Chapter 24

V ala found the door and shoved it open. A massive galley spread below her like the belly of a mechanical beast. The steps she stood upon descended along the perimeter wall, merging into a series of ramps that circled round enormous machines. Huge steel pipes and panels clung together in a harmoniously gleaming array, falling from the high ceiling like a forest of metal stalactites, shaking with coiled energy. The heavy thrum reverberated through the air, quivering her skin. She could almost taste the sweet, fresh solar power within the metal confines, collected from the daylight and condensed into energy streams to shoot upon the ocean far below, propelling the sunship up and over the waves.

Rafael stood before a machine, bent over a switchboard of flashing lights. He had removed his leather top and stood shirtless. His back was a mass of corded, rippled muscle and she found herself staring longer perhaps than decent. Memories of what they had done in the palace room resurfaced and she recalled that he had seen all of her body. Today, the scales balanced out somewhat. Armed with that thought, she willed herself to approach.

"You really are most persistent," Rafeal turned to her.

She crossed her arms and huffed. His naked, sweaty chest was distracting, despite her earlier rationalization. A perfect amount of chestnut hair ran over his pecs and stomach, thinning into a trail that disappeared between two muscled indents and into his waistband. She wanted to stroke it.

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this prince was dangerous. There was no telling what he intended to do. She needed to keep her wits and negotiate for herself what she wanted. "I have to go back to Ovgarod."

He continued working on the machine. The lights glowed brightly, accenting his jaw. A jaw that clenched with concentration. Again, she glimpsed the true, deep nature of this prince. Distant, contemplative, and…solitary. So incredibly alone in his thoughts and decisions. He would be difficult to persuade , she again realized.

"We already discussed this. Why do you so badly want to return?"

She decided she would answer in a way most meaningful to him. She stepped forward on the metal ramp—gingerly, for the sight of the raging ocean far below made her dizzy—and earnestly met his eyes. "I must kill Luiximor. If he launches a war upon Theves to get me, I will never forgive myself."

He focused upon his task, hands efficient as he worked. "So, you think you can just walk into the imperial palace and assassinate a god. Pray, tell me your grand plan for doing so."

"I will know what to do when the opportunity is right." She did. It involved fire. Sunfire, specifically, not that she would ever tell him.

"Come now," he drawled. "That's an excellent battle strategy. Ten stars out of ten from the General of Theves."

"You're a general too?" Gods, why did he have so many talents? Even the drunken-prince character was too interesting a character to be mad about, apart from the insufferable annoyance it had provoked in her. She glared. "We have this connection, Luiximor and I."

"Oh?" His mocking words fell upon her ears. "Please explain."

She drew herself up. "He thinks we're destined to be together. If I return, he will welcome me as his lover." This was ridiculous, she knew, but perhaps an effective method to persuade him to return her. After all, he would never help her if he knew what she really planned.

"He will torture and kill you," he sharply exclaimed and snapped down a switch.

Well, so much for any pretense , she grimaced to herself.

He took a deep, steadying breath and turned from the machine to face her. "You coming to Theves is the best scenario."

She felt the barbed edge to his words and wanted to scream. He was doing it all over again. Making decisions for her and without her consent. When would people learn that it was her life in the balance, her future that had been played with? She was so tired of it all. She almost…almost told him what had happened…that Luiximor controlled her runes and Theves could not save her. That only war could result and thousands of people die. If she told the prince, he would likely not believe her. Or, worse, if he did, he would want to protect her even more. No , she decided, he must never know .

Her lips thinned, a motion that his discerning gaze noted, causing his brow to furrow. "I refuse to be a tool or weapon or whatever Theves has planned for me. I must return and kill Luiximor. Then and only then can I be free."

"I can't allow you to be hurt." His voice was gentle. "You do not know what he is capable of."

Her throat constricted. "It wasn't that bad. I will wait for my opportunity and destroy him."

"He really did whip you to near death?" A violent change shot over his face and he stepped towards her, dark fury shaking his body. She could have sworn that shadows raced and darted in the suddenly descending gloom. "I thought Helen made up that part to anger me. Are you insane ? What else did he do? Tell me so I can know all the ways in which I must kill him."

She had never seen him unleashed like this; it turned the air around them deadly and shadows slinked amid the heaving machines. She took a step back. Then a couple more. Then stopped. "No. I get to destroy Luiximor. He ruined my life. I won't have him always coming after me. I've already lost my parents and Janie. If he kills more people for me, I will never forgive myself."

