She cuts off as we both spy movement at the entrance. Two armored pirates on patrol, both with weapons raised and ready. Drom fires immediately, dropping one of them, but I fumble with my weapon in my distraction.

The man fires. I sidestep in front of Drom as I raise my gun. A half second later, my own shot singes a hole through the middle of his forehead, and he crumples to the floor. I suck in a deep breath and look down at the smoking wound near my knee, a moment before my leg wavers beneath me.

“You fucking idiot,” Drom says behind me. “What the hell did you just do?” She catches me as I stumble and eases me to the floor, pressing one hand to the wound. I let out a grunt of pain and she grits her teeth as if she feels the injury herself. “Why did you do that?”

“Can’t you shut up and be grateful?” I ask through gritted teeth, trying to think through the pain and Drom’s muttered curses. This isn’t a terrible wound, not the kind that will kill me, but it will certainly slow us down. And we can’t afford that. “You’re going to have to leave me.”

Drom’s head whips up.

“Don’t say that.”

“Listen.” I clasp her arm with as much strength as I can manage, make sure she looks me in the eye. “Lyre needs a distraction. She needs you.”

“No.” A hint of panic shows through on her face. She’s never been the type to hide from a fight before—but she’s also never fought by herself. “There’s too many of them. This is pointless. We need to get back to Fortuna and—”

“Drom.” My tone silences her. “I know it’s hard to be alone. Believe me, I know. But you’re the only one who can do this.”

She’s quiet for a long moment. She must feel Pol’s absence as keenly as I do. But finally, she nods. I hand her my pulse rifle, keeping merely a simple blaster, and she takes it without hesitation.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Get to the engine room.” I was trying to avoid a plan this drastic, but it’s becoming clear we don’t have any other options. “That’s the only thing that will draw enough of them away. Blow up their engine.”

“We’re too close to Nibiru,” she says. “If the Red Baron crashes with those vials on board, this will all be for nothing.”

“We’ll figure that out later. You need to get those pirates away from here. All right?”

Drom nods. She starts to stand, but then pauses.

“Corvus,” she says, her voice thick and uncertain. “I…”

“I know.” I force a slight smile. “Me too.”

She straightens up.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she tells me.

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere fast.”