“It better be, otherwise we won’t have enough fuel. And I’d hate to think of what we’d become, out here in the cold.”

Though they’d last longer than Lon would have, since their planetary suits were still intact, they would eventually die of exposure. The memory of Lon surged through her again at the thought—how determined he’d been to save them, ready to die as he leaped toward the dragon’s gaping jaw. Andi gritted her teeth and changed her focus, thinking of Valen and Nor instead. She was desperate to remember any clues or signs that Valen might have given about the truth of who he was.

But of course, he’d fooled them all.

She hated the cautious friendship that she’d allowed to blossom between them after his rescue. The conspiratorial smiles, the quiet conversation they’d had by the water on Adhira, speaking of their shared past with Kalee. Forgiving each other for the mistakes they’d both made. Attending the Ucatoria Ball at his side.

Now Andi wondered if Valen had been holding back the desire to murder her the entire time they’d been together. She wondered if any of his so-called forgiveness was ever truly real.

And her girls had so often been alone with him during their journey. Gilly in particular had been fascinated by Valen.

That should have been warning enough, Andi realized. For Gilly had always been drawn to the darker things in life. The backpack, now nearly ripped to shreds by Havoc’s claws, was proof of that. And judging from the ache still present in Andi’s chest when she moved, the wound that had closed over but wasn’t even close to healed...

Valen had been the darkest of them all.

Andi’s thoughts wandered to her crew. She often feared what they were being commanded to do. If they were out there in the galaxy somewhere, killing in Nor’s name. Or if they were still on Arcardius, silently doing her bidding, or falling on their faces in worship of her.

“There!” Dex shouted, drawing Andi’s attention as he leaned forward and pointed. The radar beeped, signaling that they were closing in on their target. “I see them.”

The domed sector of Solera appeared from the snow like a cluster of ghosts upon the icy surface. The radar showed ten domes spread across the expanse, and Andi knew from her previous visits that each of them had their own unique feel, as if every one contained its own little world.