Aurora Blazing

by Jessie Mihalik

  “Forgive me this error, Lady Bianca, and I will tell you what you want to know. But I keep the money already offered,” he said.

  Ian started to object, but I spoke over him. “I am a very forgiving person—once,” I said. “The money is yours.”

  Ian’s fists clenched, but he remained silent.

  “The next Syndicate party is tomorrow,” Guskov said. He paused for a second to think, then continued, “Well, since it’s after midnight, I suppose it’s technically today. It’s being held in Matavara on Chi Cassiopeiae Dwarf Six.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me killed?”

  Matavara had a well-earned reputation for being one of the most dangerous cities in the ’verse. It made Brava look like a pastoral resort town. Matavara had no good districts; it only had bad districts and worse districts.

  “Silva is providing their own security, so the event will be safe enough. I can’t get you an invite, though, and I doubt gate crashers are going to be welcomed.”

  “Depends on the gate. And the crasher.”

  Chapter 11

  Ian seethed in silence as the transport returned us to Brava, which suited me fine. The transport dropped us at the Jade hotel, where this ill-fated evening had begun. Ian wrapped his hand around my upper arm, his grip almost painfully tight.

  “If you want to bruise me, there are easier ways,” I said.

  He released me like I was on fire. “Do. Not. Move,” he ordered, biting off each word. “I have a transport on the way.”

  “I must return to Aurora and prep it to meet us in Matavara. Or were you lying about that as well?”

  Ian rounded on me so quickly that I couldn’t suppress my flinch. Fury suffused his face before he took a deep breath and hid it beneath a mask nearly as perfect as my own.

  “Aurora isn’t going anywhere near Matavara,” he said.

  “You’re breaking your word?” Disappointment, hot and heavy, pressed on my chest. I’d trusted him and he’d lied to me. Twice. Fool me once and all that, and I was indeed a fool.

  The more I thought about the betrayal, the deeper the hurt stabbed, until my public facade was in danger of cracking. I shoved the feelings deep and locked the door.

  I was done with people who lied to me. I turned on my heel and walked away.

  But nothing was ever that easy when Ian was involved. He fell into step beside me. “I said Aurora wasn’t going near Matavara, not you, Lady Bianca. I know you want to paint me as the villain in your little drama, but if you would stop jumping to conclusions, you would realize we were on the same side.”

  I stopped and spun to face him, anger blazing bright enough to shatter the ice surrounding me. “Oh, so we were on the same side when you were working a deal with Guskov that would send me home trapped in a prison of my own honor? Is that when we were on the same side? Or maybe it was when you were putting a bounty on me? We are many things, Ian Bishop, but we are not on the same side.”

  “Are you finished?”

  Anger spiked into rage, but I wrenched my emotions under control, until my voice came out cool and cutting. “With you? Yes, I am quite finished.” I started walking again, not sure where I was going except far away from him.

  Ian did not follow me. Instead, he called after me, “We have an agreement. Now who is breaking their word?”

  I kept walking. “I learned from you that I only have to honor agreements when it suits me,” I said over my shoulder. “And today it does not suit.”

  “I can get us an invite to the party,” he said.

  “So can I,” I called back.

  “I have a ship that’s ready to jump,” he said. He was following me now, keeping me in speaking distance but not coming closer.

  “I can catch a starliner.”

  “I can stop negotiating and return you to your father.”

  I whirled around and stalked back toward him. I stepped into his personal space, nearly chest to chest. I glared up at him, cursing my height as much as him. “Do it, then,” I taunted. “I dare you. Lock me in my suite in House von Hasenberg. I’ll be out before the end of the day and on my way to the party before you realize I’m missing.”

  “Keeping pushing me, Bianca, and I will lock you in your suite, even if I have to carry you there myself and then sit outside the door.”

  The thought of Ian carrying me to my bedroom was not as repugnant as he probably meant it to be. In fact, in the right circumstances, it would be delicious. I banished that thought before it had time to grow roots and make itself at home.

