From the rock-hewn labyrinth of the cave’s underbelly, Aurelius ushered us onto a bullet train that was waiting on a platform, the carriages empty.

As I sat beside Navan, the engine thrumming to life beneath us, my mind drifted toward thoughts of Queen Gianne—was she interrogating the rest of our group right at this very moment, coming to her “conclusions” about their loyalty? What if it was bad news?

The negativity was forced out of my mind a moment later as the bullet train took off, racing through a network of tunnels so fast that everything beyond the small windows was a blur. I could feel the skin of my cheeks pulling backward, as though I were on a rollercoaster, my body being knocked from side to side and pushed back against my seat as the bullet train zipped around corners and zig-zagged through tricky terrain.

It slowed as we approached an imposing building that was cut into the side of another mountain. Lights glowed in the windows that had been carved into the rock, the radiance oddly comforting to my human eyes amid all the icy gloom that surrounded us.

We came to a standstill at another platform, where a few weary-looking coldbloods stood waiting, faces lit up in surprise at the sight of Aurelius in the front carriage. Apparently, he was something of a celebrity in these parts—no doubt because of his association with Queen Gianne.

Aurelius pushed Navan and me through the small crowd and into what looked like a service corridor, tucked away behind the banal structure of a ticket office. He hurried us down it, bringing us to an elevator at the very end. When he pressed the top button, the elevator instantly whizzed upward, my knees feeling even weaker beneath the pressure that swarmed in around me, threatening to crush me. Everything was more extreme here, I was beginning to realize—no wonder the coldbloods had tougher skin, and muscles as hard as concrete.

At least here, in this mountain, it was warmer. I had stopped shivering once we’d stepped off the bullet train, but I could feel gusts of icy wind blowing in through the thin gaps in the elevator doors, making me think we were shooting up the outside of the mountain structure.

When the doors pinged open, we had arrived at a circular foyer, with several rooms leading off from the central space. Aurelius led us up to one of the doors and unlocked it, before gesturing for us to head inside.

“You will be locked in, for now. Queen Gianne will decide if you will be permitted a key,” Aurelius explained curtly, evidently displeased at being the errand boy. “Should you require anything, please call the concierge on the comm device in your room.” With that, he closed the door, locking it before he left.

“I don’t think he likes you, Navan,” I teased halfheartedly. “Thinks you’re in the running for his job.”

Navan grimaced. “Don’t remind me. Feels like I end up following in my father’s footsteps, even if I do everything I can to go in the opposite direction.”

“Literally in the opposite direction!” I said, wanting to get a smile to break the stern surface of Navan’s face. It felt like we both needed a moment of levity after everything we’d just been through. “I saw that map of yours—you can’t get any farther away from here than Earth.”

A small smile played on his lips. “How do you think I ended up there?”

“I can see it now,” I said, closing my eyes and pretending there was a giant map in front of me. “Eenie, meenie, minie, mo!”

“Something like that,” he replied softly, coming over to where I stood. Slowly, he put his arms around me. I turned my head so I could nestle into his chest.

“What are we going to do about the others?” I asked, my playful energy fading as I remembered the torture they were likely experiencing, right at this very moment. Tears pricked my eyes once more, and I snuggled into Navan’s embrace, feeling the safety of his arms around me.

It was Lazar I felt sorriest for—he was an older man, with so much to lose. How quickly could one of those devices break a man weaker than Navan? How many secrets would they reveal, if Queen Gianne played her execution trick on them? Even our tentative freedom could not be taken for granted—if they told the truth, we would all be done for.

“We’ll get them back in one piece, don’t worry,” Navan said. “They’re smart guys—they’ll figure out lies that work. They won’t give up the truth, not when they have so much to lose. That’s the thing about rebels—they have a cause.”

I smirked, picturing Navan as James Dean, his t-shirt sleeves rolled up, his hair styled back in a messy sweep.

He eyed me with curiosity. “What?”

“Reminded me of an old movie—Rebel Without a Cause?”

Navan smiled. “Don’t think it’s reached us yet. Anyway, these rebels do have a cause, and they won’t give any of us up. I promise you. They might be morons, for the most part, but I think they genuinely believe in what they’re doing here. I might not agree with it, but I have to admire their tenacity.”

As Navan dipped his head to kiss me, a loud noise pierced through the quiet. It was coming from the corner of the room, where a blue light was flashing wildly. A moment later, a holographic image of a handsome older couple popped up. One, a brown-haired woman with high cheekbones, grinned prettily, while the other, a muscular man with dark hair, showed only a close-lipped smile. Above them, the words Incoming Call blinked on and off in bold white lettering.

“Navan? It’s your mother and father,” the woman’s voice said.

Breaking away from me, Navan stormed across the room to where the holographic comm device sat, and punched the blue button so hard I thought he might break it. With a whoosh, the holographic image disappeared, leaving only the blank wall behind it. The Idraxes had gone.

He punched another button on the device, every light on the machine sputtering out as he powered it down. Now there was no way for his parents to get through.

I frowned as he returned to me with a face like thunder. What was it about his parents, his father especially, that he hated so much? I knew about his sister, Naya, and the terrible way in which she had died. His father had been responsible for that, after concocting the damaging elixir intended for Ronad that had ended up in Naya’s system, killing her. It was enough to scar any man for life, and keep him at a distance from such a person. But, despite the reasoning behind it, Jareth Idrax had never intended to kill anyone. He had been worried about keeping up appearances, and it had resulted in a tragic accident that had no doubt scarred Jareth and his wife, too.

