by Rebecca Rode
Ember lowered her voice to a whisper despite the nearly empty room. “Reina, I know you’ve been stealing food.”
Reina’s spoon froze halfway to her mouth before she recovered. “Oh. That.”
An odd reaction. Had Reina done something even worse? “Our food stores are critical right now,” she continued. “You know because you’ve sat in nearly every cabinet meeting for the past two months. I can’t believe you’d abuse your position like this.”
“They were starving.” Reina looked Ember right in the eye. It felt like a challenge. “Amai denied their appeal for a higher food allowance. The parents gave their food to the children until one day they couldn’t get out of bed to find a medic. If it was Stefan or Mar or your precious gypsy friend, you’d have done exactly the same thing. So don’t preach to me how we’re above mundane things like saving lives.”
“We are trying to save lives. Everyone gets the same amount of food. It’s only fair.”
“No, you’re trying to starve everyone at the same rate. There’s a big difference.”
Ember drew in a long breath, refusing to take the bait. Soon they’d have several weeks’ worth of food and this wouldn’t be an issue. “Just stop stealing, or I’ll have to take this to the cabinet. Understood?”
“Go ahead.” Reina swiped her water packet and stood. “I never asked to be on your precious cabinet anyway. Come to think of it, I don’t particularly want to be here, either.” She turned to walk away.
Ember leaped up and blocked the doorway. “You aren’t a child anymore, Reina. You have a responsibility not only to these people but also to me. I know you’re angry at me for what happened to your fiancé, but that doesn’t entitle you to walk away when things get hard. We’ve all lost people. Now, let’s make their deaths matter.”
Reina folded her arms, examining Ember for a long moment. “You know what’s funny? They say you’re the universe’s answer to Ruben. That as evil as he is, you’re the opposite good. That he’s determined to destroy the Empire, so you’re going to save it. Stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” A bitter chuckle. “Let’s look at the science. If you took all the stars that produced light and combined them in one place, it would only fill a small percentage of the universe. The other 90% percent would be blackness. That doesn’t sound like balance to me.”
Ember frowned. The girl wasn’t making sense. “I don’t see what this—”
“I’m saying that’s what life is, Lady Flare—hurt and pain and suffering with the occasional fleeting glimpse of happiness. For me, Gorin was that happiness. And you took away that, too. So forgive me if I can’t instantly get over this and ‘make his death matter’ like a happy little soldier.”
Ember opened her mouth to reply but slowly closed it again. If Stefan died and his killer stood before her, would she feel any differently than Reina? Stefan was all Ember had left, and now the stars threatened to take him, too—that last glimpse of light in a sea of darkness. She was barely holding it together as it was. If he was gone, she would never recover.
Like Neraline. Ember’s throat constricted at the memory. Neraline could have been exactly what Ember needed—a listening ear, a coach, her encouragement. Instead, Ember had shoved her away.
“I knew a woman once,” Ember said quietly. “She loved a man for decades, long after he left her and moved on. And when he died, I called her a fool for loving him so long.”
Reina flinched, her scowl fading just a little. She said nothing.
In the before of her life, Ember had assumed a person’s grief was a black spot that faded over time, eventually dissolving until all that remained was a sharp, clear future. But now she realized that grief and love were two interconnected, byproducts of one another. Grief never disappeared. It simply created a foundation on which to build a new life. Even after all Neraline had given her, it was a beautiful last lesson.
Maybe Ember and Reina weren’t that different after all.
“I will never tell you to ‘get over it,’” Ember whispered. The words burned as they reached her lips. “Hold him and those memories close. Take the fire he ignited in your heart and stoke it until you’re strong enough to carry the flame he left behind. When you’re ready, let me know.”
In the meantime, Ember still had the man she loved, and she refused to give him up easily. She would stand between Stefan and death until the blackness either retreated or devoured her too.
Ember felt Reina watching her as she left.
Chapter 11
The flicker team, Captain Terrance, and Stefan were already on the bridge when Ember entered. The only seating besides the pilots’ chairs was a large bench on the back wall. But the bridge held one thing the meeting room didn’t—a giant display screen that filled the window. This way, both pilots could participate.
Their pilots on this mission were a married couple, or committed at the very least, as signified by their identical earring loops. The husband swept busily across the controls, his sunbaked skin a permanent deep brown. Ember wondered where a pilot got such a tan. The woman had turned in her seat to face them, hands clasped in her lap, her face frozen in a permanent glare. She reminded Ember of her childhood schoolteacher. Ember gave her a little smile as she entered, which the woman acknowledged with a nod.
Mar and Brennan sat on the bench lining the rear of the bridge, a long canvas bag at their feet. Brennan leaned over it now, searching for something. Mar had a wary look on her face. Poor Brennan. Mar was the last person on the ship who would be impressed by his antique weapon collection.
“There you are, Lady Flare,” Captain Terrance said, grinning. The man looked almost excited. And they thought Ember was the crazy one. “You’re a big part of the plan, so we didn’t want to start without you. Will Miss Reina be joining us?”
