I clamped my mouth flat against a tremble that built like an earthquake. Shade gripped my hand, and I held on to him. One last flash of dark hair and broad shoulders was all I got before my uncle disappeared, swallowed by the shadowed entrance of the hive-like building.
A terrible pressure ground down on me. Maybe I wanted that hug after all, now that it was too late, and I might not get another chance.
Chapter 8
SHADE
Our second night in the bungalow wasn’t exactly the evening I’d hoped for. It was anything but, with Lieutenant Mwende tracking us with her dark eyes and pitiless stare while she sharpened her knives on the patio. There wasn’t a door to close in the whole damn place except for the bathroom. Our privacy had been annihilated, and if I’d known we were going to pick up an unexpected and pissed-off guest, I’d have requested a place with a different layout.
At least the blood exchange with Bridgebane had gone well. That didn’t seem like the right word for it, although it could definitely have gone worse. The Overseer would get enhancers out of the deal, but maybe he wouldn’t be so determined to go after Tess herself or to launch a galaxy-wide hunt for anyone carrying A1 blood. It felt like a stalling tactic on Bridgebane’s part, and the whole thing left Tess in a funk I couldn’t shake her out of. She just kept saying, “Mareeka and Surral are safe now. Starway 8’s fine. We’re fine. He didn’t do anything.”
Right. Nothing but fuck with Tess’s head and saddle us with an unwanted and spitting-mad bodyguard.
Sanaa Mwende made everything uncomfortable, mainly because she didn’t want to be stuck with us any more than we wanted to be stuck with her. Tension ran high, but not because we feared betrayal. That didn’t seem to be on Bridgebane’s shady agenda, and Mwende was an extension of Tess’s uncle. We spent the rest of the day in our separate corners, watchful and wary like independent pets abruptly introduced into the same household. I’d seen it with cats. Inevitably, they learned to live together, often becoming friendly.
Somehow, that thought made this new situation feel like it had the potential to last a lot longer than the five days we already knew we were in for.
We ate dinner, listened to the chorus of insects without adding anything to their chirping, and went to bed, Tess and me tamely on one side of the bungalow and the lieutenant on the couch under the netting. Our paradise felt a lot like hell all of a sudden. I barely slept, and when I did, it was with one eye open in case my instincts were wrong about Bridgebane and Mwende.
Things were no different in the morning except that Tess barreled into efficient mode instead of staring off into space anymore. It was time to meet up with the crew again. Tess showered, packed up what little she had, and emptied the complimentary contents of the refrigerator into my cruiser’s built-in cooler like she had two jet engines strapped to her back. She was ready to go just after sunrise, and she didn’t even like getting up early.
I took one last look around the bungalow, wondering if I’d ever come back to the Aisé Resort, ever watch the muddy river wind through the jungle, see a group of curious ganokos, or hike up to the waterfall where Tess had fumbled through her first swimming lesson. This departure somehow felt more permanent than the last time I’d left here. Maybe that was because I knew my life was going to be different from now on. Then, I hadn’t even imagined the unexpected and heartbreaking changes coming my way. At least this time, I’d chosen a direction rather than being blindsided by tragedy and letting everything spiral from there.
I shut the door, leaving the key card inside, and used the outdoor console to pay the final balance. Tess and Mwende waited in the cruiser, ready to go, but my feet dragged. Saying goodbye to the resort felt a little like saying goodbye to my parents. Only that was a goodbye I’d never actually gotten. It just happened. One day they were there. The next, gone.
I took a long, deep breath, let it out slowly, and went to the cruiser. There were alive people counting on us.
Four more days until possible intel on Shiori.
Seven days to finalize an operation to try to free the Demeter Terre scientist.
If luck was on our side, we could retrieve both of them at the same time. If it wasn’t…
I shook my head. A lot could happen. Plans needed making—the sooner the better, although now it felt like we had to wait for Bridgebane’s possible contribution to know how best to move forward.
We took off to join up with the Endeavor as the Great Star slanted warm rays of early morning sunshine over the jungle. The wide Gano River cut an unmistakable, winding path across the entire continent, and I watched it until we cleared the different spheres and left the long ribbon of water behind us. Fishing hadn’t happened. I didn’t show Tess half of what I wanted to. The I love you hovering on the tip of my tongue was still there instead of where it should be, between us.
At least we’d accomplished what we came here to do. That was something.
With open space ahead of us and the coordinates set for just outside of Demeter Terre, I got ready to jump us to Mooncamp 1. Hopefully, the Endeavor was already there.
Settling into my seat, I asked, “Everyone strapped in?”
Beside me, Tess nodded. Mwende confirmed that she was ready from her seat just behind me in the back section of the cruiser.
“We’re off, then.” I pushed the button to engage the hyperdrive engine.
Faster-than-light travel gripped us in its narrow tunnel. Pressure sat on my lungs with the weight of a neutron star. I hated this part. I couldn’t breathe. Up was down, down was up, and I just wanted it to be over. My mouth filled with saliva as my insides rose and dropped and tilted. Warp speed affected all but the sturdiest of stomachs, and mine was no exception. Darkness whirled and spun us into a tight, crushing cocoon, but instead of emerging as something else, we suddenly emerged elsewhere.
My navel crashed into my spine as we slowed, the shift leaving me hollowed out and dizzy. For a second, it felt as though we were traveling backward. I slowly exhaled. Blinked and swallowed. Demeter Terre dwarfed the smaller rock beside her. The huge harvest planet and her biggest moon filled most of our clear panel.
I let out a low whistle as my insides settled back into their correct positions. “Damn, that’s pretty.” Demeter Terre was vibrant, varied, and a giant of a planet with the unmistakable deep blues of vast bodies of water and the fertile greens of croplands that rolled on forever. Too bad it was contaminated. As for the moon, it looked windswept and covered in tundra. The two were like night and day, but looks could be deceiving. One seemed welcoming, but the toxins in the air would kill you. The other appeared hostile, but apparently, human beings could breathe there.
“That’s going to be a shock to the system after Reaginine,” I said of the mostly tan and red moon with what appeared to be large rocky or frozen areas. “No wonder they’re starving here. Those aren’t exactly growing conditions.”