Kalvin stepped away, his brow furrowed. “You’d better not ruin this for us, Idrax. We’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, and if you slip up, there’ll be hell to pay.”
With that, the trio of coldbloods turned and stormed down the corridor, disappearing from sight.
“Idiots.” Navan scowled, then glanced down at me. “You okay?” he asked, his tone softening.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s just get out of this hallway.”
I lingered close to him as we made our way back to the ship. Lost in my own thoughts, I kept mostly silent during the journey back to the place we’d spent that first night on Vysanthe. I didn’t know why we were going back there, but I presumed it had something to do with pleasing the queen. Not to mention the fact that I’d seen a few gowns hanging in the wardrobe—perhaps I could borrow one. It seemed unlikely, but what else were they for?
Docking the Snapper at the hangar below, we took the elevator up to the top floor and sought out our room.
When we arrived, however, we found the door swung open, and the interior ransacked. Chairs and tables were toppled onto the floor, and the clothes from the wardrobe were slung all over the place. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
I began to panic, wondering if someone had been sent to search our room for the disc that Navan had taken from the Observatory. Did they know? Was someone onto us?
Then a cold laugh split the air, a shimmering motion revealing the two shapeshifters, who were lounging on the beds. They had camouflaged themselves to the color of the bedding, but now they were visible, their disgusting flesh pooling on the covers.
“Comfy digs you’ve got here,” the female shifter remarked.
“What are you doing here?” Navan snarled. “Get out, before I throw you out!”
The female shifter exchanged a glance with her partner. “We had a hunch. Thought you might be trying to escape back to Earth. No evidence, as yet. But there’s still time for your betrayal,” she said coolly, flicking lint off one of her sacks of skin. “We have our eyes on you.”
“Thought we’d enjoy these sweet quarters while we were at it,” the male shifter cackled. I grimaced, wondering what they’d been up to while we were gone. Deciding it was better not to know, I pushed the thought from my mind.
“Suppose we’d better be off,” the female shifter sighed. “Got to look like that fat toad, and the skinny, useless one.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Kiel and Grillo, I think their names were,” the male shifter replied. “If I’d known old queenie was going to let us off anyway, we’d never have done away with them. Oh well, can’t be helped now.”
Without another word, they got up and waddled from the room, their skins changing from wormy pink to ashen gray within mere moments. As they exited, they had taken on the mantle of coldbloods—one of them looking the spitting image of our interrogator, Kiel.
I shuddered, wondering what they’d done with Kiel and Grillo’s bodies. More than that, I feared what would happen if those bodies ever got discovered.
“I hope they disposed of them properly, where no one will find them,” Navan muttered, voicing my own concerns.
“Yeah, well, I guess we don’t really have time to worry about that now,” I said, sighing. If we were going to get through tonight, we needed to make sure we were convincing. Navan was to be the hero, returning home after a trying expedition. And I was to be… his pet. I swallowed. “We should get ready. Tonight won’t be easy.”
Navan nodded. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “Everyone will be watching us tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dressed in a scarlet silk gown that I had taken from the wardrobe in our chambers, I couldn’t help marveling at the transformation. With my hair curled and flowing past my shoulders, and a touch of Vysanthean mineral makeup I’d found in a drawer, I looked like an entirely different woman compared to the tired and faint girl I’d been a few hours ago.
Navan looked more handsome than ever in a high-collared suit that matched the color of his eyes—a deep, slate gray. It was hard to keep my eyes off him. Stealing glances at him, I found that he was looking at me too, his eyes wide with appreciation.
With us walking into the palace together, I even managed to forget about the knot in my stomach caused by the uncertainty that was his fiancée, Seraphina. For now, I could pretend everything was all right. He was here, and I was here, and that was all that mattered if we were going to get through the evening.