  “Are you ready to be reasonable yet?” he asked.

  I closed my eyes and counted to five. If I kept staring at his handsome, infuriating face, then I would do something unwise.

  “Why did you betray me?” The question slipped out, tinted with sadness and pain.

  I opened my eyes in time to catch the flicker in his expression. His mask slipped a tiny bit, revealing a kaleidoscope of feelings, before smoothing over once again. “My job is to keep you safe,” he said. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “And it didn’t occur to you that your betrayal would hurt me?”

  I’d surprised him. He said, “I thought you would be furious.”

  “I am,” I assured him, “but I’m also hurt. Despite rumors to the contrary, I am not a robot. When I trust someone and they break that trust, it stings.”

  “You trust me?”

  “I did. Why would you doubt that? You’re the director of House security and I’ve known you for nearly seven years. You may infuriate me on occasion, but you’ve never lied to me before.”

  His expression flickered again. Holy hell, he had lied to me before, and I’d not caught it. I shook my head at my own stupidity.

  A transport settled next to us. Ian clasped my elbow with extreme gentleness, as if I were made of glass. He’d taken my dig about bruising to heart. “Please come with me, Lady Bianca,” he said.

  I shook my head. “I am not setting foot on your ship,” I said. “You are no longer trusted. If you wish to accompany me, you may. We will go to Aurora to get supplies, then hop a starliner to Andromeda Prime. I need a dress.”

  “Aurora is already on its way to your sister on APD Zero.”

  My mouth popped open in surprise. “What?”

  “Your ship is no longer here,” he said. “It’s in orbit, waiting to jump to APD Zero.”

  All ships were capable of autonomously navigating between locations without an active crew, but I’d never used the feature with Aurora. I liked my ship and stayed on my ship, and if I had to leave it, I came back for it. Although I knew it was perfectly capable of making the trip, anxiety fueled my anger.

  “The guards just let you waltz away with my ship?” I demanded.

  “The guards were well compensated to look the other way. If you didn’t want me to steal your ship, you really should’ve changed the override codes.”

  Yes, I really should’ve. I could blame the oversight on weariness and adrenaline, but it was a critical failure on my part. I hadn’t expected Ian to catch up with me so quickly and now I had to deal with the consequences.

  “Why send the ship to Ada?” I worked through it. “You didn’t want it on Earth where I could use it to escape again. You bastard.”

  He didn’t reply.

  “Were you ever planning to let me go to the Syndicate party or was this a ruse from the beginning?” When he remained silent, I closed my eyes. Of course. “I’m surprised you let me meet with Guskov at all. Why?” I paused. “Ah. You wanted me to be bound by my word to return to Earth. Well played, Director Bishop.”

  I’d been manipulated from the beginning. If not for my ability to read messages from thin air, I’d be on my way back to Earth right now. I tried to summon the protective fury I’d found earlier, but I just felt sad and tired. I don’t know why I’d expected Ian to be different from everyone else, but I had, and the letdown hurt.

  After Gregory’s ove
rnight switch from devoted fiancé to demanding husband, I thought I’d learned not to get my hopes up, but the lesson refused to stick. Maybe that’s why it had been so easy for Gregory to manipulate me, too.

  Looking back, it was easy to see that he had spent the first year of our marriage tearing me down so I’d be more compliant. He moved me away from all of my friends and peers, isolating me in Daln, a tiny city on a tiny dustball planet that no one ever visited unless they wanted to consult Gregory about his research.

  Gregory was never pleased by anything I did, so I tried harder. I was a von Hasenberg. We didn’t fail, we persevered, and I had desperately wanted a good marriage.

  But that confidence that I could fix anything was ultimately my downfall. I was so busy trying to fix things that I couldn’t actually see what was happening. By the time Gregory gave me the brain implant and modified my nanos, I was nearly broken and the resulting illness and weakness kept me that way.

  Early on, in my darkest moments, when I’d been sick and in pain, I’d begged him to help me. Gregory had laughed and told me that he was helping.

