by Aileen Erin
Captain ni Eneko hit play, and I stepped closer to the vidscreen. “When is this footage from?” I assumed he’d found some people he thought might be spies there, but it was hard to make out anything specific from such a distant perspective.
“This is a live feed of the market right now,” Captain ni Eneko said.
“Really?” If he’d found some spies, this would be an excellent opportunity to catch them.
I tried to scan through the people, but they were too small and way too many of them. I might as well have been trying to find specific ants on a hill.
I glanced at Captain ni Eneko, but he was looking at me with such hope that I didn’t want to ask for more clarification. Clearly he thought he’d found something, but I wasn’t seeing it.
I glanced at Roan, and he looked excited. Eshrin shrugged when I turned to him, and Fynea shook her head. Okay. So, it wasn’t just me that was confused. Fynea and Eshrin were with me. But Roan knew something.
I stared at the screen again for a minute before giving up. “Okay. What am I supposed to be seeing?”
Roan laughed like he’d won a bet. “See. Told you she wouldn’t get it without more explanation.”
I knew it. I knew that laugh. They’d definitely bet on me. “Are you telling me you saw something in this mess?” Because there was no way Roan could’ve seen anything. There were too many people and the view was too far away.
Roan shook his head with the grin still on his face. “Nah. I needed an explanation, too, but I think he has found something.”
“Here. I’ll explain a little.” Captain ni Eneko tapped something, and three of the figures in the market were now bright blue. “Look at them.”
The figures were on different floors. Nothing that I was seeing tied them together. Except they must be. Especially if Roan was this excited. He loved—loved—finding SpaceTech spies.
And then it happened. One of them pumped their fist in the air. Suspect found.
There were a few ways to spot a SpaceTech officer. The first way was the way they stood—stiff, straight, as if they had no soul, as if only their submission to SpaceTech kept them alive.
The next was the way they scanned the streets. Up, down. Left. Right. Up, down. Move.
The last way to spot them were their signals. Their signals weren’t as involved or as many as what the Aunare used. It wasn’t because Earther officers couldn’t learn more, but SpaceTech liked to keep their underlings from thinking too hard. There were really only about ten hand signals. No one used them except for SpaceTech officers, but anyone trying to live under the radar knew them.
There was a ripple of the movement through the market as all of the blue figures converged. They stopped in front of another, and then did a quick about face, going off again in different directions.
Guess it wasn’t who they thought it was.
“Who was it?”
“One moment. Having that sent to me now.” A second later, Captain ni Eneko laughed. “This girl.” He put a picture on the screen, and I had to laugh, too.
“Close, but that’s definitely not me.”
Although there were a few similarities. Our hair was the same color, and she wore it straight down her back, like I often did. She was wearing mostly black, and for whatever reason, she had my father’s blue raven on her shirt, but that was where the similarities ended. Her eyes were the wrong color. She was shorter than most Aunare, which meant still taller than the average female Earther. But that still put her at least an inch taller than me.
The blue raven was confusing though. “Does she work at the estate?”
“Yes,” Fynea said. “That’s Gothea. She’s one of your father’s assistant’s assistant.”
I turned to her. “My father has assistants to his assistants?”
Fynea raised a brow. “You do realize he’s the Hand of the King and the Head of the Aunare Military.”
Fair point.
“When do I get an assistant?” Roan said. “Because I’m up all day and night coordinating her schedule.”
I turned to him. “You are?” Why hadn’t he said anything? And now I understood why he couldn’t come eat lunch with me and why his hair looked so poofy.
“You have no idea how many requests for meetings I get for you.” He ran his hands through his hair, making it even poofier. “They all have to get answered, even if it’s only a form of fuck off.”
“I didn’t realize it was that bad.” Fynea grabbed her tablet, and started tapping on it.
“Neither did I.” And now I felt like the worst friend ever. “I’m sorry. I—”
“Babe. Stop. It’s me. We’re fine.” He grinned. “Plus, I just won a bet because of you, and I’m not sharing any of the pot.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’m setting up some interviews for you tomorrow.” Fynea looked up from her tablet to stare at Roan. “Will that suit?”
“Hell yeah. Frosty.” Roan rubbed his hands together. “I’m all about it.”
Captain ni Eneko cleared his throat. “And back to this? If you don’t mind?” He motioned to the screen.
I glanced at Roan. I didn’t need to say it. We were close enough to do a sort of mind read that didn’t involve any actual mind reading. Sometimes it felt like we shared a brain. When I looked into his eyes, I saw the same thing I knew would be in my eyes.
Excitement.
Determination.
And damn it, my father would definitely not approve of me going to Ra’mi myself, and I was pretty sure Lorne would have a thing or two to say about it as well. But I had a decision to make.
Go to Ra’mi Market and capture the spies?
Or stay home and let someone else risk themselves for me?
Only I could decide how I was going to rule.
My father might be right that I didn’t need to be in hand-to-hand combat mode all the time, but I wasn’t. I’d done the interview with Himani weeks ago and won the support of the Aunare.
I’d prepared to fire the High Council, and when the chance came today, I’d been ready. Fired and gone.