My jaw dropped as we stepped into the grand hall of the palace. The extravagance was unreal. I wasn’t even sure how they’d managed to put it all together in such a short amount of time. Sapphire-plated towers of vials in all sizes rose up, almost touching the ceiling, and there were glinting crystal glasses filled to the brim with a dark, ominous substance. I wouldn’t be eating tonight, but the coldbloods could gorge themselves. Besides, I’d already wolfed down a packet of powdery casserole that had kept me from the brink of passing out.
All around the floor, elegant dancers whirled and turned, their flimsy gauze costumes floating, making them look like mysterious fairies. Jewels glistened on their ashen skin, the contrast striking. Melodious music trickled down from an orchestra set up at the head of the hall. The instruments weren’t recognizable to my human eyes, but the sounds they made were beautiful. It was eerie and stirring all at once, almost making me want to take to the floor with the whirling dancers.
“What are those towers made from?” I asked, keeping my voice low. The stone was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was opalescent in its sheen, but the stone itself was rippled through with veins of sapphire, creating an awe-inspiring marble effect. The same stone was draped around the necks of several revelers as necklaces, sparkling with every turn they made in the soft light of the hall.
“It’s opaleine,” Navan explained. “We mine it from a planet called Zai.”
“Zai? Is it near?”
He nodded. “Near enough.”
“Do people live there?”
He sighed sadly. “A race called Draconians live there. They’re a humanoid dragon species, very powerful—not that it does them much good.”
I frowned. Dragons. Another mind-blowing species to add to my list. “Uh, what do you mean, ‘not that it does them much good’?”
“They could be the most ferocious race in the universe—they’re towering, they breathe fire, they have twice the strength of coldbloods—but they’re perpetual pacifists and highly religious. Their faith prohibits violence,” he said somberly. “Opaleine is their sacred stone, used in all their rituals and celebrations, but the coldbloods have mined it mercilessly, knowing the Draconians won’t fight back.”
I felt a flicker of anger, though this wasn’t fresh news to me. I knew the coldbloods were merciless plunderers, searching the stars for anything they could pillage and steal. Still, it didn’t make it an easier pill to swallow. If they could rampage across a planet with such strong inhabitants, Earth would be a breeze to them.
“Opaleine has become more prized here in recent years, though,” Navan went on. “The coldbloods stopped mining Zai after a strange plague started spreading across the planet, deadly to our immune systems. Since then, opaleine has become a cherished object—a symbol of absolute wealth and power. Only those rich enough, and formidable enough, have any left. As you can see, Queen Gianne has it by the bucket-load.” He flashed a grim look at the gleaming towers.
“What caused the plague?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
He shrugged. “Nobody knows. For a long time, the coldbloods suspected the Draconians had released it themselves—I suppose it doesn’t count as violence if there’s no bloodshed. Not to a coldblood, anyway.” His tone was bitter, his eyes burning with a deep-rooted hatred for his home planet. Vysanthe was a planet that ran on greed and dread—in a way, it was its own plague, infecting the universe one planet at a time.
All around us, the best and
brightest of Vysanthe had gathered. They were all beautifully dressed in elegant gowns and suits of a quirky style, with sharp edges and intricate patterns, and each one was clamoring for the attention of Queen Gianne, who was mingling, a glass of that red substance in her hand. Nobody was as exquisitely dressed as the queen, whose dress flowed out in several ruffled layers, leaving a long train behind her. On closer inspection, I realized that each layer was encrusted with opaleine, the heavy hem having to be hauled around by several attendants, who rushed to her aid every time she moved. Her copper hair was piled high atop her head, with opaleine-studded combs shaped like snowflakes protruding from her mass of curls.
Shimmery black shadow had been blended around her eyes, making her silver irises pop, and seem all the more deadly. On her lips, she wore a deep, sultry red, with powder brushed beneath the harsh lines of her cheekbones, so that they stood out even more. A savage beauty, indeed.
“Navan, there you are!” a voice called from across the crowded room. Navan froze, a look of dread passing over his face, as a handsome older couple made their way toward us. I had seen them before, in the image that had flickered up on the holographic comm device.