“I doubt it.” Ember had no desire to join the not-so-happy couple on the bench, so she moved to the center of the small room where Stefan stared at the screen. His uniform was immaculate as always, but the dark stubble lining his chin revealed something was amiss. The tension between them felt like a living, breathing thing. It also felt a lot like the dark shadow writhing within her.
Captain Terrance cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming, everyone. I know we’ve run through this several times, but I want to make sure everyone thoroughly understands their role. We have a lot riding on this mission.”
Nobody argued with that.
He was pacing now, his palms together at the tips like he was praying. “Karalyne, could you display image A, please?”
The large screen filled with the image of a tight diamond. There was a tiny red dot at the front and three X’s close to the center. Ember was familiar with the convoy’s formation already. The richest patrons took the most protected spots in the center, while those on a budget lined the edges with the security fighters. The red dot would be the lead ship, and the X’s marked their targets—two freighters from the farming districts they hoped contained fresh food, and a high-density passenger spaceliner. If they managed to steal all three and return quickly, they’d be able to evacuate before the vanguard arrived. Hopefully.
“After a bit of haggling, I’ve received an acceptance from the shipmaster,” Captain Terrance continued. “We’re officially in. But there’s a problem. The spot we’ve been assigned is in the rear of the formation, far from our targets at the center. Image B, please.” A yellow dot appeared near the back of the diamond.
“It’s still well within Ember’s range,” Mar said. She stood in the center now as well, head tilted upward.
“I’m well aware of Lady Flare’s capabilities,” the captain said, looking at Ember. “But we only have a few hundred meters between each ship. That seems like a lot until you remember how massive our targets are. Even if we manage to cut them out of formation without an excessive amount of suspicion on the escorts’ end, our breaking off from the rear to follow will definitely raise flags. The last thing we need is for the entire convoy to halt and turn on us.”
“We need a common denominator,” Ember said. “A reason we’d be required to leave with them. Do we know who the owners are?”
“Yes. The same individual owns both freighters, but the spaceliner is tricky. The owner is a shrewd businesswoman from the first sector. There’s absolutely no correlation between the two.” He paused. “As I’ve said before, we may want to choose two smaller passenger ships instead.”
“That splits Ember’s attention four ways instead of three,” Stefan said. “We’re pushing it as is. And we chose that particular spaceliner because of its core. The other options are all older models requiring turbinex fuel, which we can’t get on our evacuation route.”
Captain Terrance frowned.
“All you need is a rich passenger,” Reina said from the doorway.
Everyone turned. Reina let the door close behind her, cutting off the startled gaze of the door guard, and strode to the group. Brennan, who had just finished putting away his weapons, came over to join her.
“I thought you were taking a break,” Ember said to Reina, unable to hide her smile.
“It was a short one,” the flicker girl mumbled, looking uncomfortable at everyone’s attention on her.
“How would a rich passenger be the answer, Reina?” Stefan asked.
She shrugged. “Easy. A transportation company owns the passenger vessel, right? If one of their passengers happened to be the guy who also owned the farming-district ships and felt like the convoy was unsafe, it makes sense they’d pull out everyone involved.”
Brennan frowned. “But that isn’t the case.” The female pilot nodded, probably thinking the same thing.
“It doesn’t have to be true,” Reina said. “They just have to think it is. Captain, what identity did you assign us?”
“Parts and equipment. I didn’t specify what type. We could pretend it’s related to the farming industry, I suppose.” The captain looked thoughtful.
Stefan ran a hand through his unusually messy hair. “Hold on. There’s something we’re all neglecting to address, and that’s Ember’s capacity to do all this. She’s already sweeping three entire ships and taking over the pilots. The spaceliner alone probably has close to a thousand passengers. Now she has to break into the lead ship, too, and all at the same time? I’m not sure we can ask that of her.” He refused to look Ember’s direction.
There it was. Not only had he addressed the entire room except Ember, he’d basically challenged her role in this. It wasn’t a surprise after their last conversation, but it was definitely a disappointment he would doubt her so publicly. Every pair of eyes in the room turned to Ember now. Mar’s expression was one of pity. If they hadn’t guessed Ember and Stefan were having problems, this confirmed it.
He’ll always choose the others over you.
“I’m perfectly capable,” Ember said through gritted teeth. The shadow and Stefan were both wrong—the shadow because Stefan was a good man, and Stefan because Ember would find a way to win today. No more hiding.
For the third time that day, Ember reached out mentally and scoured the area around them, searching for one light in particular. Ruben was nowhere to be seen. That meant Stefan was safe for now. She would make sure he stayed that way.
“Ember’s done it before,” Mar said, calling Ember back to the present. “I watched her wipe out several Empire ships at once when she was trying to save—” She choked on the word, then cleared her throat and looked down. That moment so long ago when Mar had helped Ember escape while leaving Stefan behind was a private one.
“Ember, are you absolutely sure?” Stefan gazed down at her, a hundred emotions blazing in his eyes. “We need to be certain you can handle this.” This. The virus, the shadow. The darkness overtaking her soul. The one factor that stood between them like a razor-wire fence. Their entire mission, and therefore the entire settlement, hung on it.