No, there had to be something more to Navan’s dislike—I could sense it.

“Why do you despise them so much?” I asked.

“I told you about my sister,” he muttered, his eyes flashing with hurt.

“I remember every word,” I promised, “but there must be something else to it. What your father did was wrong and terrible, but it was an accident. An awful accident.”

Navan’s face turned sour. “You’re siding with my father?”

“Of course not!” I said. “I think what he did was awful under any circumstances. He should have let your sister and Ronad be, but that doesn’t change what happened. It’s just that… Well, your hatred for him now seems to be as fresh as if something awful had just happened, and I don’t understand why.”

For a long time, Navan said nothing, just stared at the opposite wall. Finally, he replied, “That man has ruled my life for too long. Throughout my childhood, my adolescence, my adulthood, he has always been there, lording his superiority over me, cracking the whip to make me like him… to make me better, always better. Not long ago, it got to the point where I felt like my life wasn’t my own anymore. I was a puppet, and he was pulling the strings.” He paced in front of me, avoiding looking me in the eyes. I was proud of him for saying this much, given that he wasn’t usually one for big displays of feeling or sharing.

“What did he do?” I asked.

Navan sighed. “My parents have always had ‘ideas’ about us all. Everything has to be set out, planned down to the tiniest thing. In their minds, nothing can be left to chance. After the incident with Ronad and Naya, they went into some sort of crazy parent mode. They didn’t want any of us choosing partners for ourselves, since apparently we could no longer be trusted. It was either do as they say, or stay a bachelor, basically.” He scowled, shaking his head.

I frowned, hoping he hadn’t chosen the former. I’d never heard him mention a girlfriend back home on Vysanthe, but then again, I’d never asked about one either.

No, I told myself, he would have told you if he had a girlfriend here. He wouldn’t have kept that from you. Looking into his earnest eyes, I knew it was true—he wouldn’t deceive me.

“Couldn’t you talk to them, and just… explain?” I asked, wanting to switch my line of thought. If there had been a chance he was seeing someone else, this was the moment he would have come out with it.

Navan exhaled, running a hand down his tired face. “Riley, I’m tired and really don’t want to talk any more about my parents now. I’ve been through enough for one day. Let’s just… enjoy this time we have together.”

“Of course. I’m sorry,” I said, beckoning for him to join me on the bed. There were two of them in the room, but there was no way I was sleeping alone tonight.

He stood in front of me, cupping my face in his hands, my chin tilted upward so our eyes were locked in a steady gaze.

But I could barely focus on his eyes. By the faraway look on his face, I guessed he couldn’t focus on mine either. There was just too much at stake here. One false move and the whole house of cards would come tumbling down.

“What if an interrogator manages to crack one of the guys? Or kills them?” I asked. “Do you think Orion would listen to us, or do you think he’d just activate the implant and take me out of the equation?”

With a sigh, Navan sat down on the bed with me and put his arm around my shoulder, leaning his head against mine. “I don’t know, Riley. I just know I have to do whatever it takes to stop him from activating that thing,” he said bitterly, his fingers tracing the curve of my neck, where Orion had implanted the chip.

“But what can we do?” I mused, thinking about the mission brief. We were supposed to find weaknesses in the queendom and send information back to the rebel base. We were supposed to send her on a wild-goose chase. “When we see the queen again, we can’t leave it up to the rest of the crew. You’re going to have to tell her where the rebel base is.”

Navan looked shocked. “I can’t tell—” he began, but I cut him off, realizing he’d misunderstood.

“The rebel base, a year away from here,” I said, reminding him of the ruse. “If the others haven’t told her yet, then what does it matter if you tell her? She’ll likely go and look at the outpost first, anyway, seeing as that’s only a week or so away. That buys us time. Besides, you can always explain that your rebels have more information she might be interested in—I’m sure they can come up with something juicy,” I said, giving him a knowing look.

A half smile passed across Navan’s lips. “Maybe you’re right. I wouldn’t be surprised if she sent teams to both, to scope out the area. A year is a pretty long time, though,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to be one of the poor bastards who gets that job.”

I nodded. “Maybe you should speak with Aurelius tomorrow, get a better idea of how the others are,” I said, knowing the half-winged advisor might be the perfect source of information, where Queen Gianne and the queendom were concerned.

Navan smiled. “Also a good idea,” he replied, twisting a strand of my hair between his fingertips. “I’d like to show you the Observatory too.”

“Sounds interesting,” I said, still a little nervous about the idea of walking around Vysanthe, with coldbloods at every turn. I leaned my forehead against Navan’s, letting our breaths mingle together. “You know, I’m almost glad that I’m here—with you. Even if it means…”

“Don’t, Riley. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you,” Navan breathed, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. He pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that was slow and sweet, before he pulled back to look into my eyes. “We should get some rest for tomorrow,” he said, his voice a little stronger, and I nodded.

Exhausted, I didn’t bother to change out of my clothes from the ship as I slipped under the covers. Navan took off his shirt, and my gaze traced his bare back.

“I’ve always been curious about your wings,” I said shyly. “How do they feel? Could you…?”

A smirk returned to Navan’s lips as he unfurled his dark wings in a gust of air, and joined me in the bed. He pulled me into the comfort of his arms and enveloped us in his wings. I felt their strangely smooth surface against my skin as I drifted off.

At least for tonight, I could sleep well.