by Kate Rudolph
As hard as it was to believe, though, she and Xandr seemed to be the farthest thing from the duke’s mind. The estate was in an uproar with the impending imperial visit and servants and androids were running all over the place trying to make it fit for royal company. The place already looked like a palace, so Andie wasn’t sure what they had to do, but the busier they were the less attention was paid to her. And even if being back at the house where the rest of the crew was being held might lessen the risk of another beating, Andie wouldn’t have willingly gone. Xandr needed a friend among these snakes, someone to keep him safe and remind him what they were fighting for.
He spent a lot of his days outside of the room, casually wandering, familiarizing himself with the house after ten years away, and not so casually making note of possible entry and exit points that the crew could utilize when the time came.
Andie had confined herself to the room, only leaving for a few minutes each day to stretch her legs. She didn’t return to the garden, didn’t want to have another encounter with the duchess. The guards didn’t comment on her daily sojourns, so she let them grow longer and longer as the days went by. And two days before the visit was due to start her wandering paid off.
“I demand to speak with the duke! He can’t keep avoiding me.” It was a masculine voice and one that sounded alarmingly familiar. Whoever he was stood in the entry hall as servants flocked around him carrying decorations and cleaning products. Andie peered around a corner to get a better look, but all she saw was dark hair and a dark coat, the man’s back to her as he berated a servant.
“I—I—he’s not—I’ll get his secretary.” The small Oscavian man fled down a different hall.
Andie’s survival instincts told her to retreat—she didn’t want the duke to see her—but her curiosity had grown stronger since she’d left Ixilta and she was rooted in the spot.
“Tell him it’s Nevys!” the man yelled after the servant.
Andie stood up a bit straighter. Nevys? The same man that had interrupted their jewel heist and sold their pictures to the duke? There was no way Mebion wanted him here. The man was an outlaw and a slaver and an imperial prince would be arriving within a day. Members of his retinue could already be on planet.
She counted off the seconds, hoping it would settle her down as she waited to see what would happen next. This could be just the break the crew needed to pull off their plan. Nevys was a complication the duke couldn’t want, not right now, and that was something they could use.
Maybe.
“Captain Nevys, this is a surprise.” That wasn’t the duke’s voice, but the accent was cultured Oscavian. It must have been the secretary that the servant had mentioned. “I’m afraid that the duke is unavailable at the moment and you will need to schedule a meeting through the proper channels to deal with your... ahem... business.”
So the secretary knew that Nevys was shady. Was he an active participant in the slave trade? She filed the question away for later, it was no use getting hung up on it now.
“If he wants this shit done in a timely fashion he needs to pay me in a timely fashion. That much merchandise is hard to move in—”
“Captain!” the secretary cut him off. “This is certainly not the place to discuss his grace’s affairs.”
“I’m going to discuss them anywhere until I get my money,” he growled, sinister and low.
Though she couldn’t see him, she could practically picture the defeated slump of the secretary’s shoulders. “Very well. If you would please follow me. I’m sure we can sort something out.”
They kept talking, but their voices grew too faint to hear and Andie slipped back down towards the wing she and Xandr were being held in, eager to share her news.
Xandr was freshly showered and laying on the bed when she got back, and her mind blanked out for a minute at the sight before her. She wanted to throw her clothes off and climb over him, remind him of the connection that had blossomed between them and the future they could have as soon as they were free.
When she closed the door he smiled at her and her heart flipped over. It didn’t matter how shitty the situation was. They had each other and that made all the hardship worth it.
She hoped.
“You’re never going to believe who I just saw.” She kept her voice low, as if there was someone else who might be listening, even behind the thick bedroom door.
Xandr put the tablet aside and sat up a little straighter. “Who?”
“Nevys.”
That got her man’s attention. He sat forward, eyes wide. “Why?”
Andie told him what she’d seen, but as she relayed the tale she realized just how little that was. They’d already known that Nevys had some sort of business arrangement with the duke. The only new information was that he was on planet.
Xandr rolled off the bed, the need to move seizing him. “He can’t want Nevys here.”
“No shit. No one wants their shady partner on the property when a prince is going to show up.” At least that’s what Andie assumed; she’d never come close enough to a prince to have to plan for it.
“He must be using Nevys to hide the slaves.”
“And he’s cheaping out at the last minute.” Not a smart decision, but the duke seemed to get transfixed on one thing and make mistakes in other areas. Mistakes like keeping her and Xandr together, or not paying his contractors. “Can we use this?”
Xandr thought for a moment. “Maybe.”
IT DIDN’T TAKE MUCH work to convince Ceetr to let him attend the ball. After all, Xandr was still his brother and he’d never been formally stripped of his title. He had rights, and attending official functions was one of them. Keana might have been able to make a similar argument given her family connections, but she and the crew were playing a different role tonight.
If things went wrong...
He pushed the thought from his mind. He would not let things go wrong, wouldn’t let his crew get hurt even more by his brother’s machinations. They were going to pull this off and get out. It was flashier than their normal jobs, riskier too, but if—when—it worked, they’d be free. He’d be free.
Andie whistled behind him. “Now that is a sight to see.”
