Perilous Hunt: Fallen Empire, Book 7

by Lindsay Buroker

  “Actually,” Alejandro said, “you probably won’t want anyone touching you.”

  “Don’t you have some injections to prepare, Doctor? I’m sure there are other people on the ship who can’t wait for you to stab them with things.”

  Alejandro grunted dismissively—or derisively—but at least he turned his back to them to look at displays hovering over the counter.

  “We’ll figure it out,” she repeated to Leonidas, patting him on the chest. “You be yourself, and I’m sure she’ll get to like you eventually. It might take longer for her to like the idea of us together, but eventually, she will. I’m sure of it. You’re wonderful, Leonidas.”

  He raised skeptical eyebrows, but said, “I won’t pull away. I’ll be here, when you’re both ready.”

  She fought back tears. Even though it was perfectly logical to put Jelena ahead of him, the idea of having to let him go was frustrating. She’d only just gotten him. Why couldn’t she have them both now? Why was that too much to ask?

  “She’s coming back,” he murmured, glancing toward the hatchway.

  Even though Alisa didn’t want him to let go, for more reasons than because she needed support, he gently shifted her so that she could lean against the bulkhead and didn’t need him to stay upright. He stood at the head of the exam table, frowning down at Ostberg. Alejandro came over and murmured something to him.

  Alisa stared at the hatchway, waiting for Jelena to appear, afraid of what she would say, that it would be something unfair, something harsh. Something that would hurt Leonidas. It wasn’t as if kids had a lot of tact. Not that Alisa did either. Three suns, what would she say?

  The sound of someone taking a deep breath reached her ears. Jelena leaned into the hatchway again, her eyes moist. That sent pangs of guilt and pain through Alisa, the notion that her daughter needed to brace herself before coming back. And that she had been crying.

  “We have to get Thorian back, Mom,” Jelena said, rushing to speak and not looking at Leonidas—making a point not to look in his direction. “He’s my friend, and he teaches me stuff, and he stood up for me with the others, and they took him, and they shouldn’t have, and they might hurt him. We have to get him.”

  Alisa didn’t necessarily object to the idea, but what could her team do against Tymoteusz and his people? Even with all those Starseers and imperial soldiers around, they hadn’t managed to even scratch him. And hadn’t Stanislav said that Tymoteusz wanted Thorian dead? That he feared him?

  “We will,” Leonidas said firmly, looking steadily at Jelena with that determined expression of his. He had his own reasons to want to get Thorian, but he of all people should know that Thorian might already be dead.

  Jelena didn’t look at him. She acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all. That stung Alisa—and it might sting Leonidas, too—but it wasn’t anything she could fix, not right away.

  “We’ll try to find him,” Alisa said, even though she didn’t want anything else to do with Tymoteusz and that awful staff, and she quailed inside at the idea of facing him again. The boy didn’t deserve to be left alone with that crazy nut—he didn’t deserve anything the universe had given him. He might already be dead, but until she knew that for sure, she would look for him.

  Jelena scowled. “He’s not dead.”

  “What?” Alisa hadn’t said that out loud.

  “He’s not. He’s my friend, and I can feel him. He’s alive, and he’s scared.”

  All Alisa could manage was an inarticulate “Er” as she realized what Jelena’s words meant. Nobody had spoken aloud that Thorian might be dead, so that meant she was able to hear Alisa’s thoughts. Just like Abelardus and Ostberg and the other Starseers. Alisa should have known that might be a possibility, but she hadn’t thought it had been long enough, that Jelena would have such skills yet.

  She stared bleakly at her daughter as she realized a couple more things. First, Yumi’s drug must have worn off, and second, if Jelena had read those thoughts, she might have seen Alisa’s thoughts when she’d first come into the room and Alisa had been imagining Leonidas… romantically. Erg.

  “He’s not dead,” Jelena repeated sturdily.

  “Good,” Alisa said. “He seemed like a nice kid. We’ll go after him.” She said the words firmly and looked toward Leonidas, the promise as much for him as for Jelena.

  Jelena, her eyes moist, looked like she wanted to say something else, but she glanced at Leonidas and Alejandro and bit her lip. Alisa opened her mouth to ask for a moment of privacy, but Leonidas got the gist before she spoke. He bumped Alejandro’s arm, nodded toward the hatchway, and headed out.

  Jelena slunk out of the way as he ducked through the hatchway. Alisa had forgotten how big he was, even when he wasn’t in armor. He didn’t try to say anything to Jelena, just disappeared into the corridor, Alejandro trailing after him, leaving only the unconscious Ostberg in sickbay with Alisa and Jelena.

  She thought Jelena might chastise her again for her relationship with Leonidas, but she came forward hesitantly, the tears in her eyes thickening. “I didn’t say thank you.”

  “What?” Alisa struggled to sit up more against the bulkhead, wanting to give her daughter a hug, even if she didn’t know what Jelena was talking about.

  “When Thorian did what I said. You told me I should kiss him or say thank you.” Jelena swallowed. “There wasn’t time. I didn’t think he’d… I didn’t know some scary jerk was going to take him.”

  She collapsed next to Alisa and threw her arms around her. Alisa’s entire body hurt, but she returned the hug, her heart aching when Jelena started crying in full.

  “I thought there’d be time later,” she whispered between sniffs.

  “There will be.” Alisa pulled her daughter in closer and cupped the back of her head. “There will be.”

  She had no idea how they would wrest Thorian back from Tymoteusz, but she wouldn’t break her word. They would find a way.

  THE END

  Afterword

  I hope you enjoyed Perilous Hunt. I plan to have the eighth book in the Fallen Empire series out in December 2016.

  If you’re looking for something else to read in the meantime, you could try my Emperor’s Edge or Dragon Blood fantasy novels. The first book in each series is free. If you want more space adventures, and don’t mind stories with naughty bits along with the jokes and adventures, I also write science fiction romance under the pen name Ruby Lionsdrake. Mercenary Instinct is the first book in the Mandrake Company series.

  Lastly, if you haven’t already, please sign up for the Fallen Empire newsletter to get the free short story, “Saranth Three” and the Leonidas prequel novella, Last Command.

  You can also follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for reading!