I hadn’t done either on impulse, and neither had anything to do with fighting in the gym.
But this—going to Ra’mi market and taking down those spies myself—that was what I was good at.
I wasn’t sure what my mission was, but I knew who I was and it had nothing to do with a title.
I had to do what I felt was right, and this morning, it’d been firing the High Council.
Right now, it was making sure we captured these spies alive. Because if we were really spread too thin, then we needed more information about what SpaceTech was planning and what exactly they were capable of with lucole. We didn’t have near enough information on either.
This twisting feeling in my gut meant that I was about to do something that would piss off everyone but could also end up saving them all.
“They’re looking for me,” I said to Captain ni Eneko.
“Yes. I believe that’s correct.”
“We don’t want to disappoint them.” Captain ni Eneko started to speak, but I kept talking. “They’re missing men. SpaceTech always goes in units of six or eight. It’s always an even number. So far, you’ve found three. So, we need to keep an eye out for the rest of the unit, and keep an open mind that there might be more than one unit at the market or nearby.” I started to head to the door, but Captain ni Eneko stepped in my way.
“It’s not necessary that you put yourself in danger,” he said. “I just want to know how I should best approach them. I want them all.” The way he said it told me he’d had enough of SpaceTech invading his city.
While I understood and appreciated his feelings, there was no way I was staying out of this fight.
I glanced at Eshrin. He’d been silently watching the whole exchange. If I went to the market, my guards would go, too. Which meant their lives would be in danger. I cared much more about what he thought than Captain ni Eneko.
He pressed his fist to his heart
, and I knew what that meant. Where I went, he would go. He and the rest of my guards would protect me no matter what I decided.
But he knew that if anyone could catch SpaceTech spies, it was me. That’s why we’d been running holo-training missions to Earth. It was so that they could help me when I faced SpaceTech.
This would be a dress rehearsal. What better way to train?
“I’m going. My guards will—”
“That would put you in extreme danger,” Captain ni Eneko said. “You saw the second hand signal. Right?”
I had. I’d seen it, but I wasn’t afraid.
“Kill on sight. That’s what you said that one meant. They want you dead, and—” Captain ni Eneko kept talking, but I was watching Eshrin.
He gave me a crooked smile, and I knew that was a—Yes. Let’s go. He wanted his shot at taking down some spies, and so did I.
I wanted it badly.
“I want them to come after me.” My words cut the good captain’s rant short. “Then we can catch them.”
“That’s extremely dangerous,” Fynea said. “You’re not just anyone anymore. Not that you ever were. But that level of risk is too much. Lorne would—”
“Lorne’s busy being the High King.” He had incredibly important things going on that only he could deal with. But this was something that I could do. I could help by catching these spies. “He’s still in the meeting, right?”
“Yes,” Fynea drew out the word, as if she were suspicious of what I might say next. “He is still in his meeting.”
“Send him a message. Let him know what’s going on and where I’m going. Send one to my father, too. But let them know that we’ve got this handled. We’ll be fine.” I had no doubt of that. “By the time Lorne realizes I’ve left the estate, we’ll have caught them.” It seemed reasonable to assume that much at least. Probably.
I turned to Captain ni Eneko. “I’ll be your bait. Between your teams, my guards, and the fact that I can one hundred percent take care of myself, I’ll be okay.”
Captain ni Eneko went so still that I wasn’t sure he was breathing anymore. His eyes were wide as he watched me, and then he turned to Fynea and said something in Aunare.
“I hate it when they do that,” I said to Roan.
“I know. Super rude. Want one of your translators?” He’d taken to keeping them everywhere these days, and usually had one on him.
Sure enough, he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the little device.
I waved it away. “Nah.” I turned to Captain ni Eneko and Fynea. “I’m sure they’re going to stop being rude any second now.” I gave them both a look.
“It’s the danger factor that we’re debating right now,” Fynea said.
Fine. If they wanted to debate danger, then I could argue my side. “What about the danger of being in this stalemate with SpaceTech? If Captain ni Eneko picks them up, then they’ll deny knowledge or say we made it up or planted Earthers on Sel’Ani or who knows what. But if we get vid footage of SpaceTech operatives in our capital city trying to kidnap or kill me, then our allies will have to back us in the war. I’ll have fixed what Lorne’s been stressing about. This could be the answer to every problem we have right now.”
Fynea pressed her lips together as she stared at me.
I met her gaze with confidence. “I have to try. I have to be the leader that I am, not that someone else thinks I should be. And that means doing things like this.” I knew I was prepared. I’d been to the market enough now that I felt familiar with the layout and the way people moved through it. Which made perfect sense why SpaceTech had spies stationed there to keep an eye out for me. Every time I went it made the news.
“I’m not scared of a few SpaceTech goons,” I said, hoping she’d see reason. “I’ve dealt with them my whole life.”
“All right, but I’m coming with you,” Fynea said finally. “If Lorne finds out and I’m still here, I’ll just—no. I’m not dealing with him. He’s already in such a mood these days.”
“Come with me.” I had zero problems with that. “If something goes wrong, it’ll be my fault. I’ll accept full blame. This was my idea.”