"You return to his magic and evil…his manipulation. You were lucky enough to escape his mind before. Will you be able to run the second time?" He loomed over her, clenching his jaw.

She badly wanted to touch him. To trace her fingers over his gleaming skin and see the reaction tame his burning eyes. She tightened her hands into fists and met his magnetic intensity. "I don't know and anyway, I don't have to explain myself. I must go back."

" You must go back ," his blue eyes blazed into her. "Why must you? What force compels you to return?"

She blinked, nonplussed. Why did he always care so much? "If you think his magic is pulling me back to him, that's ridiculous. I'm freely making this choice."

"I don't agree. No, I will not let you return to Luiximor. You will go to Theves for your safety." He took another deep breath and the air around him appeared to brighten again.

She clenched her fists at his arrogance. This prince could get his way with everything. Well, not with her. " You think you can just order me around and I'll obey."

His eyes swept over her as if calculating every angle of her stance and outplaying her intentions. He looked incredibly bored and smug. "Fine then. Jump off the rails and swim back to Ovgarod. Come now, this is my sunship and you are going nowhere."

Her eyes flashed. "You know what? You're no better than Luiximor!"

His features suddenly sharpened and turned furious. She made a quick mental note that Prince Rafael of Theves could go from zero to one hundred in emotional extremes.

"You think I am like that monster?" Somehow, his quiet voice sounded worse than if he had shouted at her.

It wasn't a fair comparison at all and she knew it but she was too mad to care. "You both imprison me. So, YES."

He lightly shrugged. "Very well, then."

She spun on her heels and stalked off, too frustrated to speak.

She made it to the perimeter ramp before he caught her. She sharply exhaled, surprise tingling her skin. He was so fast and quiet; she had never heard him coming. She stumbled backward, gazing at his powerful, huge form, that chest that heaved with sadness and a deep, heavy undercurrent of…desire? She frowned, savoring the aching sensation as it settled into her bones. He put his hands on the wall behind her, trapping her before his gaze.

"You really are the most obstinate creature."

The heat of his gaze twisted her stomach into helpless knots. "Why are you always trying to save me?"

His eyes merely fell upon her lips and she forgot to breathe.

"I cannot let you flee to a man who treated you so horribly, who tortured you and…" His hand clenched into fists at this word but he continued. "He intends to murder you again. I canNOT let—" His mouth crushed against hers.

She could feel the rage and desire throbbing in his kiss. His lips burned upon hers, sucking the breath from her throat. She moaned, her legs weakening under his clasp. The sound impressed him for his hold tightened upon her, his embrace drawing the very blood from her flesh.

And she wanted everything. His mouth and touch upon hers in every way possible. She kissed him in return, feeling the firm curve of his lips upon her neck and face, willing every moment of his caress to blend with hers, so that they moved as one. She shuddered as he roughly pulled her to his body even as his kiss deepened upon her mouth. No one had ever kissed her in such a manner. So passionate and deeply aware of her every reaction to his touch. She hung trembling in his grasp, sucking upon his hungry lips, falling into his firm touch, wanting so much more than his hands and lips upon her?—

But Rafeal drew back, his eyes burning with blue fire. "Did Luiximor ever kiss you like that?"

She blinked, processing the sudden change, the coldness that entered the air when they weren't flesh to flesh. "Why? Are you jealous?"

His lips met her throat in a way that made her gasp and her core flame strong. "Of him? Never. But I had to stand by and watch him touch you in all manner of ways, even as I knew he planned your death. Again and again, I watched him trap you…play with you, and…when he had his fun, kill you. A bit of me died every day knowing that you must remain under his spell before I could hope to rescue you in this life. I have never felt so helpless…so unable to protect someone I love."

Her voice shook with unshed tears. "You love me?"

His mouth fell upon hers again but this time the kiss felt so tender and soft, she found it hard to breathe, let alone think. "I've loved you since the first moment I saw you step into that bar. Not the Vala that you were in another life and age, but you…as you are right now."

"What was I like in those other lives?" She gasped.

"You were kind and good. You always died too soon. And…badly." His voice fell.

She blinked away tears. Even if she could not recollect a life spent with him, she felt his sorrow and rage over the loss of her other selves. The other Valas sounded like they functioned better than her current state of being alive. Although she could not fathom why her continued bad luck at getting murdered kept her other selves wanting to reincarnate. It was insanity, trying to do the same thing again and again, hoping for a better result. Her current life was one example. Only, this time when she died, she was not coming back alive. The trade she entered had been final and she had no access to manipulate her runes even if she wanted to. Mortals, she figured, should really stop trying to copy the gods' desire for reincarnation. Nothing good ever came of desiring that which one couldn't ever have.

