Letting Lauren off the hook, we gathered up the boxes of party decorations and wandered through the ship, calling out for the boys. The vessel was eerily silent, considering we were preparing for a party. Then again, only three of our male crew were in a celebratory mood. Navan and Xiphio were undoubtedly sulking about the whole thing.

Ronad poked his head around the door of the observatory. “In here!”

We stepped through, expecting to see the glass-fronted room we were used to. To my delight, however, the place had been transformed, the plain metal walls and ceiling having morphed into a glowing light-scape, with atmospheric music flowing through unseen speakers. Gauzy red curtains had been dragged across the floor-to-ceiling windows, which ordinarily looked out on wherever we were, giving the room an underground, speakeasy vibe.

A bar had been pulled down from one of the metal panels, as well as what looked like a DJ booth, and the boys had evidently found fluffy cushions and beanbag-type chairs to sit on, and had scattered them about the observatory, giving it an Arabian Nights feel. It was a mishmash of things, but I liked it. It certainly matched the current inhabitants of the cruiser.

“Nice job, guys—you found party mode!” Angie whistled, dumping her boxes on the floor. “Now, who wants to give us a hand with these?”

Within half an hour, the observatory was covered in streamers and glowing strings of lights, with the lanterns casting a romantic glow on the room and everyone within. Angie had wanted to put up the naughty lights, but Bashrik had yanked them down when Angie wasn’t looking and stuffed them in a hidden cupboard with the rest of the unused decorations. Meanwhile, Lauren and Xiphio had gone off to make the party food, with Stone insisting he go with them, since it was part of his tradition. I saw Xiphio grimace at the prospect of his love rival tagging along, but Lauren didn’t seem to mind. She was happy to have them both with her, and so was I. Maybe it would help her figure out which one she liked most, though she didn’t appear to be in any rush to decide.

“Would you care to dance?” Navan asked, moving over to where I stood peering out of the gauzy curtain at the expanse of space beyond.

I turned and smiled up at him. “Might as well make the most of the music, until the others come back,” I murmured. He slipped his arms around my waist, and my arms looped around his neck. We swayed from side to side, gazing into one another’s eyes, the soft music playing out the rhythm to our moving bodies. I was still worried about why he’d hidden from me, but I was determined not to let it get the better of me—not now, when we were supposed to be celebrating.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back, smiling. “I guess you came around to the idea of a party, then?”

“I like this part of it,” he admitted, dipping his head to kiss me. His hands moved up my spine, making my skin tingle deliciously.

I was just melting into the moment when Lauren and her suitors returned, carrying trays of mouth-watering food. Well, most of it looked mouth-watering, though there were a few dishes that I really didn’t feel like trying. There were bowls of blood gazpacho for the coldbloods; fish for Xiphio, which seemed a little strange considering he looked quite fish-like; breads, oils, and heavily spiced dips for us humans; and some sort of roasted insects, about the size of a small chicken, for the ambaka.

“Pull up a cushion and get yerselves in a circle,” Stone instructed brightly, setting his insect dish down on the ground and commandeering his own spot on the floor.

Everyone else gathered around, with Lauren sitting between Stone and Xiphio, and Angie and Bashrik sitting together, while Navan and I did the same, setting our plates in front of us. Only Ronad had no romantic interest to sit beside, but he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest, lifting up his bowl of blood gazpacho and inhaling the scent with a satisfied sigh.

“Ah, and can’t forget summat te drink!” Stone announced. He hopped up and ran over to the bar, pulling out a bottle of something and racking up eight glasses on a bar tray. He carried it over with deft hands, placing it in the center of the circle.

“What do we do with it?” Bashrik asked.

Stone grinned. “Drink it, o’ course!”

“I guessed as much,” Bashrik replied cheerfully. “But does it mean something?”

“Now you’re gettin’ it, my man!” Stone said in a congratulatory tone, clapping Bashrik on the back. “We go around the circle, and when it’s yer turn to tell a tale of your life, ye pour, and ye drink once you’re done!”

“I think I’ll take some of that red juice in the bar, please,” I said.

“O’ course, Ri!” He jumped up and ran to the bar again, bringing back a smaller bottle of red liquid. He passed it to me and I sniffed it, still a little dubious after my experience with Kirin and her zombie mix. “Don’t worry. There’s not a drop o’ booze in that. If there is, ye can boot me out the airlock.”

“Thank you, Stone.”

“Nay problem, pal.”

