by Kate Rudolph
He made his way back to the garden and into the maze. It was a danger to meet in public, but if they were caught in private all hopes of carrying out their mission would dissolve. Zeesa was already there, ready and waiting. She stared at the fountain as Xandr approached. “Have you thought about it?” she asked.
“Do you know what he did?” The image of Andie curled up in pain wouldn’t be leaving his mind any time soon and rage flowed in his veins, burning out the blood and leaving something far hotter and more violent in its path.
Zeesa gave a slight nod, her expression pinched. “He’s grown more reckless in the past six months. I thought getting her off the estate would cool things down.”
“Which her are we talking about?” Xandr asked. Last he’d checked, Andie was in his room while they waited to see what Ceetr’s next move would be. And then he remembered Andie mentioning that Keana had been returned to the crew. “What did he do?”
Zeesa shrugged. “A bit of roughhousing. Her father was there to make sure things didn’t get out of hand.”
He needed to get off this planet. It looked peaceful and prosperous, but it was the kind of place where a parent thought nothing of letting their child be beaten for disobedience. Xandr didn’t know what to say so he let his silence speak for him.
Zeesa picked up the slack. “If you are ready to do what needs to be done, I can give you a place. It must be swift and I cannot protect you if you’re caught, but I might be able to get you off the planet. I’ll need some record that you’ve renounced your claim to the title.”
He would have admired her dogged determination in other circumstances. She was a hell of a duchess, of a leader, and Xandr had never wanted to rule a planet. Perhaps her determination to kill someone should have given him pause, but his hands weren’t clean on that account so he couldn’t judge. But he could ask. “Why can’t you do it?”
“I could.” She stood and turned to face the fountain, watching the water flow. “But then I would be arrested and executed and my daughter cut off from succession. I have brought her up to be everything Mebion needs, even though she’s only a child. I can act as her regent until she comes of age, but only if I am above reproach.”
“And you trust I won’t betray you?” If he wanted he could take this scheme to his brother and perhaps sell out Zeesa to buy his freedom. He wouldn’t, but he’d been an outlaw for a decade and Zeesa couldn’t know all of the shady things he’d done to keep himself and his crew going.
“You are many things, Karday, but betrayal has never been your style.” She offered him a sad smile as if she was delivering a grave insult and wanted to soften the blow.
Maybe she was. Imperial politics could be just as cutthroat as his life and he’d never had the stomach for it. “I can’t just murder him.” If it were combat or an honor challenge, something approaching fair, Xandr could do it. But he could not stab his brother in the back, no matter what he’d done. It was Andie who had convinced him when he was ready to charge off and end Ceetr the moment he saw him. Premeditated murder took a certain kind of man, and that wasn’t him.
“So what am I supposed to do?” She rounded on him and the frustration she carried was obvious. Zeesa hadn’t hatched this plan overnight; it must have been growing within her for years and she’d nurtured it until the right opportunity showed up for her to bring it to fruition. And now Xandr wasn’t ready to do her bidding. “I had Keana moved as a sign of goodwill. What more do you need from me?”
Of course she hadn’t done a kindness in the name of old friendship. “Getting rid of him your way could boost his reputation until his memory is unassailable.” He could imagine it now, the visionary duke struck down by his thieving, evil brother when he tried too hard to make Mebion a better place. “It will empower his allies. There’s nothing better than an assassination to make a ruler popular.” He’d seen it time and again in his travels, not to mention his studies when he’d been a boy. It wasn’t his main reason from shying away from Zeesa’s plan, but he needed to convince her of another path, and moral qualms weren’t likely to work.
“Are you saying there is no way to stop him?” She shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”
“We need to expose his crimes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s rich coming from you.” That barb stung, but Xandr didn’t let it show. “As you said, the people love him, no one will believe allegations that come from his outlaw brother.”
“Let me work on it. I need you to get me and Andie time with the crew, no one can know. We’ve pulled off bigger heists than this. And I need to know you won’t work this from another angle, won’t try to get someone else to do the job. If you let us, we’ll end him and your daughter will be elevated without the blood of her father on your hands.” It was the biggest job of his life, one he’d never imagined he could pull off. But as the possibilities swirled in his mind, Xandr liked his idea more and more.
“What are you proposing to do?” Zeesa asked cautiously.
Xandr grinned. “We’re going to steal a dukedom.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE GUARDS DIDN’T STOP Andie when she left Xandr’s room, and more than one saw her, so she must have not been restricted to his quarters. She didn’t stop to ask. Asking might have gotten her beaten, and she wasn’t about to risk that. Xandr hadn’t told her to stay put, though he’d clearly thought she would when he went off to plot with the disaffected duchess. Andie had stayed still for about an hour, but the longer she was cooped up with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company, the closer she got to panic. And if Mebion planned to have her beaten again she didn’t want to be waiting for him in the last place he’d put her. So she left a note for Xandr telling him she was taking a walk and did exactly that.
The estate was a thing of beauty, all stone and glass with huge windows that looked out over extensive grounds. She’d imagined that Mebion would live in a castle, but this place wasn’t fortified in the least, which was almost scarier. He didn’t need to live behind fortifications to be safe. It must have been nice to be the duke. But she was glad Xandr didn’t have the title. She’d take her outlaw over all the finery any day. Especially when she knew the finery covered up the darkness at the core.