She straightened her shoulders pragmatically. "You do know that I am not the person you remember. I don't have her memories, her personality, her body…anything that you liked in her no longer is a part of me."

He stopped her with a thumb to her lips. "Stop. Do you think I care about any of that? Memories can be made and remade. Bodies are but mortal instruments used to enjoy life. I care about your soul. You are Vala in this life, your past life, and in all the other lives in which we may meet. Do you understand?"

She nodded, not daring to breathe. His words were strong, passionate. He believed them and perhaps she did too.

"I would kill for you. I would die for you, no matter the wreckage it caused to my country."

"I don't want anybody to get hurt."

"It's too late for that," he said.

She ran her hands down that ruddy trail of hair upon his chest. Everything about him felt right; felt perfect. His body quivered under her touch and his hands gripped her arms tightly by her sides.

"Don't touch me like that." At her confused frown, he quickly broke into a thin smile. "I mean, let me touch you."

She was still wondering why he had been nervous at such simple contact when he pinned her further movements against the wall and kissed her mouth with famished intensity. She quivered to feel his bare chest so firmly against her breasts, his hardness pressing upon her abdomen. And she wanted him so badly. Nothing else in the world existed except the thought of his flesh against hers in blissful abandon. Past and future became bothersome abstracts of thought?—

"—Say something, anything," he whispered, his eyes fiercely burning into hers.

"Please, Your Highness?—"

"Call me Rafe." His face silhouetted in the hot light of the machines behind them as his mouth met hers. "Do you want me?" His lips caressed her neck. "Tell me you want me."

"Rafe…" Her body trembled so hard; she could barely think. She only wanted his touch…wanted him to enter her and fill the longing ache within.

"Say it and use my name."

She grimaced. "What is it with you and orders?"

He grinned raggedly. "You think I'm being demanding. You have no idea what I want to demand from you. Stay with me. We can find a way to live happily together. Forget about Luiximor."

She blinked. She had briefly forgotten about an evil emperor god who wanted her dead. "I'm not sure that I can."

For a long moment, he clasped her body to his, tightly, as if he would never let go. And then, and with a heavy breath, he released her. A terrible chill swept through her bones.

He hung his head. "I'm sorry. I can't continue like this. Not when you think of me in a certain way. You don't know the truth."

"Then tell me." She frowned.

"No."

"Why?"

He looked away. "I am sorry."

She grabbed his face, forcing his gaze to return to her. "I don't understand you at all. Is it because you don't want me or?—"

His lips crushed further thoughts from her mind. They were hot, possessive, and eager…and swiftly withdrawn.

"You're wrong. I would have you right now and a thousand times more. But you still want to return."

"Yes…my destiny lies in Ovgarod."

The look on his face hurt her. He sighed. "Exactly. If we have sex now, you would see me as manipulating you, the same as Luiximor. I don't want that even though…GODS, I want you so terribly. But I also want you to freely, openly… knowingly choose me for who I really am. Can you understand?"

"I…" She opened and shut her mouth. He was right. For once. She would have held it against him, after the sex, that he had used something so precious between them to coerce her to stay.

She adjusted her shirt, trying to ignore the peaked hardness of her nipples through the fabric, hoping her humiliation would die today and never again reveal itself to him.

He noticed and a faint blush stole across his face, bemusing her, given his experience and age. For some moments of intimacy, it always felt like the first time, she supposed. "You don't have to return to your fate. I have means with which to help you."

"Someone else offered to do just that." She bitterly remarked.

A frown flashed across his face. He knew she meant Luiximor.

"The future's not set in stone. There are other ways to escape what Luiximor did to your runes. You do not need to face him and complete your tragedy in death." He was so magnificent and forlorn, standing before her with tousled hair and heaving chest.

She felt slightly annoyed over how much he affected her. "What are you so afraid of?"

"You! I'm afraid of losing you." The words burst out of him so suddenly and ferociously that she blinked.

"You never had me in the first place," she reminded, a little tartly for the heady ache for him still twisted her stomach and she had to squeeze her fists to stop thinking about it.

He only took a ragged breath. "That may be true but either way, I swear you can have everything of me ."

Her heart skipped. He meant it. He would give himself to her, freely, and expect nothing in return. The offer felt like the strangest and yet most perfect gift that she would never experience. A tear ran down her cheek.

