Still, she intended to enjoy every moment and savor this interlude. Happiness felt fleeting, like an insect with delicate wings perched precariously on a wet leaf. Aevi’s tail lashed as Helix carried her. She must be so weary of being carted around. The garden on Vaadla lived up to its name, far more than the disappointing container bay in the Vault. Here, the space was terraced with moss and earth and the rich smell of growing things. Other people were enjoying the paths through the greenery, and there were a few quadrupeds frolicking as well.

Helix glanced at her in inquiry. “I’ve reviewed the rules and she can play freely here.”

“Don’t leave the garden, but…have fun, Aevi.” Qalu watched as he set the Pherzul down, and the little one raced off, scrambling straight up one of the larger plants. Her head tendrils fluttered. “I’m so glad she can do this.”

“As am I.”

As if by mutual agreement, they fell into step, walking the path as they talked. “When will you contact them?” She didn’t need to say more; he’d understand what she meant.

“I already sent the message.”

She stopped, so abruptly that a few beings behind her nearly slammed into her back. Gently Helix drew her off the track, toward a cluster of bushes that yielded a spicy scent, likely from the starry-stamen flowers growing profusely. Qalu hardly knew what to say. He doesn’t need me anymore. Not for guidance or advice. I’m…superfluous now. An ache started inside her, swelling with every breath she took.

“I see. Have they replied?”

“Not yet. It probably hasn’t arrived, as I sent it via circuitous channels, bouncing it past various nodes first. I can’t make it easy for them to track me down.”

“They’ve got the best bounty hunter on that already,” she said with a touch of bitterness.

“Krag doesn’t know we’ve parted from the resistance yet. I need his employers to conclude that it’s more trouble to chase me down—that it’s better business to make a deal.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” she said softly.

Qalu should be happy. After all, she’d wanted him to become confident and self-sufficient. But she hadn’t factored for how she would feel when that day came, all sorrow and yawning emptiness. She held still, like one minimizing the pain after taking a tremendous, unexpected wound.

“Thank you for everything,” Helix said. “I’ve booked passage home for you and Aevi.”

She couldn’t speak. Before, she thought she was ready, braced for him to realize they didn’t belong together.

But nobody could be, not for this.

[  19  ]

As Helix awaited Qalu’s response, he realized he wanted her to protest.