The moment the ramp opens, a salty Nibiran breeze floats into the ship. Normally, that ocean smell means the start of a nice vacation. But now, I can’t afford to relax. There are a million ways this plan could go awry, and any one of them ends with my family—and probably the whole planet—dead.

Lyre is staying on board with the alien vial in case anything goes wrong. The rest of us are dressed in casual, knee-length Nibiran robes, which are both comfortable and conveniently fitted with a number of hidden pockets in the sleeves. Shey, wearing an ill-fitting one borrowed from my own closet, steps up next to me and stares out at the ocean with wide and wondering eyes. Taking in the hovercrafts skimming over the surface and the traditional boats bobbing along with the waves, the island and the docks and the crowds of people who must seem so different than the ones on her own planet, and yet so similar at the same time. She takes a deep breath, and I shut my eyes and breathe with her, trying to imagine what it must be like to taste Nibiru’s clear air for the first time.

“Wait,” Corvus says, and my eyes snap open. He nods toward Shey. “We need to check her for weapons.”

“What?” I stare at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” But, of course, Corvus is never one for jokes.

“She could be plotting an assassination attempt on the council,” he says. “Trying to pin it on us.”

I groan. “Corvus—”

“It’s fine,” Shey says, surprisingly calm. She lifts her chin and meets Corvus’s eyes. “It’s a rational thought. I understand.”

“Scorpia can do it, if you’re more comfortable with that,” my brother says. I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to argue on Shey’s behalf. She can handle herself.

“If this is what’s necessary to put your mind at ease, I quite insist you do it yourself.”

Arms folded over my chest, I glare at him as he checks her. Damn him for ruining what should have been a beautiful moment.

“Are you satisfied?” Shey asks mildly, once he’s finished with a thorough pat-down. He steps back and, after a moment’s pause, dips his chin in a brief nod. “Good. Let’s continue, then.”

Corvus sets off without another word, and doesn’t so much as pause to look out at the ocean as he heads down the dock toward the city. I roll my eyes and step up to Shey, nudging her with an elbow.

“Sorry. Someone’s got a stick up his ass today.”

Shey shoots me a thin-lipped look of disapproval.

“I don’t blame him. This is serious, Scorpia. The fates of two planets are at stake.”

“Oh, no.” I gasp dramatically and press a hand to my chest. “It’s contagious!”