He took her back into his arms and kissed the wet, lengthening trail down her face. "Please, reconsider. I'm talking about your death. If you return, Luiximor will kill you and I can't stop him. He is far too powerful for any of us. I can only keep you safe if you remain far away from him, protected by my country."

She bit her lip. "I'm tired of never fighting back. I wanted my revenge and I…did something that can't be undone. There's no other future for me now, despite all the desires we may share. If you take me to Theves, you will only delay my death by a short while and put your country in terrible danger?—"

"What exactly did you do at the Exchange?" He searched her face. She saw the fear dim his eyes and felt the sudden, sharp worry explode across his broad chest. He was terrified and that realization scared her more than a dragon's gaze.

"Take me back to Ovgarod. Please," she murmured, her limbs shaking.

"No."

The word felt like a bell of doom.

"Then our conversation is over." Turning, she staggered up the stairs. She half expected him to reply, to follow and prevent her from walking away, but when she chanced a look over her shoulders, he only stood and watched her. She closed the door on him.

Somehow, she found the strength to stumble her way up several stories. Her legs were numb and weak as though the muscles had turned to water within her flesh. She wanted to lie down and sleep for hours but her brain raced upon a thousand currents. She wobbled along a metal corridor and through some gleaming, white hall. Sunlight burned upon her stumbling footsteps and the great thrum of the sunship echoed in her mind. Along a galley, brilliant with slanting afternoon sun, she wrested open a door and faced what could only be a machine repairs closet. Boxes and tools scattered about the floor and walls. The light overhead came from a dangling bulb. It would do. She must hide from everyone and everything. She must think.

Shutting the door, she slumped and put her head between her knees. He loved her. She knew it now. Rafe . His name sounded wonderful echoing within her mind. She turned bright red remembering just how passionate their kiss had been. Nothing had ever felt so wonderful or so…right. And nothing met her mind stronger than the desire to love him as the sun wheeled above them and the waves shot below.

Did she love him? She had never been in love before although there was nothing fascinating about sex. She had traded her body to survive since her first imprisonment. Flesh touching flesh meant little but when her emotions…her mind got involved, that was when all her logic turned confused. Where did the attraction end and the loving begin? Or maybe it was love they shared but only he as of yet knew it. Certainly, when she had seen his severed head upon the floor, she felt some terribly strong emotions. But she had thought him dead. Perhaps that feeling had just resulted from her torture and a long, exhausting day.

Maybe Rafe was right. She was an idiot to want to return to Ovgarod. It felt so wonderful to be with him, to dream of a future alongside him, although the idea was absurd. After all, she was a commoner from the empire and he, a foreign prince. Any future would be short-lived and filled with unhappy reality eroding whatever love they could share upon arrival in Theves. If she turned back to kill the emperor and even if she succeeded, she could not guarantee anyone's safety and certainly not her own life. Vala, you idiot, think of the facts! What did she know for certain? After all, knowledge had saved her in the past. She would use facts and reasoning to guide her decision to its eventual end.

For a long time, she sat upon the closet floor and carefully went over everything in her memory, replaying the past several days like a recording in her mind. Sometimes, thoughts of a bare chest or glittering blue eyes distracted her, but she bit her lip and focused hard on the task at hand. Luiximor was weak now, unable to telepathically control her or fight the dragon. She had felt his sunfire heat her skin merely being in his presence. Joe had submitted the trade with her signature. But neither of them was dead—yet—simply because they were too far apart. Finally, she sighed and rubbed her eyes.

Yes, she was correct. All evidence pointed at her return. No matter what happened, her future lay in Ovgarod, either now or later, when Luiximor found a way to drag her back into his palatial lair. She must persuade the prince to turn the sunship around.

She stood and stretched, feeling incredibly stiff. Opening the closet door, she was shocked to see blue light glimmer in the far reaches of the black ocean. The sun had set and, judging from the darkness, a short while ago. How many hours had she spent in that closet?

She frowned, staggering along the empty, hushed corridor. She climbed a set of metal stairs, her footsteps loud in the silence. The sunship was ghostly and strange in the twilight with no signs of life despite the passengers on board. She needed to find the prince, provided he wasn't avoiding her. The hall she walked though was dimly lit by recessed panels and her shadow flung far and thin beside her. Another flight of stairs reared up and above she saw a solid door, reminiscent of the opening to the deck. On a sudden whim, she walked past the stairs and kept pacing along the hall, her shadow a blur in the gloom. The hall was familiar; the same atrium that she had stumbled into that afternoon. A door lay partially ajar and she pushed it open, guessing correctly that she had found Rafe's sunship quarters.