She had no destination in mind, but when she found a door that led to the gardens, Andie took her exit and breathed deep of the sweet air. Being on a nice smelling planet was a welcome break from the dusty, barren rocks they normally touched down on and she could appreciate the air without liking anything else. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen flowers growing like this. They sprang up in beds all around her and a path led to tall, groomed hedges that obscured the rest of the garden from view. It reminded her of home, not that she’d actually seen so much greenery back on Earth, but she remembered pictures and media shows that were explosions of plant life that had seemed almost impossible to imagine.
Mebion had greenery aplenty. It would take a lot of rot to make a person give it all up for a metal can and recycled air. She wondered what it would have taken for her. Would she have been able to walk away like Xandr did? Or would she have accepted the darkness in exchange for the creature comforts? She didn’t want to examine the question too closely, afraid she wouldn’t like the answer.
“This is a private garden,” a cultured voice said from somewhere near the hedges. Andie noticed the dress first, a light yellow that seemed made of sunshine and silk that rustled around in the gentle wind. The dress matched the yellow of the woman’s hair and contrasted with her dark purple skin. She was beauty and grace personified, and the Andie of a few months ago would have scurried away, afraid of what damage the woman could do to her. But she was no longer the Andie that had been kept on Ixilta for six years. She was stronger now, and she didn’t need to run at the first sight of danger.
“I’m sorry,” Andie responded, staying firmly rooted in place. “I didn’t see a sign.”
The woman’s lip curled up into a wry grin. “The residents
of this house do not need signs.”
“I’m more of a... guest.” Prisoner. Hostage. Pawn. Plenty of words and none of them nice. But Xandr had a plan and they had a crew. They would be out of here soon and this whole place would be nothing more than a bitter memory.
“I know who you are. My husband has never been good at keeping secrets from me.” The woman stepped out of the hedges and approached. She was taller than Andie and built like a dancer.
Andie glanced around, checking for guards or anyone else that might be listening, but they seemed to be alone. She was pretty sure this was Zeesa, Xandr’s old flame and his brother’s wife. She hadn’t planned to meet the woman, and looking at her now she had to cling tightly to the words of love that Xandr had given her just that morning. She hadn’t really thought about what Zeesa might look like, but she hadn’t expected this graceful goddess that tended her garden and spoke with the authority of a queen. Or a duchess, as the case might be. “Your grace,” Andie acknowledged with a nod, betting she was right. She didn’t bow, though, remembering her etiquette lessons at the last moment.
Zeesa nodded right back, confirming Andie’s suspicion. “You are...” The duchess pursed her lips as she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Andie said nothing. In running with the crew, she’d learned that a person could learn a lot from knowing when to keep quiet, and now was certainly the time for that.
“He never developed a taste for the finer things, did he? Despite all this.” Zeesa crouched and plucked a blue flower from its stem, running her fingers over the petals.
Was that meant to be an insult for Andie or for Xandr? Maybe Zeesa was aiming for both. Suddenly this conversation had less to do with ducal politics and more to do with mean girl bullshit. It was a different flavor than Andie had dealt with on the ship, but she could manage just the same. And Zeesa’s barb had the opposite of its intended effect. If Zeesa thought Xandr still had feelings for her, she wouldn’t need to scare Andie away from him. Not if she thought she could have him if she just asked. Xandr had said it wasn’t a love match, but maybe that had only been his opinion. Or maybe Zeesa had caught a glance of this grown up version of Xandr and wanted to trade one brother in for the other.
It didn’t matter. Xandr was hers. He loved her, she loved him, and she wasn’t giving him up to an ethereal duchess just because the woman wanted him.
“Since I’ve known him, he’s been able to see past the surface to the value underneath.” Trading barbs might not have been the wisest decision for Andie’s help, but she couldn’t stop herself. Not when this felt almost normal in this abnormal place.
“He could have a real life here,” Zeesa pressed, changing tack like the experienced politician she was. If Andie was a little less versed in bullshit she might have thought they were just casually speaking, but there was nothing casual about this. “Once things change a bit, he can help fix the problems and want for nothing.”
The point resonated, even if Andie didn’t want it to. Life on an outlaw ship could be hard, and there were days their supplies ran low and they had to make days of rations last for weeks. “If you think I make Xandr do anything, you’re mistaken. If he wants to stay when this is all done, he’ll stay.”
“Even when you leave?”
Andie shrugged. She didn’t think so, not after that morning, not after the way he’d tended her wounds and told her he loved her. Not after they’d made promises to one another. But she wasn’t going to tie him up and drag him to a ship if he decided that Mebion was where he belonged. And if he wanted to stay, she would do her best to stay with him. If that was what he wanted.
“The guards will be doing their rounds shortly,” the duchess warned. “I suggest you get out of sight.”
Andie gave the duchess one final look before retreating. She didn’t trust the woman, but she wasn’t about to risk an encounter with potentially violent guards just to prove something.