The Idraxes were moving toward us. There was no escaping them now. Beside me, I felt Navan tense.
“Mother, Father,” he said tightly.
As they neared, I saw that Jareth and Navan shared the same facial structure, though he had his mother’s slate-gray eyes. The latter was smiling warmly as she embraced her son, pulling him into her arms whether he wanted to be hugged or not. Jareth, far more restrained, offered a hand, which Navan shook politely.
“It’s so wonderful to see you!” his mother cried, holding him by the shoulders so she could look at him properly. “Why didn’t you tell us when you got back? We’ve missed you!” There was a hint of hurt in her voice.
“We didn’t even know until Queen Gianne mentioned something about you returning with Lazar,” Jareth added, sternly. “I spoke with him, since you seemed to be… out of range. He said you were ‘decompressing.’” A disbelieving grimace passed over his face, though Navan’s mother’s expression never ceased to be anything other than delighted.
She was a beautiful woman, her smile coming easily, her lavender gown highlighting the color of her eyes. I wasn’t expecting Navan to introduce me, because I realized he couldn’t. I was a pet, a slave, an underling—I wasn’t worthy of such an honor.
“Will you join us back at the house after the celebration?” she asked hopefully.
Navan shook his head. “I have too many things to attend to, Mother.”
“Well, you’ll sit with us, won’t you?” she ventured. “Your brothers are here… though I think they’re distracted by those dancers,” she added, looking unimpressed. I cast my gaze over to a group of tall, striking coldbloods standing to one side of the dancefloor, admiring the sight of the flowing dancers. There were seven in total, all of them sharing Navan’s dark features, though in my opinion, none were quite as handsome as him.
“I don’t think so, Mother,” Navan said. “I’m still recovering from my journey. I’m here to endure the celebration, and then I’m retiring for the night.”
His mother frowned. “Would it kill you to indulge in our ways, just once? You’ve always been like this. This celebration is in your honor, Navan—you could at least try to enjoy it. Speaking of your brothers, where is Bashrik? I haven’t heard from him in weeks. The pair of you… Honestly, it’s like you want me to worry.”
“He wanted a change of scenery,” Navan replied, without missing a beat. “Asked me to drop him off at the colony on Daro—you know how he loves Darian blood. I’m supposed to pick him up on my way back out.” A tight laugh emerged from his lips, as his mother chuckled. Apparently, there was some shared joke I was missing out on.
“He’ll be the size of a house by the time we see him again!” Jareth commented sternly, though there was the slightest hint of amusement on his stoic face.
“Seraphina is here somewhere, Navan,” his mother said suddenly. “I’m sure she’s eager to see you. I think I saw her by the—”
“Not now, Mother. I really should be making the rounds,” Navan interrupted. “I spotted some of the Guild here who will be eager to know what I’ve been up to.”
His mother seemed disappointed, but if his father felt anything, he didn’t show it. With an embrace just as awkward as the first one, Navan turned and walked away from his parents. I followed, feeling their eyes on me as we left. I guessed if Navan had stayed longer by their side, they would have asked something about me—where he’d picked me up from—but as it was, he didn’t give them the chance.
I let out a soft breath. In the back of my mind, I’d expected we’d end up bumping into Seraphina here—this was Navan’s party, after all—but I still wasn’t feeling in the least bit prepared for it, despite Navan’s reassurances that she wouldn’t cause us any trouble. I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress and tried to distract myself with the scenery.
“Could have been worse,” I said quietly, as we made a detour around the side of the main hall, and out into a connecting hallway. The music echoed faintly through the walls, but there was nobody here.
Navan shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s going to be impossible to keep my distance tonight.”
“I’ll create a diversion,” I said, trying to get him to smile a bit.
“They barely even see you.” He sighed. “That’s the way of my people—they just dismiss anyone who isn’t of their kind. I mean, how could anyone ignore you? Look at you, Riley! I’ve never seen anything more perfect in all my life, and they look down their noses at you, like you’re something unpleasant they’ve stepped in,” he ranted, slamming his hand into the wall of the palace hallway.
