Pandora took us into a large hut at the side of the cavern, but I could barely speak as we made our way toward it. Navan put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. I leaned against him, feeling dizzy. In the space of a few minutes, everything had changed, and I didn’t know how to fix it. If Navan was being drafted into Queen Brisha’s army, what did that mean for our plan?

The whole day felt surreal, and unbelievably long.

“I’m starving,” Angie said as we entered the bare hut, breaking the tension.

“I’ll fetch something you can all eat,” Pandora said, before disappearing back out of the hut.

We sat around in silence, all of us entirely shell-shocked. I guessed this wasn’t what Angie and Lauren had been expecting when they snuck to Vysanthe—for a bombing to break out just hours after they’d landed. I wanted to hug them tight, letting them know it was all going to be okay, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know that it would be.

When the food came—Pandora and a few servants bringing it in—we descended upon it, filling up plates of fruit and steaming root vegetables I didn’t recognize. Angie and Lauren eyed it curiously, but I assured them that it was safe. Meanwhile, Bashrik and Navan approached a tray of warm bowls filled to the brim with a smoking red liquid, a look of confusion on their faces.

“What’s this?” Navan asked Pandora.

“Ferakor blood stew,” she explained. Whatever that meant.

They each curiously dipped a spoon into the mixture and lifted it to their lips. Apparently finding it not unpleasant, they began to eat, devouring the strange concoction. I guessed it wasn’t what they were used to in the South.

As Pandora departed once more, we sat down on the wooden chairs that had been set up. Angie, Lauren, and I snatched up furry coats that Pandora had brought for us. Wrapping ourselves in them, we glanced nervously at one another. It appeared nobody wanted to be the first to speak, after the events of the day.

“What are we all going to do?” I asked, breaking the tense silence. Someone had to, and I couldn’t bear another moment of it. “We can’t just sit around doing nothing,” I added, gesturing to Angie and Lauren.

Angie nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it… and I’d like to help with planning for the new alchemy lab. My dad’s an architect, so I’m familiar with blueprints and architecture. I figure I could be of some use, and it’d be something I could keep myself distracted with,” she explained, not addressing Bashrik directly.

Bashrik’s eyes widened, and he shook his head sharply. “Um, no. You’ll only get in my way and slow me down. I can’t afford any distractions—not when Queen Brisha wants it built in a few weeks.”

“I used to help my dad with his projects all the time,” Angie retorted. “I’m a good assistant when it comes to things like design, and I’m pretty handy, too. Trust me, I’m not saying this to get in your way—in case you think I’m that petty. Your job just happens to be where I’d do best, and hey, if I’m not useful, you can fire me.”

“Give her a chance, Bashrik,” Navan muttered, rubbing his temples, clearly not in the mood for arguments.

Bashrik pursed his lips. “Fine. Just don’t start crying when I let you go.”

Angie rolled her eyes. “Please. As if I’d shed a tear on you.”

“Lauren?” I prompted, turning to my other friend.

She pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I’d like to be useful, but I’m not as brave as the rest of you, and I don’t have the physical strength you guys have, either… I’m honestly not sure where I can help.” There was a sense of dejection in her voice, her gaze dropping to the floor.

I smiled, knowing exactly where Lauren might fit in. “The queen has a huge library. If you could get permission from her, you could help research more about the immortality elixir. I’m sure you could find something in there that nobody has found before—a different perspective, maybe? If anyone can find something new, it’s you. You’re the smartest girl I know.”

A smile spread across Lauren’s face, her eyes brightening behind the lenses of her specs. “Sure… I could do that. I’ll read every damn book if I have to.”

That only left me. Bashrik already had his work cut out for him, and I knew what Navan would end up doing, though I couldn’t bring myself to utter the words aloud. He would be headed into certain danger, and I couldn’t bear the thought of it. His fate hung heavy over the group, remaining unspoken.

“You’re going to end up dead, Navan,” Bashrik said suddenly, voicing my own worst fear.

He grimaced. “You know I always appreciate your positive outlook on things, Bashrik—but in this case, I’m good.”

Bashrik gripped Navan’s shoulder. “Seriously, man. This is Queen Brisha’s army we’re talking about. The chances of you making it out alive are slim to none.”

“How is that helpful, Bashrik?” I sighed. This was already hard enough for me to deal with without Bashrik being a bundle of nerves.