I turned to Eshrin who was standing beside the door. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? It’ll be a risk, and—”
“Absolutely.” He pressed his fist to his heart again. “We will keep you safe.”
“See.” I grinned at Captain ni Eneko. “What could possibly go wrong?”
“Everything.” The Captain swallowed and looked a little sweaty. “Everything and anything could go wrong.”
Poor guy. He was already nervous, but then I had an idea. “Let’s make this look like a girls’ night out,” I said to Fynea. “It’ll look like we’re out shopping. I mean, that’s a thing people do, right?”
Roan laughed at me, and I knew I should’ve been offended, but I wasn’t.
“Sure, Am,” Roan said. “Normal people go shopping with friends all the time, but not you. I don’t think you’ve ever done that.”
Suddenly, today seemed like the perfect time to try something new.
Chapter Ten
AMIHANNA
The market was packed tonight, and yet I’d managed to sneak in. I didn’t want to make it too easy for the SpaceTech jerks. I’d changed my clothes into something a little less Maité-esque. I was wearing a loose gray sweater tunic with black leggings. Fynea made me change my shoes right before we left for something that was more “going out with friends” than the running shoes I’d put on. She’d gone into my closet and came back, shoving a pair of sandals at me. They were strappy and glittery but had an athletic sole that would help me keep traction even when running.
On the trip over, Fynea put my hair in one of the typical intricate Aunare hairstyles. She’d sectioned my hair into three and then braided and knotted each at the nape of my neck. When she was done, she said that now I was presentable.
I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t before—who really cared what my hair looked like when I was about to capture some SpaceTech spies—but whatever.
My guards had done their usual search of the place before letting us off the ship—which I thought would mean that the spies would come straight for us—but so far we were already deep into the market and they hadn’t engaged.
I spotted a crowded stall and was shocked that I knew the person running it. Curious, I started making my way over.
“Where are you going?” Fynea said, putting down whatever she was looking at from the last stall.
“Did you know that Almya was going to have a stall here?” I asked.
“No.” Fynea scanned the market. “Where?”
I pointed. “Third on the right.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.” Fynea gripped my arm, shaking it in excitement. “I can’t believe it. She’s progressing so fast.”
Okay. I knew I had been surprised by it, but Fynea’s excitement meant I was missing something. “What’s the big deal?”
“It takes a lot of time to get a stall here,” Fynea said as we slowly made our way through the market. “Ra’mi is one of the best—if not the best—of the Aunare markets. People come from all over to shop here, which means the waiting list to get a stall is decades long.”
“Then how did she get a stall?” I asked.
“I’m not altogether sure,” Fynea said. “Possibly because of the fact that she’s been doing a nice job dressing you, but even then, it feels fast. Although it isn’t the best location for a stall or the biggest. So, maybe there was an opening.”
The stall was at the end of the row, but a quarter of the size of the other stalls around it. She didn’t have a glowing sign like most of the others, but her stall was packed. The crowd was three people deep, with the ones near the main aisle standing on tiptoes to see over the others’ heads. Almya stood behind the front table of her stall, talking to a customer. Her skin was glowing bright, making her white halter jumpsuit look like it was glowing, too.
There was no wa
y I was getting close to it from the front, so I went around the side and yelled out to her, catching her attention. She glanced at me, and then her eyes widened. “Hello!” She fumbled a bit before she pressed her fist to her heart and bowed.
That got everyone’s attention. They turned to look at me, and then I felt the ripple through the market. The one that told me that I’d been spotted.
I’d felt this every time I’d come back to the market. It was still something I was trying to get used to, but today it didn’t bother me as much as it usually would.
It wouldn’t be long now. I turned, spotting Eshrin right away. He was standing back a little ways. Not too far that he couldn’t guard, but not so close that he and his team would be instantly spotted. I didn’t know enough of Captain ni Eneko’s guys to be able to pick them out of a crowd, but I knew some and I knew they were here. Roan was still in the ship, keeping an eye out, helping to spot all the missing SpaceTech operatives hiding in the market and relaying that to everyone.
I knew I should’ve felt like I was in danger, but I didn’t. I’d spent my life being surrounded by SpaceTech with no one to help me. Today, we had them outnumbered, and so many people I trusted had my back.
The crowd parted, letting me approach Almya’s stall from the side.
“What are you doing here? You had the night booked at the estate.” Almya scanned my outfit from head to toe before nodding. “You used one of the around-the-estate outfits I had set out. That’s good. Not as good as a day-trip outfit, but still good.”
“The tunic sweater is comfy. It almost feels like one of Lorne’s.”
“Yes, but it actually fits you, and it nips in at the waist.” She smiled. “Much more flattering, but the sleeves are covering your arms. They’re meant to be shoved up a bit.”
I rolled my eyes and shoved the sleeves of the sweater up to my elbows. “You know what’s not very good?”
“What?” Her eyes widened and she looked terrified at whatever I might say next.
“That you haven’t shown me that jacket. Why don’t I have that?” I pointed to one hanging behind her. It’d caught my eye when I was walking up.
