The very first day in her new school, she had met Lucas, who had volunteered to show her around. Immediately, Kat had been taken in by his stunning smile, shining brown eyes and dark hair. He had been just as quirky as she was and had made her laugh with his wacky sense of humor. Furthermore, he had understood how it was to be a child of different cultures, he himself being the child of a black father and a white mother. It had connected them, and soon it had felt as if she had known him her entire life. Before long, they had spent almost every waking moment together. Lucas had been the only person she had revealed her Cassidi origin to. She hadn’t wanted to be treated any differently, so to everyone else, she was just Kat Sinclair, human. Kat had been confident she could trust Lucas with her secret, for he was so much more than a friend; he was a kindred spirit. When Kat had gone back to Cassidiri after finishing high school a few years later, Lucas had come with her. Both his parents had been killed in a car accident when he had been only ten, and his grandmother, who had taken care of him afterwards, had passed away the year before. He also didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so there was nothing to bind him to Earth.
Lucas, who, just like his father, loved absolutely everything about nature and wildlife, had studied biology on Cassidiri. After his graduation, he had started working for one of the Cassidirian universities as a researcher in the biology department.
A little over two weeks ago, Lucas had gone off-planet without telling anyone, even Kat or her brother. He had left them a message stating that he had to look into something for his work and that he’d probably be back within a week. But a week had gone by without a sign of life. When he hadn’t returned after two weeks, she and her brother were so worried that they had asked Cassidirian law enforcers to investigate his disappearance. They had found out that, according to his cruiser’s signature, Lucas had gone to an uninhabited planetoid at the far edge of Cassidirian territory. Because there were no signs of foul play or accident, and Lucas was an adult and a human, which meant he fell outside Cassidirian jurisdiction, the law enforcers didn’t deem it necessary to investigate any further. They believed he would probably turn up in a few days.
But they didn’t know Lucas as well as Kat and her brother did. Lucas would never disappear for weeks on end without telling them his whereabouts. He must be in trouble or he would have contacted them already. There was no other explanation.
“Maybe we should ask our sister to order the law enforcers to conduct a proper investigation,” Kat had suggested to her brother after the two had learned about Lucas’s case being closed. Kat’s half-sister Ziri was the Royal Dimir of Cassidiri, aka the queen of the entire planet. She had the power to get certain things done.
Lirid had shaken his head. “You know very well that she would never do that. Not even if we asked her personally. She doesn’t want us to get any special treatment just because she’s our sister. We have to lead by example, remember. No nepotism. What applies to non-royal citizens also applies to us. Without proof that Lucas is in trouble, no one is going to do anything.”
Her brother had been right, Kat knew. Even though Ziri had the power to order the law enforcers to conduct a proper investigation, she wouldn’t do it. Not even for Lucas. She would never use her status to pull strings for a family member, and certainly not in dealings with the authorities. The law enforcers were supposed to be neutral at all times. For a royal, especially a queen, to interfere in their affairs was not done, a disgrace even. Ziri was too honorable for that.
“But we can’t just sit here and do nothing. There must be something we can do.” Kat hadn’t wanted to wait any longer, as the law enforcers had suggested. Her gut had told her that Lucas was in trouble.
Lirid had nodded, rubbing his chin. “Yes, we can do something, but we’ll need help. Try to get some sleep. I’ll explain later.”
Without saying another word, Lirid had rushed out of her small apartment, leaving Kat with a queasy feeling in her stomach, wondering what her brother was up to now. He’d returned early the next morning, accompanied by their cousin Mitha.
Kat was very fond of her cousin. Being almost the same age, Kat and Mitha had practically grown up together. He was the most positive and laid-back person within her inner circle. Unlike most of the Cassidi belonging to the nobility, Mitha had never been hoity-toity about his ancestry. He didn’t have a pretentious bone in his body. Kat found that a very pleasant quality, for she herself lacked the smug and arrogant gene. And if anyone Mitha cared about needed help, he was the first to lend a helping hand, no questions asked.
“If the law enforcers won’t act, then we’re going after Lucas ourselves,” Lirid had explained, seeing Kat’s questioning gaze. “We’re taking my space cruiser and going to that planetoid to see if we can find any clues concerning Lucas’s disappearance. Do you want to come with us?”
Kat had understood why her brother had asked Mitha to join him. Aside from being family and someone they trusted completely, out of everyone they knew, Mitha also had the most off-planet experience. After finishing school, he’d traveled the galaxy for a while, taking odd jobs here and there. He had worked on freighters, cruisers, space stations and even on a Bazarian warship scrubbing the floors. Furthermore, Lucas was his friend, too.
Wary, she had looked from Lirid to Mitha.
“I’m not sure this is such a good idea. We’re not detectives, and we’ve never done anything like this before. It could be dangerous. Isn’t it better if we hire someone to find Lucas for us? Someone who knows what to look for?”
Lirid had shaken his head fiercely. “No, we’ve wasted too much time already. I have to do this. Now. I can’t wait for others to do what I should have done weeks ago. I need to find Lucas. Mitha has agreed to come with me.” His eyes were glowing with emotion. “Will you?”
Kat had hesitated, biting her lip. She had fully appreciated her brother’s sentiments. Lucas was family. If the shoe had been on the other foot and they had been lost, Lucas wouldn’t have wavered. He would have searched for them, going to the ends of the universe if needed. And her brother had been so determined to go. There had been no stopping him. He would have gone with or without her.
“Well, I can’t let the two of you run off without supervision, can I?” she had said somewhat jokingly after a while. “You’d probably get yourselves killed before you even reached that planetoid.”
“So, that’s a yes?” Lirid had replied gleefully with a boyish smile on his face.
Kat had nodded slightly, as if she still had to convince herself this was a good idea. “You’re lucky the schools are closed for vacation and I’m free from work. Give me a few minutes to pack some stuff.”
And off they went. Two days later they were in orbit around the planetoid Lucas had gone to, which wasn’t as uninhabited as they had been told. It had an atmosphere and there was an abundance of plants and wildlife, even though the climate seemed harsh by Cassidirian subtropical standards, with temperatures around the freezing point. But Lucas would have loved it here. Still, Kat had wondered what exactly Lucas had been looking for.
“Do you see anything unusual?” Kat had asked her brother, who was scanning the planetoid’s surface.
Frustrated and disappointed, Lirid had shaken his head. “No, nothing. Just a lot of plants and animals. No sign of a human or a vessel.”