’t get so defensive. I’m not interrogating you,” my aunt retorted. “But in light of the terrorist attack the other evening, it is my duty to investigate every avenue and every new person on board. As your guests went through you privately to rent your ship and join us on board, it represents a loophole in our security. I’ve personally vetted all the other Valg participants from off-ship . . .”
She let that hang, a tacit accusation that my renters had to be the missing link. “Don’t call it a terrorist attack,” I said. “It was a protest. They made a statement.”
“Freiheit hacked our system from the inside and started a fire. Locked us in.”
“And then let us out.”
“Leonie, you are terribly naive.”
Normally her condescension would have bothered me, but I was too preoccupied by a thought twisting in the pit of my stomach. The same day that Elliot arrived, we’d been hacked. And he had seriously leveled up his hacking skills since I last saw him. Elliot hated the rich and inequity in the fleet. Oh, no.
“Are you okay, Leonie?” Captain Lind asked in a way that was gentle—for her, at least.
“Leo,” I corrected her absent-mindedly. I took a deep breath, schooling my features. “I’m fine. To be honest with you, I didn’t think it was necessary to run a background check on my renters, since they came on Elliot’s recommendation. He’s practically family. And you had him help you with the speed-dating app, he told me? So clearly you trust him . . .” This was me taking a page from Daniel’s book, trying my hand at being an actress. I must have done well enough, as my aunt seemed to back down, though I didn’t entirely trust that she wasn’t acting herself.
“Yes, sure, that makes sense,” she said, flashing me a tight smile. “Thought I’d ask.” She rapidly changed tacks, tone going brighter than a light bulb. “Now, how did you enjoy speed dating? Do you have your eye on any particular bachelor?”
Keeping up my airy façade for the rest of the hour was tedious, as all I itched to do was get back to my quarters as soon as possible. I needed to do that due diligence I most certainly hadn’t done before the Orlovs arrived, or since Elliot’s return. I needed to look into my new friends, into who exactly Elliot Wentworth had become. I was scared by what I might find.
“Attention, everyone!” Captain Lind called out, the end of the evening finally upon us. “Check your Valg app in an hour’s time to see your results! Anyone you say yes to, tonight or over the course of the Valg, you’ll gain access to your compatibility scores with and be able to browse their profile more in-depth. We’ve made sure to leave tomorrow free of formal Valg activities so you are able to connect one-on-one with any matches. Good luck, everyone, and good night!”
“So, how was it?” Carina bounded up to me, looking so hopeful that I hated to disappoint her. I’d get an earful if she knew I’d rated everyone a no, just in case.
“Great,” I pretended, forcing a veneer of cheer into my voice. “How about you? Anyone promising?”
“Oh, yes, everyone was so nice! I had some really fun dates, including rock climbing! Klara! Elliot!” She waved vigorously, calling them over. I braced myself for impact, pasting on a smile.
“How did it go for you guys?” Carina asked.
I felt Elliot fall in next to me as we made our way back to the lift, but I refused to look over.
“Went well enough,” he said. Suddenly I heard caginess in every syllable, deceit lingering behind every line. I risked a glance to my left and found a perfect poker face.
“Come on, Elliot, spill about all the girls you wooed. How many did you say yes to and who was your favorite?” Klara cut in, demure. She’d clearly given him an opening to compliment her, and I caught her look of annoyance when he didn’t. Wait, was Klara into Elliot now?
“A gentleman never tells.”
“Well, we’ll find out in an hour who you said yes to, won’t we?” Klara clenched her teeth as she said it.
Elliot escaped us at the first possible opportunity, heading aft toward the Sofi as soon as we stepped off the lift. By the time we got back to the Linds’ quarters, it was nearly eleven—hardly late by any stretch, but after a long day, I was exhausted. First thing in the morning, I’d start digging into Elliot, look for anything that tied him to Freiheit.
“Leo, you can’t go to bed yet,” Carina scolded when I tried to turn in. “We have to wait for the matches.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’d have none, but regardless, I humored her. We waited another half-hour, and just as my eyelids were drooping perilously low, both Carina’s and my wrist tabs pinged. My sister squealed with delight, rushing to check. I was in no such hurry. She read off each name, and they were as numerous as I suspected—Ludwig, Philip, Min-ho, Oliver, Michel, Kaito, Theo, Elliot.
Elliot. His name repeated, rang in my ears.
Elliot said yes to my sister.
My ears rushed with blood, drowning out the sounds of my sister’s delight at all her options, at Elliot being one of them, especially.
Finally, I looked down to my own wrist tab and my notifications. I knew there were no matches waiting for me, but it gave me something to do, a distraction.
Even so, I couldn’t help but feel hollowed out, disappointed at the message:
You have no matches.
Eight
I slept poorly and rose early to start my research. I didn’t know what my aunt expected me to be able to discover on my own, given that the average resident was very limited in terms of access to fleet records. But still I found the Orlovs’ business page and advertisements in the Fleet Tribune—they specialized in ferrying people to and from vacation spots, as well as moving food and supplies between the major ships. I found Evgenia in multiple party notices from the fleet’s finest, usually arm in arm with Elliot, posing for the camera. Which brought me to my true quarry.