The door opened to a large room, kingly in decoration, and yet having the starkness of a warrior. A large bed rose before her, its gray, silk coverings untouched and empty. But the room was occupied. Rafe stood against the window, looking out on the ocean below. Blue light outlined his face as he turned to her. He was naked save for some type of satin pantaloons that perfectly hung upon his frame. Her breath caught again. He was so magnificent and now, so incredibly sad.

She stepped closer. Seeing him like this made her heart bleed. Something had shifted between them and she could not yet determine the results. She wished to console him but she knew that he wanted her to return to his country…and for his country to become strong through her. And she could promise neither of those things. Only the blindness of his love made such a thought believable to him. Everyone else, from the horrible Sanuri Torm to herself, knew she was a, well…a bad bet.

"I didn't realize I had been gone for so many hours." Her voice sounded soft and unsteady.

He appraised her with a steady quietness but she sensed grief in that stare. "Nine to be exact." Then a glimmer of mirth lifted his brow. "I hope you found the closet appropriately clean."

So, she had been holed up all night. "You really care about the state of your sunship."

His lips crooked in silent humor but sadness lingered in the blue depths of his gaze. "I left you alone. I figured you wanted the time to think. I too can get like that. I understand the need for solitude." He turned back to the window.

He was so incredibly lonely. She remembered how he had flinched when she touched him. Underneath that arrogant, princely exterior was a man who had spent a long time on his own. Like her. All she had ever wanted in those years of solitude was just a little kindness.

She did something that surprised herself. Approaching him, she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Can you put your arms around me?"

He hesitated but only for a second. His arms opened and she stepped into his warm embrace. For a long moment, they hugged each other tightly as the sun slipped fiery fingers over the horizon and began to climb.

She felt a sob rise in her throat and then she stared upon the sun. "That is the dawn."

"It is, indeed. A new day rises."

"But the sun is on the setting side." She blinked in shocked realization. "You turned the sunship around."

His lips brushed her forehead, so lightly, she may have imagined it. "Yes, we've been traveling back to Ovgarod for much of the night."

"Why? You risked everyone on board this ship." What in the world would happen to Corina? As for Rafe, he and his Sanuri would certainly be imprisoned for months, if not years while Theves raged over their captured prince. Perhaps war would break out between the countries or he would be traded back to his people at an untold price. But if she had gone back to Theves with him, war would have resulted over HER.

He looked at her, a pitying smile on his face. "Do not torture yourself with thoughts of what may happen. The world is about to enter another global conflict whether you will or not."

She thought of her runes and determination thinned her lips. If she managed to kill Luiximor, he would have a fighting chance to escape with the others, including Corina. "I may be able to prevent a war."

He hugged her. "I've seen your runes. I know what your future holds. It is a path you are destined to take, despite all the remonstrances of my heart. I was wrong to rescue you against your wishes. I do not want to imprison you in any way. Ever. Even if it causes the very thing I fear to happen."

"Thank you." She stared at him in sudden wonder. "I am sorry to have compared you to Luiximor. You're nothing like him."

"Apology accepted." He kissed her hair.

Tears returned to her eyes. His kiss was as if he said goodbye. He was right, after all. She returned to her death. But she could not remember him that way.

"I'm scared," she whispered. There. He knew it now. Underneath her rage, she was a frightened child cowering before the big, evil world.

"It's alright to feel that way." His eyes deeply searched hers. "I'm with you now. I swear upon the dark god of the Dynn that I will protect you in whatever way I can."

Tears ran down her face. He didn't know the trade she had entered. The feeling of doom ticked through her body like a countdown to her final, rattling breath.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Crying. I'm crying like an idiot."

His lips brushed her cheek. "You're incredibly brave to want to return and claim your future, little butterfly."

Her lips trembled with a smile. Her future was worthless. Always had been and always would be until she died.

"You need to relax." His broad fingers gently brushed away the wetness on her cheeks. "It's at least two hours until we hit imperial territory. Come, lie down on the bed."

"There's no way I can sleep right now." So quickly, she barely had time to follow, he picked her up into his arms. She squeaked and clung to his neck. "What are you doing?"

He stepped towards the bed and with a free hand, flung back the unwrinkled covers. "You need to recover your strength. Staring at a black sky and bottomless waves while thinking of our mortality is exhausting for you and, frankly, me as well." He lowered her to the mattress and tucked her in, pulling the blankets up to her neck. "Sleep and face the new day with a rested soul. You owe yourself that much."

