“We’re going to meet with my sister and her husband nearby rather than on Bastion.”

It was almost scary how often his thoughts mirrored mine. “You expect trouble?”

“Not expect, exactly, but I would prefer if trouble didn’t find us.”

He sent me the coordinates and I punched them in. Eli and Kee cut me looks across the room, but they didn’t question our new heading.

Starlight estimated we would arrive in twenty minutes. Torran hadn’t been kidding about it being nearby. In less than half an hour, his debt would be fulfilled, and he could leave with his nephew.

And I would just have to learn how to live with the empty ache in my chest.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Twenty-five minutes later, we docked with a large, sleek ship broadcasting a Valovian diplomatic registration, and Lotkez hovered nearby. Both teams had gathered in the cargo bay while we waited for the docking tunnel and airlocks to confirm a solid connection.

Torran had gone around to each person on my team, presumably saying his good-byes, but I didn’t know because he hadn’t talked to me.

The ache in my chest deepened.

“Anyone who wants to return to Valovia early may board Nirpaf,” Torran said. “My sister returns to the capital directly and has vowed safe passage.”

Nilo’s gaze slid toward Lexi without ever quite reaching her. His expression went distant, and Torran nodded at him. No one else spoke.

Torran’s team wore their armor, and my team was armed with whatever weapons we could successfully conceal from Cien. We didn’t want to make the kid nervous, but we didn’t want to face potentially hostile Valoffs without weapons, either.

I had a small plas pistol tucked in a shoulder holster hidden by an open jacket, and Eli had hidden a rifle in a pile of cargo, which he now leaned against.

We were as ready as we were going to be.

The airlock connection turned green, and I opened both hatches. A short, five-meter tunnel connected to the airlocks on Nirpaf’s side. A brief inspection confirmed that the connection was solid. These docking tunnels were built to be nigh indestructible. Even if the Valovian ship tried to pull away, they’d just drag Starlight along with them.

As soon as I returned to my cargo bay, Nirpaf’s hatches swung open. Past the crew securing the doors, I caught sight of a beautiful woman in a dark dress. Her careful makeup couldn’t hide the circles under her eyes and the wan pallor of her skin. Cien caught sight of her and dashed through the tunnel with a cry.

She bent, catching him, and clutched him to her chest. She buried her face in his hair with a choked sob. This woman loved her child. If the empress had used him, it had not been with his mother’s permission.