“Verified,” Thudana says, meeting my eyes. We stare at each other, and I hope she doesn’t notice that I’m sweating. If this transaction fails, I’ll look like worse than a fool—I’ll look like a cheat. Despite her relationship with my mother, she’d definitely call in the law if she thought I was trying to swindle her. And as an off-worlder, even a legal one, I won’t get a chance to defend myself before they drag me to jail.

My device beeps. Hers follows. I let out a breath. Thudana pulls her comm back, her sour expression softening.

“All right,” she says, and reaches under the desk to pull out a keycard. She waves it over my comm until it beeps. “You have access to room 306 for twenty-four hours. Get your cargo in, quick and quiet.”

When I emerge from the building, I’m surprised to find the sky dark and gloomy, a stark contrast from the mild weather merely ten minutes ago. I tighten my hood around me and hurry back to the cargo, not wanting to get caught in the rain. Thankfully, the traffic is gone now that the workday’s begun, and the sanitation checkpoints are gone.

I walk briskly, pausing to scroll through the contacts on my comm and send off a quick message: I’m in Levian. Have something for you. Where should we meet? A couple minutes later, a response pings back, containing only an address for what looks like an abandoned building in the Turill district. I grin. Be there in 20, I send back.

The twins are playing some kind of game on their comms when I arrive, while Lyre keeps a wary eye on the streets. Her eyebrows lift as she spots my smile.

“What did you give Thudana?” she asks.

“A heavy dose of my usual charm.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Guess you can work it out with Momma.” Her tone is bitter, but I can’t help but savor the feeling of knowing something she doesn’t. She stands and brushes dust off her jumpsuit. “Anyway, we’ve got about two hours until our meeting with the client.”

“Two hours,” I mutter. “Damn.”

It’s a tight time frame, but I can still fit in my side job if I go now. My siblings aren’t going to like it, but I’m sure they’re capable of moving some cargo and lying low for a couple hours.

“Get this shit off the streets,” I tell the twins, and wave my comm over each of theirs to pass over the electronic key. “Room 306.” The twins, thankfully, seem to be in an obedient mood, and rise with two crates each.

“You should get some rest,” Lyre says, as I watch the two of them disappear around the corner. I glance at her, and she wrinkles her nose. “And a bath.”

I shrug off the comments and push past her.