  I had believed him, for a little while.

  After Gregory’s death, I had vowed not to make the same mistake twice. I wouldn’t be so easily manipulated again. I jerked my elbow out of Ian’s grip and stepped away.

  Ian murmured something that sounded like, “Forgive me.” While I was trying to puzzle that out, he moved. He wrapped me up in my cloak like swaddling, then picked me up before my brain realized what was happening.

  “Let me go!” I shouted, trying to break free.

  He bundled me into the transport and sat with me across his lap, held close enough that I couldn’t escape.

  It didn’t stop me from trying.

  “Stop squirming,” he said tightly. His arms were like velvet-padded iron around me; they were gentle, but they had no give.

  “You are a dead man, Ian Bishop,” I threatened.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time, love,” he said, his clipped accent more pronounced than usual.

  The endearment kicked me in the chest and I froze. I knew it didn’t mean anything, it was just a filler word like darling or sweetheart, but it hit on one of my secret longings.

  I stared straight ahead and pretended my heart didn’t ache.

  Ian carried me into Persistence, one of the smaller House ships that could be used by anyone in the House. He didn’t set me down until the cargo door had closed and locked behind us.

  He kept hold of me and asked, “If I let you keep your weapons, do you promise not to use them on me?”

  I stared through him. He sighed and rifled through my bag and pockets, removing the weapons. I didn’t bother fighting him. I would lose, and I didn’t plan to shoot him anyway, no matter how tempted I might be.

  “Are you planning to ignore me all night?”

  Yes, yes I was. My emotions were all over the board. Silence was safest.

  When I didn’t respond, he said, “I’ve updated all of the override codes, so don’t bother. There are spare quarters in the middle level. We will be departing immediately if you would like to join me on the flight deck.”

  I turned for the stairs without a word. My eyes caught on a familiar pile of cargo. He’d moved my supplies from Aurora to Persistence. I hesitated and Ian pounced.

  “Curious?”

  I was, desperately, but I refused to give him the satisfaction.

  “I told you not to jump to conclusions, but you didn’t listen. Would you like to listen now or do you want to continue to live in the imaginary world you’ve constructed?”

  “By all means, tell me some more lies,” I said bitterly, unable to maintain my silence.

  “I wanted your oath because I wanted the option of sending you to safety. I used Guskov because I also needed confirmation of the party time and location. I’d heard rumors the party was on Matavara, so I sent your ship to your sister so you had a place to retreat to safely. I also sent a message letting her and Loch know where you will be and to find you if anything happens to me.”

  I heard truth in the words, as much as I didn’t want to.

  “I needed it to look like we were fighting, or your father would suspect I was working with you when I didn’t return immediately. Unlike you, I can’t just float around the ’verse on Daddy’s money. I actually need this job to survive.”

  I smiled without humor. If Ian had the faintest clue as to what I’d had to endure to earn “Daddy’s money” then he wouldn’t be so glib about it. And while Father certainly had started my fortune and given me a vast advantage, I’d grown my accounts by an order of magnitude all on my own.

  I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Let me see if I understand. You betrayed me, but it was for my own good, so I shouldn’t be angry about it? Is that about right?”

  “Bianca,” he growled, “I didn’t betray you. I’m letting you help, against my better judgment. Would you rather I send you to Earth?”

  We could argue semantics all night, but my head throbbed and weariness pulled at my bones. “Ian, I trusted you and you lied to me. I know you think you were in the right, but I disagree. The next time I need to trust you, I’ll waver. If we’re going to work together, I need you to promise that you’ll be honest with me, and I need you to keep that promise.”

  “And will you make the same vow?”

  I kept a tight rein on my emotions, lest Ian see the terror that bolted through my system. I relied on secrets to stay safe. A crushing mountain of secrets where any one could bring down the whole lot. “I will not lie to you,” I said at last, “but I won’t subject myself to an interrogation, either. Just because you ask a question doesn’t mean I have to answer it.”