The robes he wore were old, scrounged from a trunk in his closet and altered to fit his larger form. He wasn’t the same scrawny twenty-one year old that he’d been when he left. But the outfit of dark silk embroidered with subtle golden roses was more timeless than outdated, and he doubted anyone would comment. At least not to his face, and he couldn’t care about gossip. It wouldn’t matter after tonight. He was never coming back here.
Xandr turned and saw Andie eyeing him hungrily, her eyes roving up and down his body. “You like?”
“Hell yeah.” She was sitting on the edge of the bed and had her fingers curled in one of the blankets as if forcing herself not to get up and touch him. “I only get to see you in nice clothes when we’re pulling jobs. You make stuffy robes look good.”
“Stuffy?” He’d never been much of an adherent to fashion, but that sounded wrong to him. “I’d call this elegant.”
“Elegantly stuffy then.” She pushed off the bed and stalked toward him, laying a hand on his chest and wrapping her other hand around the back of his neck to pull his head down for a kiss. He didn’t want to pull back, but they couldn’t let it go further, not tonight, not when everything was riding on the mission. And they seemed to realize that at the same second, separating with one final kiss. “I’ll see you on the other side. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” It wasn’t a goodbye, no matter what it felt like as he stepped out the door to their quarters and headed toward the receiving hall, where the festivities would be starting shortly. Andie wouldn’t be in their room for long, but she had to stay until the party got under way and Ceetr’s guards were more focused on the guests than the residents of the estate.
Ceetr and Zeesa stood at the heart of the receiving line as guests began to enter the grand room. It
had been decorated to highlight the strength of the Oscavian Empire and emphasize Mebion’s loyalty to the emperor. Xandr would rather be just about anywhere else, but to make sure the crew had enough time to do their parts he had to do his. And as the younger brother of the Duke of Mebion, it was his duty to stand at the side of the duke and duchess and welcome their guests.
“Ready to enjoy your final night of freedom, brother?” Ceetr murmured as Xandr slid in next to him and began greeting guests alongside him.
“You are optimistic,” Xandr replied with a fake smile on his face.
“If your woman has not convinced you already, perhaps its time for a harsher lesson.” That was loud enough for Zeesa to hear and she shot a concerned glance at both of them but said nothing as someone in a glaringly blue outfit dragged her attention away.
Xandr caged his anger. Lashing out at Mebion now would ruin everything, and from the gleam in his brother’s eye he could see that it was what he wanted. Assaulting the duke was a serious crime, and doing so in front of his esteemed guests would play right into his hands. “I was always the better student,” Xandr said, keeping his tone even. “And you were never a great teacher.”
It had been a point of pride when he was a boy that many of his tutors said he was the better academic, and it had always needled Ceetr, who thought being best was his birthright. But this wasn’t a schoolroom and the stakes were much higher than any mark ever could be.
“You can end this whenever you want. We both know what you are, don’t you think you owe that truth to the world?” Mebion turned away to greet another guest before Xandr could respond.
And for that Xandr was grateful. A half dozen rejoinders sat on the tip of his tongue and any one of them would have given the game away. Mebion had to think they were beaten, had to think he was scrambling for a way out of this mess. The scrambling would come later, Xandr was sure—something was bound to go wrong, it always did—but he’d worry about it when the time came.
The receiving line went on and on, and Xandr found himself sinking back into a skin he hadn’t worn since he’d fled Mebion. Lord Karday Xandran could stand for hours and offer pleasantries without losing his placid expression. He never gave a hint that it was a waste of time, that he had better things to do, and those that met him always commented on what a nice individual he was. His skin was tight and itchy as he played that old part, but Xandr played it well, and by the time they were done receiving guests he’d heard enough whispers to know that the attendees who remembered him were pleasantly surprised by his attendance.
Why had Ceetr hidden his absence? Clearly no one knew he was an outlaw better suited for the vacuum of space than a vacuous party. Ceetr could have stripped him of his title long ago and tried him in absentia, but he hadn’t. Perhaps he had just wanted to see Xandr’s face when he was defeated, but it was strange. And it was probably something he’d never know.
A hush swept through the room as the doors opened and the guest of honor arrived, Prince Ryxar. Ceetr met him in the middle of the grand room, his arms extended and a smile on his face as he introduced the prince to all and led him to the most important people in the room, pointedly ignoring Xandr.
That was fine and expected, and with the arrival of the prince, Xandr felt anticipation heat his blood. Zeesa caught his eye for a moment and sent him a questioning glance, but Xandr’s expression didn’t give anything away. Zeesa had done as much for him as she could without risking herself, but she wasn’t a member of his crew and he wasn’t going to trust her with their lives. With the prince in the room it was time to move. He wished he had comms so he could know if the rest of the crew was on schedule, but he had to trust them and play his part.
It was time to go home.
CHAPTER NINE
SECURITY ON THE ESTATE had clearly turned to focus on making sure nothing went wrong with the Oscavian prince. Andie snuck out of her room and managed to get past the main grounds and well on her way towards the house where the crew was being kept without once being challenged by a guard. She had to be on alert to avoid the electronic sensors, but they were easy enough to spot. The whole Mebion estate was too focused on the big event to pay attention to one woman taking a walk, even if that woman was a hostage.