The party game sounded simple enough, though I was nervous about telling a story. I didn’t know what kind of tale we were supposed to tell, though I figured we’d find out soon enough. Undoubtedly, as the one who’d suggested we do this, Stone would be the first one to speak. I glanced around the circle as we all took some food and started to eat, at Stone’s instruction. It still stunned me that this eclectic mix had all come together, to work as one team, but I couldn’t help feeling Mort’s absence. He’d have said something funny to get us all in the right mood.

He needed to go. He’d only have gotten in the way, and you can’t afford to have dead weight going into this attack on the rebels, I told myself, brushing away my sadness with anger. After all, he’d brought it upon himself.

As I’d expected, Stone was the first to start the story-sharing, pouring himself a large glass of the liquid from the central bottle. It was bright blue, with a fruity scent that reminded me of the blue-raspberry gum I’d had as a kid. He told a sad tale about walking in the mountains with a girl he’d known. She’d been his first love, a childhood crush that should have lasted a lifetime. Tears pricked my eyes as I heard him describe the ambaka who’d stolen his heart. The Stone in the story didn’t sound much like the Stone sitting before us, but life had been hard on him—of course it had changed him along the way. He ended his story by assuring us that it had merely been a chapter in what he hoped to be a long proverbial book, and that he knew his heart could open again. He didn’t elaborate, but Angie and I shot each other a look. Meanwhile, Lauren looked anywhere else but at Stone or us, her cheeks pink.

As he downed his tumbler of blue drink, he urged Lauren to speak next. She told a simple tale of sitting in Brisha’s library one solitary evening, reading through tomes of bygone kings and queens. It had made her wonder about her own life, and how she would be remembered in thousands of years’ time. She wasn’t sure she would be remembered, but she explained that it had made her determined to live a worthy life, full of adventure and excitement, learning all she could about the universe and its unique spread of cultures. More than that, she’d sensed it had been the turning point of her new existence—it was the moment she’d known she couldn’t go back to the girl she’d once been. She downed her drink, passing the figurative baton to Xiphio.

He told a tale about searching for a rare purple pearl beneath the waters of Almaghura, which he wanted to use to impress a merevin girl he’d met. The romance didn’t last, and he claimed he was still looking for that rare pearl, casting a meaningful glance in Lauren’s direction. I tried very hard not to laugh out loud, knowing it would sound cruel. Even for a merevin, that story was cheesy as hell.

Bashrik followed, telling the story of how he got roped into designing Queen Gianne’s palace. His father had been responsible for getting him the position, though Bashrik had felt as though he was in way over his head, given that it was his first real architecture job. In a conspiratorial whisper, he told us all how he had designed an entire floor that had no entrance, and it had never been used. A whole floor, wasted.

To my surprise, Angie told the story about us hiding in the shed on New Year’s Eve, where the three of us giggled like idiots while slowly freezing our asses off. It was an amusing memory, especially told from her perspective. She even described how we’d finally revealed ourselves, and mimicked the way Lauren’s mother had screamed when we snuck up on her.

When the circle reached Ronad, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. His story was about the first time he’d told Naya he loved her. They had been sitting on the banks of Lake Tristitia, with the stars glittering overhead. He’d brought a picnic out for them, though he’d been too nervous to eat. They’d lied to Jareth, saying they were going to a screening in town, so they weren’t worried about getting home on time. When she got too cold, he’d wrapped her up warm and pulled her to him, brushing away a strand of hair and gazing down into her eyes. There, beneath the stars, he’d told her everything he felt, pouring out his heart to her. And she had said the same in return. It was a simple story, but it resonated with me.

Navan told the story of me eating hot noodle soup with him in Siberia, before dancing in the local festival. That was a nice memory, too, though it seemed to belong to a different girl, now that I was hearing it again.

And then, it came around to me. I poured my red juice and wondered what I was going to say. In the end, I settled for the story of Navan masquerading as my boyfriend on the very same day that my birthparents showed up at the door. I told everyone how that moment had changed the way I looked at Navan forever, though I’d had no idea where it would lead. With a smile, I downed my drink, passing the proverbial baton back to Stone.

This time, he told a tale about a mission he’d undertaken to steal a very important item of machinery from a Fed outpost. It was stolen technology anyway, he figured, so he’d had no qualms about taking it. He laughed, reminiscing over the way Alfa had been forced to cling to the ship with his claws as they took off, leaving scratches in the exterior for weeks after.

Before he could pass the storytelling on to Lauren, Xiphio interrupted.