  “Fair enough, I’ll agree to the same: I won’t lie to you, but I don’t have to answer questions.”

  I had a feeling that we were both going to abuse the hell out of the question exception. After all, silence wasn’t a lie, despite what people might think.

  I crossed the room and held out my hand for a handshake. “We agree that we’re working together to save Ferdinand and that we won’t lie to each other.”

  “I accept. Do you trust me to keep my word?” he asked as he clasped my hand.

  “Right now? No. I expect you to lie to me at the first opportunity. If you want my trust, you’ll have to earn it back. You can start by telling me where we’re going.”

  “Andromeda Prime. You said you needed a dress.”

  He’d surprised me once again. I hadn’t thought he was paying attention. “I don’t know if you had a city in mind, but Honorius has the best selection.” Andromeda Prime was one of the oldest occupied planets outside of the Milky Way. The capital, Honorius, was known for its fashion designers.

  “Honorius is fine. Persistence’s FTL drive is ready, so we can jump as soon as we clear the atmosphere. Depending on the gate delay, we’ll be on the ground in an hour or so.”

  Honorius’s time closely mirrored Universal, so it was also the middle of the night there. Shops would open for me no matter the hour, but my time tonight would be better spent sleeping. I’d napped earlier, but I needed deep sleep, preferably with a silencer running.

  “After we jump, I need at least six hours of sleep. The last couple of days haven’t been the most restful.”

  “The ship’s compensators are good enough that you could sleep now.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll wait. I want to wake up in Honorius and not Serenity, if you don’t mind. And, really, even if you do.”

  Ian looked irritated, but he didn’t contradict me. He led the way up to the flight deck. Persistence was a fairly modern ship with House internals capable of jumping up to two thousand light-years on its own. The FTL cooldown was a little slower than Aurora’s, but I couldn’t remember by quite how much.

  Ian took the captain’s chair, so I slid into the navigator’s chair and clipped in. Ian directed the ship with obvious skill and familiarity. Our route was duplicated on my s
creen. We were headed for Andromeda Prime and we were about twenty minutes deep in the gate queue. Persistence lifted off with a rumble.

  “How did you intercept my messages to Guskov?” Ian asked.

  “Skill.”

  When I didn’t say anything else, Ian laughed and tilted his head. “Touché.”

  “Why did you decide to accept my help?”

  “I’ve told you all along that I will do everything in my power to get Lord Ferdinand back, and it will be easier for you to infiltrate the party with me playing bodyguard than it would be for me to show up alone. If you’ve dealt with Silva before, they’ll be more likely to hear you out.”

  “Does the House have a spare ship on Andromeda Prime? I’d rather not take a starliner to CCD Six if we can avoid it.”

  “I’ve arranged for a fresh House ship. The starliner route shut down a couple of years ago—too many losses and not enough profit. A few mercenary squads based on CCD Six offer passage on their ships, but the timing is irregular.”

  “So once we’re there, we leave on our own ship or we’re stuck for however long it takes for a merc crew to leave?”

  “Yes. I’ve called in a security team to keep an eye on the ship while we’re on-planet.”

  “Is that wise? Won’t word get back to Father that you’re conspiring with the enemy?”

  “I trust my people,” Ian said.

  I filed that tidbit away. It was good that the director of security engendered trust, right up until that trust became loyalty to him instead of to House von Hasenberg.

  The signals weren’t as bad here, so I monitored the messages being sent from the ship. I sucked in a breath as pain stabbed through my head. I pulled back and tried again.

  “Are you okay?” Ian asked.

  “Just a headache,” I murmured. Ian was sending a flurry of messages. I did my best to keep up with them. Some went to contacts I didn’t know, setting details for the meet in Honorius.

  I caught a message to Father and read it with trepidation. Ian admitted to capturing me, but before my rage could ignite, he also said I had time-sensitive information about Ferdinand that must be followed up immediately. And since he didn’t think I would make my own way home, he was taking me with him. He told Albrecht not to expect an update for a week, as we would be in deep cover.