The bed felt soft and warm and so incredibly luxurious, a delightful tingle rippled from her toes to her head. "Fine," she muttered.

"Happy to stick my neck out for you any day, Bright Eyes."

With a start, she realized she still clung onto his neck. He had been leaning over her for a…noticeable period of time. She released him as though his skin burned with a thousand flames. "Oh, sorry."

That faint laugh echoed upon her brow. "Your cling is like a Jumun monkey."

"A what?"

"A monkey. You'd like them. Furry, little creatures with pretty eyes and a mean temper."

"Maybe they have the right to be mean to people who bother them. Now let me sleep," she replied. Of course, she wasn't at all tired but she also didn't want to spend several hours in close, intimate proximity with him. It reminded her too much of their time in the engine room and she could not go there in her mind. Not now when she had decided to no longer live.

She gazed at him through the murky darkness, admiring the firm jaw and tousled hair that fell upon his face. The broad swell of his muscled chest as he gazed upon her.

"Sleep. Tomorrow will come when it may."

She breathed deeply and felt every bone in her body drip away into delicious nothingness. Sometime during the night, he joined her in bed. His arms slipped around her, pulling her body tightly into his great warmth, looping his leg over her… protectively . Though sleep threatened her eyelids, she kept her eyes open, savoring every moment of his heavy warmth, knowing it would be the last time and wanting the moment to never, ever end.

Rafe watched her eat breakfast. She noticed he kept to coffee; black, of course. She was learning his habits only now…when they were to be separated forever. Life felt distinctly cruel.

She recalled another question, something that had bothered her since talking to Torm.

"Rafe?"

"Hmm."

She put aside her plate to concentrate. "How exactly did you manage to see my runes in a trance?"

He sat down on the bed and studied her with a pensive frown. "I knew that Luiximor planned some great evil against my realm so I had the Temple help me enter a trance."

"What do you mean?" She gazed upon him, trying to find answers within those sky-colored eyes.

"It does not matter."

"Torm seemed to think it did."

"He is not an initiate into the mysteries of the Dynn as I am." He saw her frown and sighed. "I did what I needed to find you. I have no regrets. Your runes told me what I had to know and I set out to rescue you."

She felt her heart drop, guilt tearing at her mind. Torm had been right. Rafe had done everything for her . She would do her best to ensure they dropped her off at a deserted spot on the shores of the empire. Twisting her hands in her lap, she decided that she would find her way back to Ovgarod alone. No need to endanger everyone anymore than necessary.

Rafe's quick smile flashed forth, dispelling her gloomy thoughts. "I also made sure the Head of the Exchange knew that I was aware of what they were doing to you. Joe Blathers, I believe his name is."

She remembered Rafe's exclamation, "Was this Vala, the woman who stares at dragons? Whose rune path burns with unspent sunfire?"

She got up and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You really miss nothing, do you."

He read the awareness in her eyes. "I knew you had something planned. I could see the glow in your eyes and I wanted to help. Scared men make wonderful revolutionaries."

He pulled her close to him and she sat on his lap.

"I do not think Joe is all that bad of a person. You don't know him like I do," she said.

He pushed her hair back and stared into her face. "What exactly was your trade that Joe entered at the Exchange?"

Her eyes dropped. "I can't say. You need to trust me."

"You don't have to do this by yourself."

"I know."

"I don't think you really believe it yet. You've survived too long on your own."

She frowned, suddenly remembering. "What is the Ardemeon?"

His look was veiled, inscrutable. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "It was something Torm said to me. I've never heard of it but I thought perhaps you would know."

"Torm should mind his tongue," he coolly responded and then his hand touched her shoulder in a consoling fashion. "I don't know what he intended but it was an insult and nothing more." He stepped away and flipped open the blinds. "Look, we have visitors. Their leaky barges finally found us."

"No!" She gasped, springing up. "It wasn't meant to be this way!"

"If you manipulate the runes too directly, the future you dread may yet happen," he gloomily said.

Outside loomed several imperial sunships, their black sides blocking out the morning light. She shivered at the sight. She would not face death alone. No, she had condemned over a dozen people to capture and untold dangers afterward.

She wheeled upon him. "You can turn me over and flee. Let me go to them. Save yourselves and, please, take care of Corina."

He contemplated her reaction with a thin smile. "Us Sanuri are hardy folk and I would pick your friend over an imperial soldier any day. Come, finish eating. We will be boarded in thirty minutes. It is best to gather what strength we have for the day that awaits."