Of all the prices to pay in this situation, I never thought of this one. And it’s worth it—it will be worth it—but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself and ward off tears. The rest of my siblings are already on board, waiting for me, though their eyes are all on the ocean.

As I take my first step onto the ramp, a frantic cry cuts through the general harbor noise.

“Scorpia!”

I turn around, surprised to see Shey running up the dock toward me, pushing through the crowd of officers, who give her suspicious looks but make no move to stop her.

I grin. Guess she wasn’t ready to let me leave without a goodbye after all. I stop at the edge of Fortuna and head down the dock to meet her halfway. But my grin dies as I get close enough to see her. She’s out of breath, her robe in disarray and beads of sweat running down her face. Her eyes are wide and wild.

“Wow, miss me that bad already?” I ask, trying to push down a wave of worry. With everything we’ve been through, I’ve never seen Shey in a state like this. Not even being kidnapped with a gun to her head made her look so frantic. She clings to my arm, chest heaving as she struggles to catch her breath and get the words out. I glance over my shoulder at my siblings, crowded just inside the cargo bay and peering out at us, and draw Shey a few steps away for some semblance of privacy. I take the hand that rests on my arm and squeeze it. “What’s going on, Shey?”

“My mother,” she gasps out. Tears fill her eyes before she can continue. I wait, icy fear already spreading through my stomach. “She… she lied.”

“Not surprised, but you’re gonna need to give me details,” I say, trying not to jump to the absolute worst conclusion before she says it. Shey gulps air, her hand trembling beneath my fingers.

“She agreed to the council’s plan. Made a deal with them. But then she contacted me privately.” She finally regains enough breath to start forming coherent sentences. “I swear, I never thought she would do this. I really thought we could achieve peace. But she doesn’t believe that the Nibirans will take us in. She’s convinced it’s a trap.”

“Shit.” Damn Leonis and her paranoia. All this work for peace, and she has to ruin it. “What is she going to do?”

“She already did it,” she says. “The bio-weapon she gave you… you weren’t the only ones. There’s another ship headed here now.”

“Shit.” Now that really is the worst-case scenario. “How long do we have?”

Shey’s face is stricken.