I felt my cheeks flush. “What’s your mother’s name, by the way?” I asked, eager to change the subject. I enjoyed the compliment, but not the anger that came with it.
“Lorela,” he replied, his shoulders relaxing.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
He nodded. “I wish she was as beautiful a person. But honestly, it’s my father who’s the main problem—she goes along with whatever he says. Seeing them tonight… I’m worried I’ll never be able to look at them in the same way again. They want to rule over my life with an iron fist, won’t be satisfied until I’m exactly what they picture me to be. It’s like they’ve learned nothing from their mistakes with Naya… absolutely nothing.”
I reached out and took Navan’s hand in mine—there was only so much we could do under the watchful eyes of the coldbloods, but I needed him to know I was there for him.
“You don’t need to be what they want you to be,” I whispered, lifting my other hand to his face, making him look at me. “Free will, remember?”
He grunted. “Have fun telling them that. I’ve told them time and time again I don’t want to marry Seraphina, but it falls on deaf ears—they don’t care about anyone but themselves. Our union is the only thing that will increase their standing in our society, and they’re willing to pay the price, regardless of my or Seraphina’s feelings.” Exhaling, he looked me in the eyes, and the earnestness I saw there made my heart pound. “It’s not fair to either of us, Riley. I want her to find a partner whom she loves completely, and who loves her the same way in return, the way I…” He paused, swallowing, and his gaze dropped to the floor. “Well, the way I…”
“Do you have a death wish?” A cold voice echoed down the hallway before Navan could finish. I hurriedly drew my hand away from Navan’s cheek, realizing we had drawn far too close. It had probably looked like we were about to kiss, and… Well, if I was honest with myself, depending on how Navan had finished that last sentence, we might have been.
We turned sharply to see Kalvin striding toward us, a furious look on his ashen face. He was dressed in a maroon suit, the red contrasting starkly with his white-blond hair. He stopped beside us, pulling me forcefully away from Navan, just as a coldbloo
d guard walked through the door of the hallway.
“Stop taking what’s mine!” Kalvin barked suddenly as he noticed the guard, his eyes narrowed at Navan.
The guard eyed us curiously. Apparently believing it to be a Vysanthean tussle over property, he shrugged and carried on.
“Take your hands off her,” Navan hissed, as the guard disappeared from sight.
Kalvin released me, but his eyes remained narrowed on Navan. “You’re even more of an idiot than I thought,” he snapped. “This… affair of yours could get us all killed, if the queen found out. You’re breaking the law, falling for an outsider. If you cared at all for Riley, you wouldn’t be acting like this—parading her around for everyone to see, swooning over her in the hallway of the bloody palace, for Rask’s sake! How about you keep it on the ship, and in your pants?”
Just then, a figure emerged from the shadows of the corridor, holding a glass of red liquid in his hands. I didn’t recognize him, and Kalvin and Navan didn’t seem to know who he was, either. He was a tall, willowy coldblood, with faded gray wings and a frosty look on his angular face—and I realized he’d probably just heard every word of our conversation.
“Well, well, what would the queen say if she found out the son of Jareth Idrax was fraternizing with a… whatever you are,” he said, a threatening note in his voice as he moved closer, glancing over me. “I’m sure it would open up a position at her side. I mean, your father would have to be punished too—she couldn’t be associated with someone whose son had performed such a vile act.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You caught us in a dispute over stolen property, nothing more,” Navan retorted quickly. A little too quickly.
The coldblood smiled. “That idiot guard might have believed it, but he didn’t see what I did. You were ‘swooning over her’, as your friend put it. Romancing that creature. I saw the look in both your eyes.”
“Who are you?” Navan demanded.
“A loyalist. Unlike you, clearly,” the coldblood replied sharply, his nose wrinkled up in disgust at the sight of me. “But I’m not an unreasonable man. If we can come to some sort of arrangement, perhaps I won’t announce your betrayal to the entire party…”