She met his gaze with determination. Whether she was sure or not didn’t matter. Her friends couldn’t take those ships without a devastating battle, and if they returned without those ships, they would die on the way to Helden Farr or under the vanguard’s brutal hand. She had little choice.
“I’ll do it,” Ember said firmly. “All four ships. I’ll need a detailed diagnostic on all four and any information we have on passengers so I recognize them on sight. Names if you have them.”
“We have a few. I’ll get you those after the meeting.” Captain Terrance rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. The other flickers have their assignments monitoring each security fighter. They’ll buy us time while Lady Flare completes her task.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” the pilot asked, drumming her fingers on the metal armrest of her seat. “It seems like a whole lot is riding on one person.”
“Then we pull out of formation and make a run for it. I doubt they’ll find us worth the effort of a chase.” The captain stopped pacing and approached the screen. “Now, let’s go over our assignments again. Reina, you have the second division here.”
As Terrance went on, Ember thought of her revolutionaries, who were packing their belongings right now, preparing to evacuate before the vanguard arrived. She thought of those with stomach problems who would be grateful for the food Ember was about to steal. She thought of Syd, who couldn’t wait for the opportunity to fight for the cause, and of Amai, who dreaded the day she’d lose her daughter. Even General Pyne. So many people depended on Ember to get this right.
Please, stars, she prayed. I know you gave me this gift for a reason. Let me use it for good instead of harm. Let me save my friends.
Fool, her shadow responded. You supplicate the stars, yet they’ve given you everything you need already. If you only knew the power we wield, no feat would seem impossible.
The shadow had a very different purpose. Ember had seen it when she defeated Ruben that day. It longed for power like an animal dying of thirst. But its remark gave her strength. Shadow or light, life or death, she would come out a victor tonight. There was simply no alternative.
Ember had never seen a convoy in real life before. It had seemed intimidating enough as a simple graphic. But as they approached the giant mass of ships in the distance, Ember realized the gravity of what they were about to do.
Captain Terrance was right about the formation. The cluster moved like a giant diamond-shaped asteroid field. As the pilots zoomed in for a better look, Ember swallowed hard. The individual ships ranged from old to new, large to small, from varying degrees of black and gray to the brightly colored passenger cruise ships. It was something incredible to behold.
“Amazing,” Mar breathed. She stood on Ember’s right side, staring at the screen.
“Biggest convoy in the galaxy,” Captain Terrance said to her left. “Probably everywhere else, too. It’s nearly impossible to be accepted, let alone this late.” His prior excitement was gone now, replaced with a deep frown.
Ember looked at him in surprise. “How did you convince them to make an exception, then?”
“I used my mother’s name. She was well respected in the industry.” His expression darkened even more.
The man had just defiled his mother’s name, turning on her lifelong business and becoming a pirate. No wonder his smile was gone. Successful or not, this mission would cost the captain dearly.
“Thank you,” she said softly. He simply nodded, his hands behind his back. It was a good reminder about their purpose. This mission was about survival, but it was also about freedom.
She leaned over and lowered her voice so Mar wouldn’t overhear. “You could have made a lot of money in the transportation business. But you joined the revolution instead. Why?”
“I did make a lot of money. At least before the Empire tripled our taxes.” His eyebrows drew together. “We quickly fell behind, and they ate up the family business. My mother was devastated. She left a lot of debt behind when she died.”
Ember caught the undercurrent of pain in his words. It reminded her of her conversation wi
th Reina. We’ve all lost someone. All of us. So this teamster had abandoned his former life, joined the Union, and quickly climbed the ranks despite his lack of combat experience. She could see why General Pyne respected him, even if the two didn’t agree.
“Anything yet?” Terrance asked the pilot, and then the moment was gone. This time it was the husband who shook his head. Both pilots had their hands full, pulling up a dozen views each and following the shipmaster’s instructions. They spoke to each other in low tones. Even in the midst of an important mission like this, Ember detected a fondness for each other in their words. It reminded her of a moment months before when a similar couple had been captured by the Empire.
Dear Harlow. Did he look down upon Ember from the stars? Was he now reunited with the woman he loved, the woman Ember had torn so abruptly from this life? She still had the occasional nightmare about that day. So much death. She just had to accomplish this mission and get her people to safety. Then she would continue where Harlow had left off.
Stefan stood on the opposite side of the room, his jaw tight, his stance rigid. Any moment, they would receive the approach invitation from the lead ship. It still looked like a tangled spider’s web of metal and fuel from here, but as they grew closer, she saw how each ship kept its speed and maintained a careful distance on all sides. Caravanning was a system that had flourished on Earth for centuries—from camels to sailing vessels to airships near the end before the Great Exodus.
And equally old was the concept of piracy.
For a moment Ember was tempted to reach out and find the shipmaster to see what was taking so long. But she held back. She couldn’t have any enemy flickers sensing her touch before they were in position.
“There it is,” the male pilot said, his fingers flying over a display in the upper right panel by his head. “I was beginning to think it was a hoax. Loading instructed route now.”
