Navan opened the door to the Asterope, allowing the border guard in. The moment the door swung up, I was petrified of being sucked out into the darkness of space, but it seemed the Impalers had brought some contraption with them that attached to the outer wall of the ship, creating a tunnel through which they could move from their ship to ours.

Instantly, it was confirmed to me how they’d earned their nickname. They loomed in the doorway, brandishing large pikes with sharp, golden tips, the metal and the staff streaked with red. They reminded me of the spears I’d seen the rebel coldbloods using back at the hidden compound, the weapons crackling and fizzing, as though electricity pulsed through them. I wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of one of those. The spears had looked torturous enough.

The Impalers wore black and red, with streaks of greasepaint on their faces, making them look even more horrifying than they would have without it. The leader stepped forward, his blue eyes scrutinizing the ship, and everyone gathered in the main space.

Panicking, I turned to see that the shifters had morphed into green-skinned beings with bulging scarlet eyes and webbed feet, their backs hunched over, their mouths gaping open. They looked amphibian, and frankly repulsive… though perhaps not more repulsive than their natural form.

“Stay here while we search your vessel,” the lead Impaler instructed, ushering his colleagues into the small space.

There were ten of them, some male, some female, though all equally terrifying. Branching out from the main space, they flooded the corridors, entering the pods. I could hear the sound of things being thrown around, the whole place being ransacked in search of contraband.

One of the large male Impalers stopped in front of me, his eyes boring down into mine. Quickly, I dropped my gaze, taking on the role of subservient underling. He sniffed me, jabbing my shoulder with the end of his pike. The tip bristled, but no shock of electricity jolted down my arm. He was just testing me, checking to see if I’d react. I didn’t, keeping a cool head, playing the part I’d been assigned.

“What are you?” he growled, his breath hot on my face.

I shook my head. “Nobody, sir,” I breathed.

“You got that right,” he sneered, before pulling away, evidently satisfied that I wasn’t harmful. Even so, my heart was pounding in my chest, my lungs barely able to catch a breath. Now, more than ever, I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be on the edge of Vysanthe, with no choice but to land or die. I wanted to be home, wrapped up in the safety of familiarity. Even the comforting sight of Navan’s eyes, watching me closely, couldn’t take the all-consuming fear away.

Once or twice, several of the Impalers walked past the spot where the hatch was hidden away, but the design was too clever, foxing them. They didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, their eyes barely glancing over the invisible panel as they moved on to more obvious hiding places. They turned over all the food boxes, pulling out everything, only to cast each item aside once they realized what it was. In the cockpit, I could hear a few of them rattling around. They exited, shrugging at their leader with disappointed expressions on their faces.

They hadn’t found anything.

“Remain here. The queen will be in touch shortly,” the leader said, once he had regrouped his troops. With that, they left the ship, the outer door sliding shut after them. I could still hear the sound of their heavy boots on the walkway they had connected from their ship, but that soon faded, leaving the Asterope in uneasy silence.

I was about to ask a question when Navan lifted his finger to his lips. “In case they’ve stuck bugs on the ship,” he whispered.

I nodded. The last thing I wanted was for those terrifying individuals to return because of something I said. Instead, my eyes flicked to the invisible hatch. Lazar was standing beside it, his arms folded across his chest. With the Impalers’ surveillance uncertain, it was clear nobody wanted to open the hatch… just in case. It would have to wait until we were on the ground.

Several minutes later, the sound of the ship’s siren blared in my eardrums, the red light flashing once more. Queen Gianne was calling.

Navan immediately hurried toward the cockpit door, disappearing inside. This time, I didn’t follow him. Instead, I stayed in the main space of the ship, watching as the screen flickered to life again on the far wall.

“It seems you passed my test, Navan Idrax,” Queen Gianne said, smiling coldly. “Your father will be so happy to see you’ve returned.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Navan replied, his tone tight. “I look forward to an audience with you, so we might exchange information.”

Queen Gianne laughed. “We’ll see,” she murmured, before the screen went dead. In place of Queen Gianne’s face, a message appeared. Permission to dock, it said, flashing repeatedly.

Lazar moved away from the others and entered the cockpit, with me following close behind. I sat down on one of the chairs in front of the command module and let Navan and his uncle get to work, flicking switches and moving levers to bring the ship down to the planet of Vysanthe.

“Would you like to see?” Navan asked, turning to look over his shoulder at where I sat.

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to see this new planet or not. He pressed a button, and the shimmering façade of the ship’s front fell away, revealing the expanse of space beyond the glass. In front of my eyes lay a dark planet with two icy tips at either end—the planet’s bitter poles, no doubt. Across the surface were glowing lights, a sign of the cities and towns there. It was strange to see a new civilization rising up in front of me, with people milling about below, going on with their lives, oblivious to our presence above them.

It did not look like Earth, with its welcoming blue and green, its swirling white clouds streaming across the atmosphere. This was its gloomier, darker twin. This planet was far larger than Earth, though I could make out expanses of black water tinged with the pale blue of ice. There were certainly no welcoming vibes. In fact, everything about it screamed a warning to turn back, and run as far from it as possible.

Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t an option.

“It’s… something,” I said, unable to find the right words for my fear and awe.

“A savage beauty,” Lazar murmured, his eyes drawn to the sight of his home planet. “Just like its queens,” he added, almost to himself.

Slowly, the Asterope began to descend, the planet drawing closer. The stars disappeared as we powered through Vysanthe’s atmosphere, following the Impaler ship that flew ahead of us, its engines glowing blue in the darkness.

We seemed to be heading for mountainous terrain, with not a city in sight. I thought it a little strange, but I didn’t even know what strange was anymore. Everything was weird. A vast peak rose up, the apex topped with snow, the sky around it stormy. Rain lashed against the windscreen of the ship, the water running down in fierce rivers. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a crack of lightning shot out across the bruised storm clouds, lighting everything up for just a moment with its angry glare.

After navigating through a wide, gaping entrance in the side of the snowcapped mountain, Lazar landed the ship a short distance away from where the Impaler ship docked. We were in some sort of cave, though it wasn’t the usual kind—the floor was polished stone, and there were monitors and screens everywhere, running through diagnostics of the ships beside them. Coldbloods wandered around, helping ships to land and fixing any that might be broken, their heads buried inside the bellies of these mechanical beasts.

Some of the ships looked like ours, superficially—with the same shimmering, almost liquid surface—while others were far bulkier and less sleek. That was good, because it meant the Asterope could blend in, and they hopefully wouldn’t notice that, under the hood, it was more advanced than their ships. I realized this must have been how Navan had managed to keep his advanced ship, Soraya, a secret—he’d made the exterior blend in with other regular Vysanthean ships.

“Are you ready for this?” Navan asked, as two clamps extended from the cave walls and gripped the Asterope. A jolt told me it had been secured.

I shook my head. “Can I go home if I say no?” I half joked.

“I’m sorry, Riley,” he said, looking crestfallen.

With a smile that belied my terror, I walked over to him and looped my arms around his neck, not caring that Lazar was there. Gently, I kissed him on the cheek, and looked up into his eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Navan.”

He exhaled, taking my hands in his. “Stay close to me.”

He then led me out of the cockpit and into the main space, where the rest of the team was waiting. There was a nervous energy in the room that was hard to ignore, but I did my best as we headed for the ship’s exit.

As the door slid up, we stepped out into the cave. The cold hit me like a slap to the face, but that wasn’t the worst of my problems. Coldblood guards swarmed us in an instant, brandishing the electrically charged pikes and spears they seemed to favor. One grabbed me, pulling me roughly to one side. Navan tried to keep hold of me, but another guard stepped forward and slammed the staff of his spear down on my wrist, forcing me to recoil from Navan’s touch.

All around me, the other members of the Asterope crew were being manhandled, pulled and pushed in every direction by the armed guards. It all happened in a blur.

“I demand to know what you’re doing!” I heard Lazar call out.

“We’re taking you for interrogation,” one of the guards barked back, hauling him toward the exit of the cave.

“Stop!” Navan shouted. “I will keep my slave with me, or you will answer to Jareth Idrax. She is my property. I will not allow her to be sullied by your hands!” I wasn’t sure I liked the way it felt to be called his property, but I knew he was doing it to keep up appearances. I was supposed to be his personal slave, after all. Besides, I knew it pained him to have to use his father’s name to get something.

The guard holding me relaxed his grip slightly. “Boss?” he asked, turning to one of the other guards, who was evidently their leader. On his face, he bore a tattoo, just below his eye. It was a fanged animal of some sort, though it wasn’t a creature I recognized.

“Keep the girl with Idrax,” he muttered, clearly disliking having to bend to superiority. “We’ll leave it to Kiel to decide.”

With the decision made, my guard shoved me toward the vast door that yawned at the far edge of the cave. It led into a long tunnel, which branched out into several smaller tunnels. The guards took us along the one at the very end of the passageway, stopping in front of a hallway of doors.

I watched as Lazar, Nestor, Cristo, Kalvin, and the two shifters, still shaped like Carokians, were pushed through doors. These were interrogation rooms. They couldn’t be anything else. I gulped, realizing we were all going to be questioned separately. I knew enough of the plan to muddle through, but I was convinced I’d get some part of it wrong.

Navan and I were held outside one particular door. The guard holding Navan knocked once, and it swung wide open. There was a squat, barrel-chested troll of a coldblood standing on the other side, his muddy brown eyes peering curiously from me to Navan, and back again. This must be Kiel.

“Commander Kiel, we have Navan Idrax. He insisted he bring his pet along—do you want us to put her in with someone else? Grillo might like a go at her,” the guard said, his tone menacing.

The pugnacious coldblood raised a bushy eyebrow, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Send her to Grillo,” he said, flicking his wrist down the corridor.