There was no one in this place she could trust, no one but her man and her crew, and they needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
IT TOOK A DAY FOR ZEESA to come through, and every hour that ticked by Xandr was certain that Ceetr would make his next move. He hadn’t come to hurt Andie again, nor had he taken her away, but the constant threat put both of them on edge and had them jumping at every loud sound. As far as tortures went, this one was as simple as it was effective and Xandr hated his brother even more for it.
But just past midnight a servant came to his room bearing a note from the duchess and bid Xandr and Andie to follow her. It was their one chance and they didn’t waste time. She took them to the woods outside of the guest house and warned them they had less than an hour before anyone would be missed. It was as good as they could hope for, so Xandr didn’t complain and Andie followed his lead.
A few minutes later footsteps alerted them to the presence of the rest of the crew and when everyone was accounted for Xandr felt like he could breathe deeply for the first time since coming to the planet.
Sayevi, Kiran, Hayk, Taryn, and Malax were all looking at him like he was a stranger, while Keana was favoring her side and leaned against a tree for support. Whatever had been done to her was worse than Zeesa had said, but she was standing and she wouldn’t want to be coddled. Besides, they didn’t have time for coddling.
“I’m sorry,” were the first words out of his mouth. He’d been saying it a lot lately, and it got easier every time he tried. “I should have told you why the duke was after me. You had the right to make a decision on whether to stay or go. Once we’re out of here, I’ll understand if anyone wants to resign.”
They were all silent for several beats and Xandr steeled himself for rejection. Andie stood next to him, but even her presence wasn’t enough to cover the potential hurt of his crew leaving him. But then Hayk shook his head. “We’re with you, captain. Finding a good crew isn’t easy. No reason to let some family squabble break us up.” It was the most he’d ever heard Hayk say outside of a medical setting, and the doctor seemed to speak for the rest of the crew as well.
Andie rubbed her hand against his shoulder in encouragement and Xandr let the rest of his apologies drop. He could spend all of their time together groveling, or they could use it to plan, and for a plan this complex he’d normally want weeks. Hours weren’t enough, and now they were down to a few dozen minutes.
“We’ve been working on a way out,” Kiran said, sparing a glance at Keana, who nodded at him to continue. “But it has some serious flaws. We haven’t been able to figure out how to get everyone to the ship, and we have no way of communicating with Keana’s contact.”
That sounded more like a dream than a plan, but Xandr nodded and listened as Kiran spoke. When he was done he let the gravity of the situation hang over the group for a few seconds before speaking. “We can run away. There’s no shame in surviving. But if we leave things how they are, we’ll never be free. The duke will find us again, and if he gets us back here a second time he won’t make any mistakes.”
“What are you suggesting?” Keana leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “We ran for a reason.”
“We can stop the duke here and now. Take his power away from him and make it so he’s never a threat to us or anyone else again. He’s been facilitating the slave trade through this region of the empire and that’s reason enough to stop him, as far as I’m concerned. But he’s also hurt this crew. I can’t do this alone. And what I’m planning is risky. If we fail, it’s a guarantee that we’ll be remanded to one of the central planets to face a court almost certain to convict us of capital crimes. So everyone has to agree about our path.” He’d had a day to work through the plan with Andie, but they couldn’t manage it with only two people, not even with the most help that Zeesa could afford to give. And the longer Xandr thought about the plan, the more he wanted to pull it off. But he wasn’t lying. If the crew wanted to back out now, they’d find a way to flee. Their survival meant more to him than vengeance.
Sayevi n
odded at Hayk, who shared a long glance with Kiran, while Taryn and Malax held hands and had matching expressions of determination on their faces. “We’re in, captain,” Sayevi spoke for the group. “We trust you.”
He couldn’t let how much those words affected him show on his face, not if he wanted this meeting to be productive, so Xandr kept his expression as blank as he could manage and offered Sayevi a nod. “There will be a fete to celebrate an Oscavian prince who is visiting at the end of the week. He’s our only chance of taking Mebion out. Mebion is the absolute authority on this planet, but he’s still answerable to any member of the royal family. We need to get the prince to understand what’s been going on here, how Mebion has been breaking the laws regarding slavery.”
“How are we going to do that?” asked Keana, challenge dancing in her eyes. “Last time we tried that our testimony was ignored.”
Ten years ago they’d tried to report Mebion the first time they caught him taking money from slavers. They’d gone to Xandr’s father, who had summoned Ceetr to answer the accusation. It hadn’t gone well.
“We’re not kids anymore,” Xandr responded, the sting of his brother’s betrayal still a bitter memory after all these years. “We aren’t going to make the same mistakes.”
“But what exactly are we going to do?”
He clenched his jaw. “Still working on that.” If they didn’t pull this off, they were doomed, and if he didn’t think of something soon, he’d just condemned his entire crew to death.
CHAPTER EIGHT
HER NERVES WERE GOING to shatter if something didn’t happen soon. After beating her up and dumping her with Xandr, Mebion had ignored Andie for the better part of a week. She and Xandr had taken every minute they could spare to brainstorm what they were going to do to bring Mebion’s crimes to light, but they were both on edge, waiting for Mebion to move against them again.
