“For that, we use our auger.”
“What’s that?”
“A bore for drilling stone.” I motion with my hands, indicating something about the length of a chair and twice as thick.
“Is it strong enough to destroy the ship’s brakes? If we could ruin one, that’d surely be enough of a diversion to get the crew outside.”
That is not a terrible idea, except… “I do not think it would work. Stone caves are not half as tough as a spaceship.”
“I guess not.” Lydia deflates.
Roan’s datapad, the screen of which is cracked almost beyond recognition, plays the video again, starting from the beginning. Even more black lines run through the center, as ifthe datapad is struggling to remain connected to InGal. I watch as a section of the floor of the arena rises up out of the ground, a lift, bringing with it the three captives. The female looks not so dissimilar to Lydia, except her hairs are much paler, and they hang limp around her shoulders. But the way she holds tension in her muscles reminds me of Lydia when she is readying herself for an argument. Except that this female is about to fight for her life.
My swell of emotions is so powerful that it is nearly debilitating. I feel frozen with conflicting rage and worry—for the female in the video, yes. But mainly for my family.
“New plan,” Lydia announces. “You take the drill and pretend you’re using it to break into the ship’s hull. If their scanners are clogged up with dust, there’s a chance they won’t realize that the drill isn’t strong enough to do any real damage. Then, when they all rush outside to stop you, I’ll rush inside and rescue the others.”
“No.”
“Are you worried about their stun guns? Because that’s a legitimate flaw in the plan, I agree. We could find you a sort of shield so that they can’t hit you.”
“I am not worried about myself,” I say between gritted teeth. “You cannot go charging into their ship and expect to not get hurt. And you cannot expect me to let you take such a risk.”
“I thought we’d gotten past this.” She rolls her eyes as if I am being the ridiculous one in this conversation. “Besides, they’re not going to hurt me. I’m worth more to them alive than dead.”
“I will?—”
“If you’re about to suggest one more time that you don’t need my help, I swear I’ll scream.”
I clamp my mouth shut.
“I mightn’t know a lot about space travel or other planets,” she says, not yet screaming, “but I’m guessing Human slaves areworth a lot more money than Ril’os slaves. I’m a rare species, after all. Which means I should be the one taking all the risks, not you. They won’t shoot me.”
“Still no.”
“No?” Her repetition is loaded with scorn. “We’re going round in circles.”
“Because we face an impossible task.”
“Actually…” She turns back to face me, not quite meeting my gaze. “It mightn’t be completely impossible, because I’ve just thought of a solution. I could surrender myself to Atakis on the condition that Sorin and Roan are returned to you unharmed.”
“That—” I can barely speak through my rage.
“I think Briar and Harlee would understand.”
“If you think my brothers will accept such a solution—” There is a roaring in my ears so loud I cannot clearly hear my voice. “If you think I will accept such a solution?—”
“Killan,” she says, speaking firmly over the top of my protest. “Of us two, you’re demonstrating an absurd amount of sentimentality. Which proves my point. I should be the one taking the greatest risk. I’m far less likely to be shot, and I’m far more practiced at keeping a clear head when destroying other people’s lives.”
“Sentimentality?” I repeat, disgusted. “Is this what you call me being in love with you?”
There is a slight pause, almost too small to be noticeable, except that I am always paying her close attention.
“A few days ago you could barely stand the sight of me,” she says, her anger a defense against her own so-calledsentimentality—if not for me, then for Briar and Harlee, Sorin and Roan. She is as terrified as I am and doing an equally terrible job of hiding it. “Don’t let sex cloud your judgement because I let you grope my ass.”
“You are being aggressively obtuse.” And when Lydia opens her mouth with the clear intention of continuing her tirade, I stubbornly continue. “You cannot fool me into thinking my feelings for you are unimportant in the development of our rescue plan. Do you really think I could survive losing you?”
“Of course.”
