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Nell’s eyebrows rose a fraction. “I’m weak-minded?”

“Not weak-minded, but your mind has been influenced. That makes you vulnerable.” Doctor Kingsbury glared at Doctor Non. “We will fix that.”

“Whatever you think is right for me.” Nell sank back in her seat. She thought she could handle this on her own and heal herself, but she’d been wrong.

“That’s excellent.” Doctor Kingsbury smiled at her. “You are the perfect patient.”

Nell shrugged. She felt like an idiot. “What do you need me to do?”

“Sit back, relax, and close your eyes. We’re going to make everything better.”

Chapter 16

Rane blinked his eyes open and stared at an unfamiliar white ceiling. He tensed as the memory of Councillor Agrave shooting him flashed into his mind.

He’d been so weak, not even able to shoot poison from his neck frill before Councillor Agrave hit him with the laser.

Rane’s gaze drifted around the room. He must be in the medical facility on board Prodigy. The room was lit by a soft amber light, and the faint medicinal tang of antiseptic drifted up his nose.

The door to the room opened. Kwon walked in, slowing when he saw Rane was awake. “I’ve been waiting for you to open your eyes. How are you feeling?”

Rane sat up and winced at the flair of pain in his shoulder. “Like I’ve been shot by a douchebag Councillor.”

Kwon smirked. “You got that right.”

“Councillor Agrave is not here for the negotiations. He needs to be arrested.”

Kwon paced around the room, his hands clamped behind his back. “The negotiations are over. You’re lucky you’re not in a cell.”

“What for? I’m not the problem. You need to stop Councillor Agrave. He wants to use Prodigy as a base for an attack on this galaxy. He’s out of control.”

“We know.” Kwon glanced at him. “He’s not the only one out of control. What the hell were you doing meeting him on your own? You’re not involved in this mission anymore.”

“I decided to set things right. I met with Councillor Agrave to convince him that what he was doing was wrong.”

“You can’t have been all that convincing, since he shot you.”

Rane scowled at him. “My plan was to get the negotiations going again.”

Kwon raised a hand. “You’re too late. War has been declared. The message Councillor Agrave sent was discovered by the station’s comms system. His war fleet is coming.”

Rane grimaced. He’d really screwed this up. His thoughts went to Nell. He didn’t want her on Prodigy if it came under attack. “How long have we got?”

“Two hours. We’re moving out. We’re not needed anymore, and Cowes doesn’t want us in the firing line.”

“What about Councillor Agrave?”

“He’s vanished. We pieced together what happened from security drones. Whenever someone fires a laser on the station, an alert goes off. By the time security got to the meeting room, you were out cold, and he had gone.”

Rane’s shoulders sank. “I thought I could talk him around. My ability didn’t work on him, no matter how hard I pushed.”

“You pushed so hard you burst blood vessels in your eyes,” Kwon said. “You looked scary as hell when you were found covered in your own blood, eyes rolling in your head, and a laser burn on your shoulder.”

Rane shook his head. “It was as if Councillor Agrave had a shield in place, protecting him from being influenced. He could be using tech to block us.”

“It’s possible, although the Tolong don’t have access to anything that sophisticated. Maybe that’s what’s been happening the whole time. It would explain why he’s been so difficult to work with.”

“He had no intention of making these negotiations a success.”