“I guess I did.” I had my own problems on Nibiru, but at least me and my siblings were all together, and safe. “It was never the same as Fortuna, but… it was as close to a home as someone like me could find planet-side.”

Shey is silent. When I glance at her again, her eyes are distant and misty. I realize, with a jolt of guilt, that she must be thinking of home as well. While Gaia might have been hell for me growing up, it’s the only place she’s ever known. It must be as important to her as Fortuna is to me, and no doubt as full of good memories as my years on Nibiru. Thanks to her mother’s mistakes, it will never be the same again.

With a sigh, I put an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer. She bites her lower lip and leans into me, her eyes on the increasingly closer planet out the viewing panel. I stare out at Nibiru alongside her.

The weight of what we’re about to do is heavy on my shoulders. Who the hell do I think I am, trying to pull off something as enormous as this? And risking the lives of my whole family to do it? I swallow hard, resting my chin against the top of Shey’s head and letting my fingers curl against her arm, seeking comfort as equally as I’m giving it.

“Tell me this isn’t a fool’s gamble,” I say, my voice coming out rough.

“It’s not,” she says quietly. “We’re going to save them. We’re going to save them all.”

When it comes out of her mouth, I can almost believe it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Hereditary Guilt

Corvus

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a kitchen, you know,” I say, adding a generous dose of salt to the meal bubbling on the stove. “And I don’t have much to work with.” We haven’t had time to restock in quite a while, so I have to rely on freeze-dried vegetables and potatoes from Deva and frozen synthetic meat cubes from Pax. At least I found a variety of dried spices hidden in Momma’s closet.

“Oh, shut up,” Drom says. She leans against the counter next to where Lyre sits atop it, both watching me as I cook. “We all know it’s going to be amazing.”

“I just want you to temper your expectations.”

“My expectation is that it will be better than Scorpia’s cooking,” Lyre says. “Which isn’t a very high bar.”