Clo’s assessment had struck the kid’s pride; Ariadne was nothing if not confident of her skills and knowledge. Without her, none of them would have made it this far. Nyx and Rhea would have been found out and executed, their heads left out on the fringes of the royal palace on Tholos as a warning to anyone who dared to rebel against the Archon and the Oracle’s program uploads.

“And why did you think the resistance would welcome you?” Eris asked. “It’s a nice ship, but if the Empire thinks the resistance was involved in killing the Legate, they’ll redouble their efforts against us. You three might be more trouble than you’re worth.”

“We know our worth,” Ariadne insisted, angling her chin up. “Rhea”—she pointed to the other woman, who gave a little curtsy—“is a magnificent, highly talented courtesan who is very prone to extracting interesting details post-coitus.”

Nyx shut her eyes and muttered, “Please, seven gods of Avern, never let me hear that kid say the word coitus again.”

Ariadne ignored Nyx and pointed at herself. “I happen to be an excellent engineer. There’s nothing I can’t hack.”

Clo scoffed at that. “Nothing? Even the Oracle?”

Ariadne smiled, thin-lipped. “Even the Oracle. One is nowhere to be found on this ship. I made sure of it.”

That got their attention. Good.

“Hacking the Oracle . . .” Clo echoed, almost awed. “That shouldn’t be possible.”

“I know.” Ariadne flashed her teeth. “I’m marvelous. I even helped Rhea deprogram Nyx.”

Clo’s mouth hung open.

“Did you?” Eris asked. Eris remained expressionless, but Nyx caught her gleam of fascination. As if Nyx were some new species to be inspected, catalogued, and studied.

Nyx laid her hand on Ariadne’s shoulder before the kid responded. “Yeah, she did. After my training, it wasn’t easy, either. I was the best soldier in my cohort, and I reported to General Damocles directly. I rose seven ranks in two years.”

Eris didn’t seem convinced. “The courtesan would be easy enough to get approval for permanent transport from Tholos. But an engineer so good that she can hack the Oracle and a soldier skilled enough to report to the General don’t seem expendable enough. I should think the Archon would want to keep you both close.” She flickered a glance at Rhea. “Not meaning any offense to your work, of course. It’s only that dona often come from the Pleasure Garden.”

“None taken,” Rhea replied. “I know that.”

“We were never meant to leave,” Nyx said. “Ariadne had never even left the Temple. She hacked the manifest and added our false names and identities as dona, and that was the easiest part of her job. So, don’t pretend the Novantae wouldn’t be desperate to welcome us into your ranks.”

“Plus, we were going to come with a ship,” Ariadne said, smiling more broadly at them. “A ship they already wanted.”