Andi relaxed a bit. Mirabel had countless races, some of which kept themselves very secluded. Surely Klaren hailed from one of those, though how she’d then ended up marrying Xen Ptera’s former king was a mystery.

“Still incorrect,” Alfie responded. “There are no more undiscovered races in Mirabel.” The transport lurched with a gust of frigid wind, prompting another round of cursing from Dex.

“So what is she, then?” Andi prodded, tired of the questions, eager for answers.

It was Dex who spoke next. “She’s not Mirabellian at all.”

Alfie nodded. “That is my calculation. The DNA strands that make up half of Valen Cortas’s blood are not Mirabellian. Nor are they from any of the known galaxies nearby, many of which would have been too far for Klaren Solis to travel in a lifetime. Even with cryogenics.”

The transport fell silent, as both Dex and Andi were lost in their thoughts. Alfie’s revelation was a welcome distraction from their grief, albeit a disturbing one.

“So he’s not from here,” Andi mused. “I mean, Klaren wasn’t from here, anyway. And I’m willing to bet that means Nor’s DNA is the same. And if Valen knew Alfie was delivering that news to Cyprian before their planned attack on Averia...then trying to murder Alfie makes sense.”

“Not murder,” Alfie corrected.

Andi ignored him, turning to face Dex. He held himself rigid, chewing on his bottom lip as he seemed to process all of this.

“Was Kalee...?” Dex seemed like he didn’t know how to form the question.

But Alfie seemed to sense what he was getting at. “The late Kalee Cortas was the daughter of Cyprian and Merella Cortas.”

Andi loosed a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short-lived. “So we have no idea who we’re really dealing with, as far as Valen and Nor are concerned,” she said, watching the landscape outside. The snow was scattered with what looked to be purple clouds, thick groups of them clustered together, their heads to the ground.

One of them bleated as the transport passed by. Roaks, a species of feral sheep native to Solera. They were known for their thick furs, which could withstand the cold—and the fact that when food was hard to come by, they often feasted on the weakest from their herd.

“Do you think the Underground knows about Valen and Nor’s DNA?” Dex asked Andi.

“I don’t know what I think about anything anymore,” she admitted. “But we’re not going to tell them anything until we learn if we can trust them or not. Hopefully we can use the information as a bargaining chip. A way to get them to help us with supplies and a ship, to get to Arcardius and the girls.”