The captain’s mouth quirked. “There’s always a way … and we’ll find it.” He picked up the keycard from where Jenna had tossed it down on the bed and rose to his feet. “I’m going out to do some shopping … and to have a scout around.”
“Here,” Jenna said, digging into her bag and withdrawing her PCSD. “You’ll need this.”
He nodded, taking the device from her. His gaze met hers once more, holding firm. “Try and get some rest while I’m gone … and don’t open the door to anyone.”
7. THIN WALLS
ALONE IN THE room, Jenna covered her face with her hands.
Now that Malik Mir-Draven wasn’t present, she could let her shields down.
Tears stung her eyelids, leaking out onto her cheeks.
In the space of just a couple of hours, her world had shattered. All the security she’d taken for granted, the privilege, had just been ripped away from her. And now, she was on the run with her bodyguard, while her brother was about to be put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit.
With shaking hands, Jenna wiped her wet cheeks. She then reached into her bag and withdrew her tablet.
Switching it on, she brought up the Rith sector newsfeed. Images from Idral assaulted her.
The violent skirmish in the planet’s orbit.
The swarm of Arrow fighters circling Mir-Brennan Tower.
Squads of battle-droids and cyborgs storming the stronghold.
The blockade of Mir-Ferrin battlecruisers that now guarded Idral.
The images of Cathal, bleeding and captured, yet defiant.
The terror in Isla and Bea’s eyes.
Mican Mir-Ferrin’s pitiless face. His cunning words.
And Tian standing at his father’s side, smug and victorious.
Despite that the ambient temperature in the room was pleasant, Jenna started to shiver.
Righteous and devoted—that was the Mir-Ferrin clan motto. The Mir-Ferrin clan-lord had nursed an old grievance—from fifty years earlier. Her father’s dream of lasting peace between their clans had, in fact, been one-sided.
When Mican Mir-Ferrin agreed to the marriage alliance, he’d been planning this all along. He’d placed Tian at Cathal’s side—and his son had likely been feeding back intelligence for the past two years.
Jenna’s belly twisted, and she switched off the tablet, tossing it back into her bag. Once again, rage burned, sweeping away the grief, the shock.
She had never loved Tian, hadn’t even liked him, but his betrayal still cut deep.
Malik moved purposefully toward the lower-side’s shopping ward. As promised, he would buy supplies—plus a few other items they’d need to get out of Aura Terminal unnoticed. But first, he needed to know exactly what he was dealing with. Who had Tian sent to kill his wife?
Senses on alert, he glanced around as he walked, peering into the shadows. Down here on the lower-side, it seemed like perpetual night. The streetlights illuminated the various wards, but most of the station’s resources were clearly used to keep the upper-side functioning.
The atmosphere down here was subdued compared to above. Malik passed a few beggars hunched on street corners. Children, poorly dressed and barefoot, sprinted past him. He watched them go, the sight bringing back memories of his youth in Melor.
Malik’s mouth thinned. He, too, had lived on the streets and ended up in a gang. Evading the police and their droids was a game, until the day he got caught thieving. The beating he’d received for that, both from the police, and his mother, had made him rethink his choices. Malik had grown up with nothing but had somehow managed to claw himself up the social hierarchy. How many of these children would though?
Eventually, he reached the heart of the ward. Slowing his gait, he approached the transpod station, surveying the milling crowd.
The station was even busier than earlier—workers flowing in an out—for it was 1800, and shifts were changing.
Malik noted the fatigue he saw on the workers’ faces. They were trudging back to their homes after a grueling shift somewhere on the station. It was a hard life. These citizens spent their days working in the landing bays, cargo terminals, and on the engines of Aura.
