“My apologies, sister,” Valen said, cringing slightly. “But she would be impossible to find, Nor, if it weren’t for these three.” He looked over his thin shoulder at the trio of soldiers. “They’re like family to her, and Androma will do whatever it takes to save them. Always. Even if the cost is her own life.”

Nor approached the girls slowly, stopping a few paces away to look down at them. They kept their heads deeply bowed, as if they were too afraid to look upon their queen.

“Rise,” she said to them. As one, they stood, their faces full of awe as they gazed at her. Nor’s eyes fell on the Adhiran girl. Beautiful, like a delicate flower that had rows of hidden thorns beneath its petals.

“How well do you know the Bloody Baroness?”

The Adhiran girl’s eyes met Nor’s, and her voice was melodic as she spoke. “My queen... I am ashamed to admit that I was once very close to her. I...saw her as a sister, of sorts.” She glanced at the other two girls, both of whom were nodding.

“We all did,” the New Vedan girl agreed. “We spent years with Androma, learning from her...learning about her, on board the Marauder. We can tell you anything you need to know. Her likes, her dislikes, her greatest fears.”

“Tell her what you told me earlier,” Valen coaxed.

“Androma would do anything to set us free, if she believed we were in danger,” the Adhiran girl said in that lyrical voice. “If what Valen says is true, Majesty, and you need to track down our old captain...then you could use us.”

“We can find her for you,” the giantess said. “Hunting people down was once our specialty, and we know all of Androma’s preferred hideouts.”

“I believe that you could find her,” Nor said, her mind churning as she considered the possibilities this crew presented. She looked down at the smallest one, who hadn’t yet spoken. She was a tiny thing, red braids dangling past her dainty shoulders. Nor knelt, pressing her golden prosthetic to the girl’s chin and lifting it so that their gazes met. To her surprise, the child’s eyes held little innocence.

“However, I think there is a far better way,” Nor mused. “Do you know, little one, what Androma loves the most?”

The girl smiled. “Oh, yes. She loves her ship. But above all, she loves us.”

“And do you know what we do to those things our enemies love?” Nor asked sweetly.

For an idea was brewing in her mind as she took in the three young women. Strong, she could tell. And yet they would break so easily—had already broken, beneath the strength of Valen’s compulsion.

“No,” the little girl answered. “But I’d love for you to tell me already.”