“What about you, Riley? What are you going to do?” Lauren asked, thankfully changing the subject. Only, the question was one that had been plaguing me. I had an idea, but it wasn’t something I wanted to admit to the group just yet. It was risky, and potentially downright dangerous, but it was the only thing keeping me sane.

“Uh… I’m not sure yet,” I hedged.

Navan looked at me suspiciously, his brow furrowed. It was clear he knew I was thinking something I shouldn’t be.

“Anyway, that’s not important right now,” I continued, before he could start interrogating me. “We’ve got a bigger problem.”

“What?” Lauren asked, a note of alarm in her voice.

“We need to find a way to secretly send information to Orion, or he’s going to start killing more humans… starting with my parents.” I had delayed bringing them up to speed about that particular aspect of Orion’s latest torment. It was painful to think about, let alone talk about.

My friends gasped.

“More humans?” Lauren whispered.

“Your parents?” Angie murmured in disbelief. “How would he even find them?”

“I don’t know, but that’s his threat, and I don’t feel like testing it.” My thoughts returned to poor Galo, who had given me that advice.

“We’ll gather info from our respective positions in Queen Brisha’s ranks, pool it together, and figure out a way of transmitting it,” Bashrik said, finally on a more productive train of thought.

“There are a few remote spots that might work,” Navan added, though his eyes were still on me. “If one of us can get hold of a comm device, we should be able to hack it and do this without anyone finding out.”

A somber mood descended across the group once more, the news of Orion putting a damper on things. It was almost amusing, where we’d ended up, and in any other circumstances I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Navan and I were still somehow spying for the rebels, but now we were betraying an entirely different queen.

“I need a shower,” I said finally, wanting to extricate myself from the group. There was something I needed to do, and I couldn’t do it with everyone’s eyes on me. Slowly, I got up, and I was thankful that Navan left me to my privacy as I stepped out of the hut and headed in the direction I’d last seen Queen Brisha.

Before I could reach the main section of the command center, however, I almost ran headfirst into Pandora. She was rushing in my direction, her head down, not seeing me until we almost collided.

“Rask, I’m sorry! I was in a world of my own,” she said, skidding to a halt.

I smiled. “No problem. In fact, you might be just the person I’m looking for,” I said, realizing she might be able to help me. Queen Brisha was preferable, but Pandora was her righthand woman, which was more than good enough.

“Oh?” Pandora said.

I drew in a deep breath. “I want to join the queen’s army,” I said, voicing my plans aloud for the first time. There was no going back now that it was out of my mouth. “Either that, or train with them, at the very least,” I added, hoping for a positive reaction.

Pandora’s face was blank for a moment, and then an expression of disbelief settled over her features. She eyed me curiously. “I hope you don’t think me rude, but your species is weak—you would be of little use in the queen’s army.”

“Well… if you gave me the chance, I think I might surprise you. I’m good with knives. Even Navan was impressed by my throwing abilities. Besides, I’m stealthy—that could be of use to the queen. More importantly, I don’t want to sit around doing nothing while your queendom is being attacked. I refuse to.” I folded my arms over my chest, determined to stand my ground. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but I hoped that my proactive mentality might get me on Queen Brisha’s good side, building a bridge of trust between us. If she could learn to rely on me, that could give us the freedom to escape in the future.

Of course, my motives for joining the army were not entirely for Queen Brisha’s benefit. I knew that if I could be part of the soldier training I would be able to spend more time with Navan, and keep an eye on him. Also, it would mean I could grow stronger, and learn more about coldbloods’ weaknesses and how to defend myself better against the species. I also couldn’t help but think of Orion, and how I might exact my revenge on him if I ever got the chance, for all the torture he’d put us through—and for how he’d killed Galo.

Pandora looked thoughtful, though a strong trace of doubt remained in her expression. “Well… I suppose we are about to begin a fresh round of training soon… I should warn you, though, it won’t be easy. You will struggle and find it difficult to fit in. Everyone will think the same about you that I have, regardless of your skills.”

I knew she was right, but I wouldn’t be put off. My mind was made up.

I shrugged. “I don’t really mind what others think of me. I’ll show them I’ve got guts enough to be there.”

Pandora sighed. “All right. Then I look forward to seeing you on day one. I’ll send word when you are expected.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I said, giving her a smile. “Is it safe to go back into the palace now? I, uh, kind of really need a shower.”