It was a bit trickier when she made it to the house. Guards walked a rotation that didn’t leave a meter unwatched. Misdirection could have gotten her inside, but freeing the crew wasn’t enough. No one could know they were gone until they were ready for it. If the guards ran away to investigate something suspicious and came back to find their prisoners gone, they’d sound the alarm and the game would be up.
But Andie wasn’t a fighter and she didn’t have a weapon.
All she’d managed to take from the estate was a small flashlight. The beam was strong enough to make her wince and she hoped it reached the house from where she was hidden. She flashed it towards an upper story window, blinking the light as quickly as she could. When she saw a guard look up she cut the light and held her breath, hoping she hadn’t been spotted. The lights in the room flicked off and then two seconds later flicked back on. It could have been a coincidence, but Andie didn’t think so. The crew knew to look for her. That was a signal.
And two minutes later the guards went running towards the house. Andie wanted to run after them, but she forced herself to stay still. The rest of the crew had to handle that fight and she’d just get in the way. After several more minutes of quiet the upstairs light flashed on and off again and Andie took that for a signal, breaking her cover and running towards the house.
The main room looked like a tornado had ripped through it, the couch flipped over and things scattered across the floor. Kiran rubbed at his cheek where a bruise was blossoming and Sayevi’s shirt was ripped. Otherwise everyone looked fine, though she realized Malax and Taryn were missing.
“Guards?” she asked.
“Being tied up downstairs as we speak,” Keana replied. A moment later the missing crew members came out of the hidden staircase. Taryn tossed something at Keana, who studied it for a moment before putting it in her pocket. “Comms,” she explained to the group. “We can listen in, make sure we’re out of range.” She turned her gaze to Andie. “Any last minute changes?”
Andie shook her head. “All good on my end. I snuck away when the prince arrived. No one was looking my way.”
“And the captain?”
“At the party,” Andie confirmed. “He left about two hours ago.” And she couldn’t confirm that he was still there, but they all had to know that, so Andie kept any stupid doubts quiet. This thing would only work if they all trusted each other to get their jobs done. Xandr had to stay at that party, had to keep eyes on Mebion and the prince or this all went to hell very fast.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Keana, slipping into her leadership role. She’d only been captain for a little while, but she’d been first mate for almost as long as Xandr had run his ship. She could lead the crew on a mission just as well as him.
With the guards tied up in the servants’ quarters, they didn’t need to move with the utmost stealth, but that didn’t mean they weren’t careful. Zeesa had managed to give Xandr the information the crew needed and Andie relayed it as Sayevi drove them in a stolen vehicle to a large farm on the very edge of the Mebion estate.
The place was teeming with action and no one noticed the extra vehicle. Andie’s stomach roiled as she saw lines of people with their heads bowed being led to large shipping containers that could easily be transferred from land vehicles to space ships. There were Oscavians, humans, and half a dozen other races that Andie didn’t recognize, but they all stood the same, just the same as she had stood back when she’d lived on Ixilta. Defeated. Cowed. Hopeless. There were dozens of them, more than enough to overpower the people herding them like cattle, but no one was fighting back.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to. Andie didn’t need to get close to know that rage roiled in the guts of every single captive out there
. But at a certain point they’d all realized there was no use. No one was coming to save them and survival would stretch on in misery until it couldn’t stretch anymore.
She’d been lucky. Ixilta was a terrible place where a placid surface masked the violence that kept the planet running. But she’d had a modicum of freedom. No choice in job or accommodation, but she hadn’t been worked to the bone, hadn’t been violated by grabbing hands and probing tongues. If she’d closed her eyes and let herself forget how she’d gotten there, there were times she could almost imagine she was free. It had been a trick of the mind to protect herself, something that became clearer every day she lived with Xandr and his crew, and she couldn’t stand to watch as these people were loaded up like inconvenient things. People weren’t possessions.
A hand landed on her forearm and she looked over to see Keana watching her. “How are you holding up?” the first mate asked.
“I’ve had better days,” Andie answered honestly. “Can we fuck shit up now?”
Keana grinned, and it was the first time Andie could remember seeing the expression on her face. “Let’s give Nevys what he has coming to him.”
Sayevi stopped the car behind a small shed that shielded the crew from view. Keana, Andie, Taryn, and Kiran got out while Malax and Hayk stayed with the pilot. Andie’s group could have used Hayk’s considerable martial skills, but the prisoners were more likely to need a doctor than she needed an extra set of fists. And if things went well, they wouldn’t be fighting much anyway.
“Good hunting,” Keana told Sayevi, Hayk, and Malax before turning away. She waved the rest of their group on and Andie followed closely, anticipation thrumming in her veins. It was time to mess things up.
XANDR HADN’T REALIZED how much he relied on his comms until he was standing alone in the ballroom and waiting for a sign of how things were going. He offered smiles and greetings to the attendees who acknowledged him and ignored those who didn’t, but he played his role with only half his mind, the rest preoccupied on what the crew was doing.
