Ryrik

Quilthar crawled along this sector everywhere. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Conii's base wasn't too far from here.

I kept my hood up and my head low as I did my best to map out what I could. Two Quilthar stood watch at the junction of an alley. Another pair patrolling the Promenade. I moved further along the alleyway, hoping the watchmen didn't take notice.

Sticking to the shadows as I entered a side path, I kept moving. There were enough non-Quilthar milling about that I was not completely out of place. However, there was a noticeable lack of Vinduthi there, too. If I was discovered, the Quilthar would be on me faster than I could curse.

Even with those odds, I couldn't leave yet. I had to see if there were any weak points where I could infiltrate Conii's stronghold. If we could get Isa out, everything would be a lot easier.

There was a grate not too far from me that probably led to a service shaft that could take me closer to the area. There was also a diner next to it that was clearly a favorite of the Quilthar.

"Damn," I cursed under my breath. So many Quilthar, too many for even someone like me to take them on. Even if I got through the sewer line and up near Conii's, there would be even twice as many of her goons posted there. Add that to my complete lack of knowledge of what the inside of the complex looked like, and it was a near impossible task.

Still, knowing she was so close was like dangling a piece of meat in front of a dog. After everything we'd done to establish the Vinduthi, and there was Conii setting up shop again. Just out of reach.

Deciding there was nothing else I could do right now, I made my way out of Conii's domain. The whole way back to Amber, my mind ran through all the possibilities of what I could have done.

Maybe if I had set up a distraction at the diner, I could have slipped into the grate and gotten closer. Or if I triggered a false alarm on one side of the sector, I could have gone in the opposite way. Or maybe even if I had taken the guards out one by one and forced my way through, I would have gotten past.

But even as those thoughts came to mind, I knew they were useless.

Even if I had gotten past the obvious guards, who was to say Conii didn't have security measures I didn't know about? And deep down, I knew that no matter how much I wanted it, I could never take on all those thugs alone. I would have been caught and killed and so would Isa.

And with no one around left to protect her, probably Amber, too.

That thought alone twisted in my gut like a knife. I would not endanger Amber because of any brashness on my part.

After taking as many back alleys and hidden paths as I could, I headed to the restaurant Amber waited at. As long as we remained in the public eye, security on the station was pretty good. There were too many rich people on Thodos III to let things carry on in broad daylight. Even Conii wouldn't be so bold to take Amber from such a public place in the middle of the day.

Amber sat in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. She perked up when she saw me approaching, a worried look on her face. I sat down heavily and she called over the waiter.

"Grab us another water, please."

The waiter nodded and hurried off. Amber turned her full attention back to me. "What happened?"

I grimaced. "It's as I feared. Conii's got the Quilthar on full alert. She probably knows the Vinduthi will move against her soon, and she's not taking any chances."

Amber slumped a little in her seat. "I take it that means you couldn't get too close to her, then."

It wasn't a question. We both already knew the answer. "The closer I got, the more closely those Quilthar would have looked at me. If they saw I was Vinduthi, even if they didn't know who I was, they wouldn't have hesitated to move against me."

She nodded and fiddled with her hands. The waiter brought me some water, and I drank it down greedily.

When I finished, I gave her a grim look. "I'm afraid there's no way we can do this on our own."

"Yeah, except no one will help us. Hell, they won't even listen to us," Amber bit out.

I let out a low growl. "If only we had some sort of solid evidence to show them it's Conii behind all of this. I'm sure they'd be gunning to help us get back at her then."

Amber shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Maybe I could admit my part in her scheme. That might convince them to help us."

I set my jaw. "No."

Amber sighed. "I don't like it, either. But if it helps us get Isa back, it's worth a shot."

I shook my head. "I mean, no, it won't work."

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they won't believe you. They'll think we've prompted you to make up a story about you being a spy for Conii. Then they'll be even angrier at us for supposedly trying to deceive them."

Amber grimaced. "I suppose you're right."

"More importantly," I continued, making sure to keep my face neutral, "if they didn't believe you for any reason, they'd be inclined to take out their anger on you. I will not allow that to happen."

A small smile graced her face, and she sat up a little straighter. "I know. But before this is all said and done, I might need to take risks that endanger me anyway."

The knot reappeared in my gut at the mention of her being in danger. Logically, I knew she was right. Nothing was certain right now and there was no way I could promise her absolute protection.

There was another side of me, though, that admittedly denied I could put her anywhere near the danger.

I forced my mind to calm and refocus on the situation. The best way to keep Amber safe, to keep everyone safe, was to focus on the task at hand.

"For now, we'll have to find a way to get into the complex on our own," I said with more confidence than I felt.

Amber nodded and visibly steeled herself. A bit of pride swelled up in me at that. Amber was no soldier or even a thug or gangster used to going into something like this. Yet she had more guts than a lot of them that I'd met.

Something flashed in her eyes and her gaze became thoughtful. I gave her a questioning look. Amber gave me a half smile. "I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."

I narrowed my eyes but waited for her to continue. Amber took a deep breath. "I know Conii's compound pretty well. I could go in and get some intel. Maybe even the evidence we need to prove Conii's behind this so we can launch a full-on raid."

My whole body tensed. "Absolutely not."

She huffed. "I know you don't want me going into danger, but think about it. They're much less likely to notice me than a Vinduthi. As a human, I get overlooked every day by other species. Let's use that to our advantage."

"I noticed you," I pointed out. "And let's also not forget that some of them know who you are."

She threw her hands up. "Then I'll disguise myself. The point is that we don't have a lot of options. This is probably our best bet of ending all of this and getting Isa back."

My mind and my heart warred against one another. On the one hand, she was right. This was the most tactically sound strategy given our current situation.

On the other, Amber could get caught at any turn. She may have been able to work the Black Star, but this was a whole other viper's nest she'd be stepping into. And if Conii got a hold of her…

I opened my mouth to point all this out and more, but Amber spoke first. "I know you're going to say that it's risky and dangerous, and I already know all of that. Believe me. But I'm also not just going to sit on the sidelines when I know I'm our best shot at not only getting back my friend but taking down Conii."

She gave me a steely look. "Maybe I'm not as good as you or your Vinduthi brothers, but I'm what we need right now. If I can help take down Conii, if I can repay even a bit of the grief she caused me, that's what I want."

I stared at her expression for a moment, the utter conviction on her face. Hadn't I just praised her in my mind for having guts that surpassed even soldiers and gangsters? At this particular moment, I wished she didn't.

But then she wouldn't be who she was. And she was valiant.

More than anything, I wanted to tell her no. I tried to rack my brain for an alternative scheme. Some sort of solution that kept her out of harm's way. But nothing came to mind.

The crazy thing was, if it had been any other person, I think I would have agreed to it readily. But I'd admitted, if only to myself, that she was different for some reason.

Letting out a long breath, I reluctantly nodded. "Fine."

Amber's smile was grim but still strong. "Then we'd better get started."