Navan strained against the man holding him. “She can’t be interrogated alone, not by a Vysanthean. She’s too weak—she’ll faint… and she’ll be useless to you and me, if that happens,” he added frostily.

“What is she?” the coldblood named Kiel asked, stepping closer to inspect me.

“Unknown species; I never thought to ask,” Navan said. “A weak, feeble little race, way off in the Severn Quarter. I could have wiped them all out with my bare hands—they break so easily, not much use to anyone. Couldn’t resist stealing this one away, though. I mean, could you?” I felt a little sick, hearing Navan speak like that about me, despite knowing he had to.

It seemed to please Kiel and the other guards, who laughed raucously. The guard holding me even brushed his hand across the curve of my neck, making me shudder. I was already shivering from the cold, but that creature’s touch added to it.

“How does she taste?” the guard asked.

Navan shrugged. “Not too good. Still, she’s a fun thing to have around.”

Another splinter of vile laughter echoed down the hallway. All I could do was stand there and listen, helpless to stand up for myself.

“Well, you’d both better come in here then,” Kiel said, and the two guards roughly shoved us both into the room, which seemed to be hewn from the cave itself.

Inside, there was a desk and two chairs and not much else, save for the rack of weapons that hung from the ceiling. The walls dripped, and the bitter cold began to seep into my bones, my body going into spasms. Navan flashed me a look of apology, but I didn’t respond, not wanting to give myself away.

“Do you think you could have some blankets brought? My slave isn’t used to the cold,” Navan said.

“What do you think this is, a hotel?” Kiel replied.

“She’ll die if you don’t, and I’m not finished with her yet,” Navan retorted.

Kiel sighed. “Fine,” he muttered, poking his head back out of the interrogation room to ask a passing guard to bring blankets.

In that brief second of time, Navan reached over and took my hand in his, lifting it to his lips for one daring kiss. It was a bold move that could have gotten us into a lot of trouble, but the small act warmed me. It steeled me against what was to come, knowing I had Navan by my side in all of this.

“You sure you’re an Idrax?” Kiel asked, turning back to the room.

Navan smiled coldly. “Last time I checked.”

Kiel pulled a face. “I’ve never known an Idrax to show sympathy to anyone, let alone a feeble specimen like this… however pretty it might be,” he sneered. I sucked in a breath at the suspicion burning in Kiel’s eyes. Clearly, the queen had told him not to trust Navan, despite his high status.

“Can we just get on with this?” Navan said tersely.

Kiel’s mood shifted in an instant. Grabbing a golden blade from the rack of weapons, he stormed toward Navan and shoved him into one of the chairs, resting the sharp edge against his neck. I started forward, but a look from Navan held me back. The blade crackled and pulsed, Navan’s eyes going wide as a bolt flew from the weapon and into his skin. His fingers curled over the armrests of the chair.

“Who are you?” Kiel demanded.

“Navan Idrax,” Navan replied, his voice thick with pain.

A second bolt flashed from the blade. “Why are you here?” Kiel asked.

“I have information… information about the rebels… I need to tell the queen.”

“Who are the people on your ship?”

“Rebels who have… come over to my side. I… convinced them to join me. They… wish to tell the… queen everything. They… want to… tell her… where the rebel base… is.”

“What happened to Jethro and Ianthan Plexus?” Kiel ventured, sending another bolt through Navan’s skin.

“They… betrayed the… crown!” he yelled, forcing the story from his lips. “They… wanted to… tell Queen Brisha… all of Queen Gianne’s… secrets. They wanted… to mount a… rebellion. They wanted… to get the… rebels to… fight for Queen Brisha. I… stopped them.”

“Are you sure you aren’t the traitor?” Kiel asked, reaching up to the rack of weapons for a strange, claw-like device.

“I’m sure!” Navan grated out.

“Are you positive about that?” Kiel smirked coldly before fixing the device into a slot in Navan’s chair and adjusting it so that it was against Navan’s chest, the sharp edges touching his flesh. The center whirred, a white glow emanating outward. Navan roared, his fangs flashing as he struggled to break free of the device.

“I am… no traitor!” he hissed, and every jolt he took, I felt. I could hardly bear to look at him.

Kiel grimaced. “We shall see,” he said, before mercifully leaving the room. Though, somehow, I didn’t get the sense that he was convinced by Navan’s tale.

Watching the door intently, I could hardly believe he had gone, but here we were, Navan and I, alone again. I ran over to him, but Navan forcibly raised a hand to stop me. As my skin brushed his, I felt a bristle of electricity snap between our bodies.

“It… will… hurt you,” he said, his chest heaving with the exertion of fighting against the device that Kiel had left in place. The glow had ebbed slightly, but I could see it was still causing him pain.

“Dammit, I want to get this thing off you!” I said, but he raised his hand again, pushing me away.

“No. Just… stand back,” he snapped. I staggered back, obeying his request even though it went against my every instinct. He then drew in a deep breath as if to calm himself, his eyes settling on me. “Just keep it together,” he said in a softer voice. “The queen is about to arrive.”