Chapter 18

"Levi!" came the sharp whisper through the basement's grates that afternoon.

Levi looked up from where he sat, still throwing the rubber ball at the wall, but the last throw went uncaught as he scrambled up to the window.

He pressed the tips of his fingers through the small grate, as much as they could fit, and he felt her warm hand rest on top of his fingers. But against the harsh afternoon sun, it took his eyes a second to adjust to her silhouette through the tiny grate. When they did, he had to grin at what he could make out.

Cora was dressed in Jorvlen clothes, her head wrapped in a turban, with only her eyes showing. She'd managed to arrange her long dark hair in such a way that her face looked to be sprouting a thick layer of fur.

If Levi didn't look too hard, she almost looked like one of the Egshurs he'd seen scurrying around the surface of Jorvla. He'd observed the streets through the grate that morning and knew exactly what she was imitating.

"I like your outfit," he joked before becoming more serious. "And I'm glad you're all right."

Levi could see her eyes smiling, even though her mouth was covered.

"I hope you are, too?" she asked.

Levi nodded. "I'm fine, but they know who I am now. We need to get out of here. Quickly."

Cora was obviously concerned by the news, but she didn't miss a beat.

"Well, the good news is I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find some explosives. There's a starship factory on the north side of town. I just have to figure out how to get there without being seen," she told him.

Levi felt a wave of relief at her words, especially when he realized he might be able to help.

"I've seen the trash collectors come around in the mornings. They seemed to travel south to north, so if you managed to hitch a ride here, they'd probably take you near the factory, if not straight to the front door," he told her, hoping his information might be useful.

Cora smiled again. "This is why we make such a good team," she said.

Levi smiled back. "Oh!" he said suddenly. "I almost forgot!"

He held up a finger as if to tell her to wait and then jumped back down to collect the small package he'd stashed for her under his pillow.

"It's pretty gross," he told her when he returned. "But it's something."

Levi opened the package to reveal half of the Jorvlen food he'd been given that morning, and he squeezed it into the small slit of the grate. It was clear Cora was already risking enough to find the explosives. If he could prevent her from having to look for food, too, he might just be able to stop her from being caught. And besides, it was the least he could do since she was working to get him out of this holding cell.

She gave him a look of gratitude that, under normal circumstances, would not be a fitting reaction to the gray lumps he was offering her. But they both knew what the rations meant—that they were in this together.

"Thank you," she said, taking the food through the grate. She glanced over her shoulder then, before looking back at Levi. "I should go, but I promise I'll be back with the explosives. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow," Levi said, nodding.

With one last look into his eyes, she was gone. Levi felt the sudden empty coolness on his fingers where Cora's hand had rested before, and his heart ached to be close to her again. He hated this waiting, this worrying. And most of all he hated that he couldn't be out there to protect her. If anything happened to Cora, he'd never forgive himself. He knew that.

For now, Levi could do nothing for her except be patient. He was simply left to wait another day to be with Cora again and another day for his freedom.

He sighed, turning back to his cell and the loneliness that accompanied him there. The rubber ball had rolled away somewhere while his back was turned. For lack of anything better to do, Levi poked around under the bed until he found it nestled in a small crack in the otherwise uniformly gray wall.

He settled back on his mattress and was about to throw the ball when he instead held it in his hand for a second. He hoped that soon, instead of a dirty rubber ball, he'd be holding the Desolation Stone.

Even though his thoughts still lingered on his father and brothers, finding the stone was more than just a matter of pride. It was a matter of life and death. If he failed, his life and the lives of those on the planet he loved were over. With that thought in mind, he threw the ball hard against the ground, watching it rocket toward the wall and land back in his hands.

Thadunk!

Nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling his duty.

Levi whiled away another flick or so like that, but soon his eyes began to droop. It had been a long and restless night, and before long, the rhythmic sound of the rubber ball slowed and then stopped completely.

In fact, Levi didn't wake until dawn the next day, when the morning began to filter in through the narrow grates. Not long after that the Jorvlens brought him his single daily meal—more animal droppings by the look of it.

"It looks like you won't be wasted collateral much longer," one of the guards said as he dropped the breakfast tray on the bed just as he had the day before.

"What does that mean?" Levi asked warily, not even bothering to inspect the food this time.

The Jorvlen smirked. "We've gotten word from the higher-ups that you're to be moved. We're this close to putting the next phase of the plan into action, and you're the next piece of the puzzle."

Levi's heart caught in his throat, thinking the Jorvlens were about to drag him out of the cell right there and then. But to his relief, they just shot him another smirk before leaving him to eat his gray lumps.

"See you soon," one of them lilted mockingly as they shut the door.

Levi frowned, his chest tightening as he wondered how soon "soon" was. It was still early—several hours to go until the trash collectors came through and Cora hitched a ride to the starship parts factory. Possibly several more until she could get back. And that was the best-case scenario. What if she got caught in the meantime? What if they moved him before she could get back?

Not even the rubber ball was enough to distract Levi now. It stayed firmly wedged between the mattress and the wall, and Levi stared into the blankness of the empty cell.

He had to have faith, and he knew he would fight tooth and nail to find Cora, no matter what happened. If the Jorvlens came to take him away, he'd try to escape, or else he'd escape later and find her.

One thing he did know—he wasn't going to sit back and let the Jorvlens take everything and everyone he loved away from him.

Levi was suddenly struck by the word.

Everyone he loved.

A small, warm smile spread over Levi's face as he pondered the thought and counted the seconds until Cora came back. He only hoped it wasn't too late when she did.

He had something he needed to tell her.