“Will she stay if you tell her to?”
I laughed. “Have you met Ada?”
The transport landed on Rhys’s street and I changed the destination to his house. If nothing else, I needed to grab the silencer. It could come in handy in a variety of situations and I wasn’t sure Ian had another one.
“Are we waiting for Loch and Ada or are we grabbing our stuff and getting out?” Ian asked.
I rubbed my eyes. Ada would forgive me. Eventually. Maybe. As long as I didn’t die. “Pack fast,” I said. I told the transport to wait for us.
The butler opened the door before I could knock. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you, ah, sir,” I said, drawing back the hood of my cloak. I’m pretty sure we’d been introduced at some point, but I couldn’t remember his name. My memory was worse when I was tired.
A child’s happy shriek drew my attention to the hallway that led to the family drawing room. The butler subtly moved in front of me. “If you would like to freshen up in your rooms, I will let Mr. Sebastian know you are here.”
Well, that was about as subtle as a rogue freighter. Curiosity rose, but I shoved it aside. I had other things to worry about right now. “We will do that, thanks,” I said.
Ian insisted on carrying my suitcase upstairs. I let him. He dropped it on my bed then crossed to the door to his room. “I’ll be ready in three,” he said.
I didn’t take the time to change, I just shoved the few things I’d unpacked into the bag I’d brought with me from Fortuitous. I was ready by the time Ian reappeared carrying a small bag.
He picked up my suitcase. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”
“I’m sure.” I opened the door and came face-to-face with Rhys, who had his hand raised to knock.
“Going somewhere?” he asked mildly.
Ian stepped up behind me, but I held on to the door so he couldn’t go around me. “Yes,” I said.
Rhys didn’t move. “Does Ada know?”
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Why?”
I tilted my head and studied Rhys. Ada trusted him, and he’d always treated me fairly, so I decided to give him the truth. “Because Ferdinand is in the Antlia sector and going there would be far more dangerous for Ada than for me.”
Rhys grinned. “She’s going to kill you when you get back.” His grin faded. “Make sure you come back. Do you need a ship?”
Fortuitous couldn’t jump for two days, and although Aurora should’ve arrived, it would be in cooldown, too. We needed a new ship. “I don’t want to put you in an awkward spot with Ada,” I hedged.
“I have a ship,” Ian said. I glanced at him in surprise, but he didn’t elaborate.
Rhys inclined his head and moved aside. “Should I tell Ada where you’re going?”
“I will message her once we’re in the air,” I said. “When we have a solid plan, I’ll send the details on a twelve-hour delay. Whatever happens, you can’t let her come to Antlia. Find a merc crew or send one of your crews, I’ll pay for whatever it costs, but Ada must stay safe.”
Rhys drew me into a brotherly hug. “You know she loves you just as much as you love her, right? What would you do if Ada was imprisoned on a Rockhurst planet in the middle of a war?” He pulled back and grinned at me. “Don’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said. “Thank you for the hospitality.”
“Come back when things aren’t so dire,” he said. “Ada misses you.”
Shame slid through my system. I hadn’t visited because I wasn’t sure I could visit without exposing how sick I became when the signals overloaded my brain. But my sister had been banished and I hadn’t bothered to check on her in her new home. That was not the kind of person I wanted to be.
“Thank you, I will,” I promised. Then I tacked on, “Assuming Father lets me out of the House after this.”
Ian directed the transport to a different location from where we’d left Fortuitous. The brightly lit city sparkled like a jewel under the dark sky. I was still on Universal Time, and I had trouble when the light didn’t match my body clock. It was morning Universal, but it certainly didn’t feel like it.
The wireless signals pressed against my skull. Tired and hurting, I took a deep breath and mentally pressed back.
For an instant, the pain lessened, until surprise broke my concentration.
It took me five minutes to replicate the result by focusing completely on building a mental shield. Even then, I could hold it for only a few seconds at a time. I didn’t know if it was because I’d been able to better deal with the continuous exposure thanks to Ian’s advice or if it was a benefit of the meditation training I’d been doing, but whatever it was, it was progress.
I might have a chance at normalcy.
The transport landed on one of the many small spaceports that adorned the tops of the various towers. This one had room for two ships, but only one landing pad was occupied.
The ship was smaller than Aurora, possibly only two levels, and painted matte black. It was a House Yamado design, a ship that could go either military or civilian, depending on the build-out.
“Is this a House von Hasenberg ship?” I asked Ian. I realized they were the first words we’d spoken since entering the transport.
“No,” he said. “Phantom is my personal ship.” He slanted a wry glance at me. “I’ll thank you in advance for not locking me out of it.”
My smile was sweet. “I won’t have to if you don’t give me a reason to.”
He shook his head in exasperation, but a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I contacted Alex and Aoife while we were at Rhys’s. I briefed them and they agreed to join us again, but quarters are going to be tight. This ship was designed for a single person to be able to manage.”
“I don’t mind sleeping on the floor for a few days,” I said. It wasn’t my first choice, but I’d survived worse.
“You and Aoife can bunk together,” he said.
I’d rather bunk with you. I bit my lip to keep the words from slipping free. One kiss did not make a relationship, and giving him a chance didn’t mean hopping into bed with him at the first opportunity.
Before we boarded the ship, I scanned us both for trackers. We were clean. Ada had trusted me. Pain clutched at my heart and it felt heavy in my chest. I was going to break her trust, and even if she understood, we would both be changed for it.
I followed Ian into the ship’s tiny cargo hold. Our supplies from Fortuitous took up more than half of the available floor space, leaving a narrow path through the hold.
At Ian’s direction, I dropped my bag, suitcase, and cloak at the bottom of a short staircase. We climbed to the upper level, which had the captain’s quarters, a mess hall, and the flight deck.
Much like Aurora, the captain’s chair could control the entire ship, but Ian had also left the navigation and tactical stations. Aoife and Alex sat behind the two auxiliary consoles, hard-faced and intent. Aoife smiled briefly at me, but it didn’t touch her eyes, and she didn’t say anything. Ian said he had briefed them and she looked like she was readying to go to war.