She nodded. “Gianne’s troops have all retreated since the alchemy lab bombing—it’s fine to return. I’ll be passing your group; would you like me to tell them to meet you in the apartment?”

I shook my head. “Thanks, but I just need a moment alone,” I admitted.

She smiled warmly. “Of course, Riley. If you take the staircase over there it should take you up to the right tower,” she instructed, nodding to one of the doors in the side of the rockface. “I’ll see you again soon.” With that, she excused herself, heading toward the hut area at the side of the underground chamber.

Feeling a sense of relief at the small period of freedom that lay ahead of me, I hurried toward the staircase she’d gestured to and ran straight to the very top. As I reached our floor, I was breathless, my lungs burning, but I knew I was mere minutes away from standing beneath the comforting cascade of hot water. The thought spurred me on, leading me into Navan’s and my chambers.

I froze when I saw the figure standing in front of the roaring fireplace, his back facing me.

“Navan? What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised. Then again, this was exactly like him—he must have known where I’d be headed, and here he was, waiting for me.

“Where did you go?” he asked, his eyebrows raised as he turned to face me. “When you mentioned taking a shower I thought I’d come and join you, but when I went to the showers at the back of the hut village, you weren’t there… so I thought I’d wait for you here in case this was where you meant.”

I blushed. The thought of Navan and me in the shower together was just the kind of image my mind needed right now, after the turmoil of everything else. It beat solitude any day. Still, he was going to need an explanation for what I’d been up to, and I had to tell him, even if it meant distracting him from that delicious idea.

“I was talking to Pandora,” I said, biting the bullet. “I asked to join the next round of army training.”

Navan’s jaw dropped, his face aghast. “Why… Why didn’t you say anything? Couldn’t you have at least run it by me first?” he replied, a look of horror on his face. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be—and how dangerous?!”

I sighed. He sounded just like Bashrik when his voice rose like that. “I knew you’d have been against it if I’d tried to speak to you about it. Besides, who says I have to ask your permission for everything I do?” I pouted at him. “Now that we’re here on Vysanthe for the foreseeable future, I can’t rely on you to always be there. Army training will ensure we’re as close to each other as possible, but it will also teach me to be a strong fighter. I’ll end up more capable of protecting myself, which is what you want, right?”

Navan’s features softened, his disbelief fading. It surprised me to see him accepting my words so quickly, but I was glad for it. Perhaps Navan was finally learning to trust my Earthen judgment. It made me smile, his acceptance of me making him even more attractive in that moment.

“You’re right that it will make you a stronger fighter,” he said, taking a step closer to me. “And I want to be close to you, too… Plus, they’d never put you on a real battlefield—I’d make sure of that.”

That promise calmed a lot of my nerves about the idea. I wanted to learn to be a soldier, but the idea of actually being one didn’t really sit well with me. I didn’t think I had it in me to actually kill someone.

“Please don’t be afraid to talk to me, though, Riley,” Navan said, closing the gap between us. He took my hands in his, gazing down into my eyes. “I want you to feel like you can tell me anything. I know I’m not always the best at… communication, but I promise I’ll try harder to listen to you first before freaking out over things.”

“You mean you’ll be Sexy, Amazing Listener Navan?” I asked.

He smiled. “With emphasis on the Sexy.”

I grinned, allowing his arms to slide around my midriff, while draping my own over his shoulders. It seemed we were making progress, Navan and me. Although the universe’s future looked stormy and uncertain, our future seemed to be burning brighter.

He leaned in, pressing his cheek to mine, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the rough stubble of his jaw.

“Now, how about that shower?” he whispered huskily in my ear.

“Sounds like a plan,” I breathed back.

He moved in to kiss me, and as his lips caressed mine, all the pain and suffering of the past two weeks ebbed away, my world becoming what I could hold in my hands. My skin tingled as his hands traced my waist, and I trailed my hands through his hair, drawing our kiss deeper.

In this room, with him, I could imagine we were anywhere. Vysanthe didn’t exist. Orion didn’t exist. The queens didn’t exist. As long as we were in here, alone together, then the bubble of bliss wouldn’t burst. Outside, I knew the uncertainty of a dangerous future loomed over our heads, wielding a pin that could dissolve our bubble with one jab, destroying it forever.

But for now, for this moment, we were safe inside it.