Chapter 25

LEONA

A few days after my arrest, I awake with a heavy heart.

It's execution day.

I sit up in bed and exchange worried glances with the other women. Thankfully, we've been saved. But the sixty males who were arrested and charged with treason? Their hours are numbered. At intervals throughout the day, they'll be taken to the depressurization chamber in groups of five, their deaths broadcast on every info screen in the worldship.

My father is among them. So are many of his friends, but that's no surprise. I blink back tears and feel a surge of anger. I'd promised myself I wouldn't cry. The Saviors' crimes are abominable. The terms of the alliance aren't perfect, and yes even I think the aliens are getting the better end of the deal, but that's no excuse to plot the deaths of thousands.

It hurts realizing that I never really knew my father. He kept so many secrets. And while he tried to protect me sometimes, like when he paid off security officers to pretend they didn't know about the speakeasy, in the end he attempted to recruit my help with his rebel cause. I'll never forget that he wanted Zahhn dead.

The info screen in our cell flashes blue, then I hear Captain Warren's voice as he narrates a text alert that scrolls by.

Attention citizens of the Jansonna :

I have joyous news to share. Our Darrvason friends have recently located a planet called 58-Zallnanis that will be perfect for humankind. It's sixty-eight percent water, has breathable air, and contains several large continents that are brimming with life. We will reach the planet in about five months. Another joyous development—the Darrvasons have also decided to settle on 58-Zallnanis, though they do not plan to live on the same continent as humankind.

Truly, today is a day for rejoicing. Let us not forget that if The Saviors had succeeded in overthrowing the Darrvasons and gaining control of the Jansonna , all would be lost and we wouldn't be mere months away from a brand-new life on a beautiful world. Let us rejoice in the justice that is about to prevail.

Be well and be kind to one another.

The captain's message repeats several times before the info screen goes dark.

So the rumors are true. The Darrvasons have indeed located a habitable planet for us to settle upon. I'm not sure how I feel about the aliens joining us.

But what does it matter? I won't spend the rest of my days on a continent settled by humans. I swallow hard. I'll be taken to the Darrvason settlement on 58-Z. Whether as a bride or a slave, I am not certain.

All I know is that Officer Brute negotiated for our lives. A security officer who took pity on us shared this news recently, and he claimed the female prisoners between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five would be included in the next handover of one hundred women, but the older women like me would be given to the aliens for free . As compensation for the trouble brought by The Saviors.

What the Darrvasons plan to do with us, I'm not certain. But I doubt I'll enjoy it. I might trade one cell for another, but I'll always be a prisoner.

The last thing Zahhn said sends a shiver through me, and I can't stop thinking about it.

Lee-oon-ahh. I will make you pay for what you've done.

The screen flashes blue again, and I immediately turn my back to it. I climb under the covers and press my fingers in my ears. I don't want to hear the screams of The Saviors as they're executed. Executions are always broadcast ship-wide, and I've witnessed too many to count over the years.

I remain in bed for hours, trembling and crying with my fingers pressed in my ears. Maybe it makes me a coward for not watching, but I don't care. I just want today to be over.

My thoughts stray to Zahhn. I'm not sure where we stand. When he last visited me—when he somehow temporarily projected himself into the worldship's brig—he seemed bent on vengeance. He thinks I was involved in the rebel plot against his people, and he didn't stay long enough to hear me out.

I will make you pay for what you've done.

I shiver again.

Silent tears soak my pillow as I consider all I've lost. My entire life has been upended, and all the plans I had for the future have turned to dust. I used to dream about opening my own restaurant on whatever planet humankind finally settled upon—with a secret bar in the back, of course.

Growing up, I always felt so alone. So rejected. Having an absentee father will do that to a person. Especially when your mother's long dead and you have no other living family members.

My speakeasy not only kept me busy and helped occupy my mind, but it gave me the opportunity to assemble a tight-knit friend group. A chosen family. Even when Ellen, Angelo, and Michaela weren't around, I still had plenty of friendly people surrounding me at the bar. Because of the speakeasy, I never lacked for companionship.

In addition to my selfish reasons for establishing the bar, I believe I did a good thing by providing a gathering place for regular citizens of the Jansonna to hang out and unwind. A place for people to socialize without worrying about a fucking morality officer breathing down their neck.

Maybe I should've kept rebels from congregating in my bar, but how was I to know they were planning to mass murder the Darrvasons, take out the command team, and assume leadership of the Jansonna ?

The truth is, I never believed they would succeed in overthrowing Captain Warren. Over the years, several rebel groups have tried and failed. All who were caught paid with their lives.

I dig my fingers deeper in my ears, determined not to hear anything. If I hear a single scream or gasp of pain coming from the info screen, I'll wonder if it's my father, then I'll probably end up checking.

A heavy, warm hand runs up and down my back. I startle and turn over, but no one is there. As I check to see who touched me, I'm careful not to glance at the info screen or remove my fingers from my ears. How very strange. A glance around the cell shows my fellow prisoners are seated on their beds.

Again, I feel a hand caressing my back in a comforting manner. Then I detect Zahhn's familiar masculine scent in the air, and I can't help but take a huge lungful of it.

He's here . He's here but he's… not.

Not physically, anyway.

I suppose he doesn't want to fully project himself into the cell in the middle of the day. Not when my cellmates are awake and the guards patrolling the corridors walk by every few minutes.

Though our last conversation was a tense one, and I'm not sure whether he truly plans to seek retribution against me for my alleged involvement in The Saviors' foiled plot, I can't help but take comfort in his touch.

Tears burn in my eyes. Today is one of the darkest days of my life, but Zahhn is here with me, offering me the gift of his presence. Offering me comfort. I breathe deep of his scent and sigh softly as he continues rubbing my back.

Are you going to hurt me? I ask. When I'm handed over to your people in two moon cycles, will you hurt me?

There's a long pause. Then his voice finally rumbles through my head. I haven't decided yet, human female.

He keeps gently rubbing my back.