“Well, I remember my first years as a fresh, enthusiastic young Fed agent,” he began drunkenly. “I was performing to the best of my ability, bringing in criminals and saving lives, living out a true career dream. No two days were the same, and I felt as though I was doing something wonderfully useful in the universe. I had a purpose and a calling, and I had never felt prouder.

“And then, a document landed on my desk, detailing a grave disaster that was due to befall the poor inhabitants of a planet named Tiburon. It ought to have been the crowning moment of my fledgling career… and it would have been, were it not for the actions of a foolish, barbaric criminal.”

Lauren burst out laughing, clamping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Xiphio!” she said, her voice muffled, her eyes going wide.

Stone smirked. “For all those missin’ something, he’s talking ‘bout me.”

“I apologize, I was under the impression it was my turn to speak?” Xiphio protested, clearly irritated at Stone’s interjection.

“It was Ren’s turn to speak. Either way, my tradition don’t permit the spreading o’ slurs on a man’s good character,” Stone replied calmly. “You’re using it for your own ends, not to offer good feelin’ and joy among us.”

“Perhaps you should have explained the rules a little more clearly,” Xiphio muttered.

Stone chuckled. “There ain’t no rules, just common courtesy.”

“You asked me to tell a story, so I chose one!” Xiphio fired back.

“Well, how’s about I say my piece on your tale?” Stone said. “Two sides to every story, right? Looks like everyone here’s heard your side—you were just givin’ it a repeat for my sake, to try and embarrass me or somethin’. I think it’s time they knew what I had to say! I’m sure it’s more interestin’ this way.”

“I’m sure it will be a false account but, by all means, be my guest!” Xiphio muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

“See, this ‘ere agent made the grave mistake of ignorin’ the pleas of the Tiburon folk, to be given another place to live,” Stone began. “Their planet were half dead and their sun were near enough snuffed, but this lad thought he knew best. Off he went on his wee mission, his head stuffed full o’ self-righteous rubbish, ignorin’ what the Tiburonians said. He even held a meetin’ with ‘em and told them they’d have to move back, once the asteroid had been exploded. Signin’ their death warrant, was this guy!”

“That is completely false, Mr. Stone, and you know it!” Xiphio interjected. “I was following Fed orders. People cannot simply be given new planets, just because they don’t like the state of their old one. Their sun had at least two millennia remaining, and their planet was habitable, if a little polluted. If they did not wish to live in dirt and dust and grime, then they should’ve taken better care of their ecosystem!”

Stone laughed. “See, this is what they were dealin’ with! Pure stubborn attitude! It wasn’t their fault their water was drying up and their lands were spent. They’d had to recover from a massive bomb blast that ruined everythin’ in the fallout. Which, I might add, the Fed never did ought about.”

“Because we couldn’t find the culprits!” Xiphio retorted.

“Couldn’t find, or never tried to find?”

“We did everything we could with that investigation!”

Stone snorted. “Not enough, though, right? Those folks were more or less refugees, trapped on a dyin’ planet. Someone had to help ‘em, and you outright refused.”

“No, I followed guidelines! Something you have no concept of!”

“So, I did what Agent Xiphio ‘ere wouldn’t. I followed ‘im and moved the charges to a different asteroid when he weren’t looking. The other asteroid hit Tiburon, and everyone got what they wanted. The Tiburonians had already been evacuated, and they got the new planet they’d been dreamin’ of. Job done, problem solved, we all went home happy.”

“Not everyone got what they wanted, Mr. Stone! My career was in tatters!”

He shrugged. “Someone always has to pay a price, Xiphio. Weren’t it worth it, now you think back?”

“No, it most certainly was not!” Xiphio looked like he was about to lunge for Stone, his cheeks a furious shade of purple, his gills flapping a million times a second.

“Hey, hey, simmer down, everyone!” I said. “This is supposed to be a party, and there shouldn’t be fighting at a party.”

Stone snickered. “Dunno what parties you’ve been to. Most of ‘em end in a brawl or two.”

“Yeah, well, this one isn’t ending in a fight. We’re supposed to be telling stories that bond us all and give us more insight into one another, right? Isn’t that the purpose of your tradition, Stone?”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Yer right, Ri,” he replied, looking surprisingly sheepish.

“Good, then I hope you don’t mind if I interject, to calm things down a bit,” I said. “See, the thing is, I keep looking around at you all and wondering how the hell we all got here. Part of me is glad we did end up together, but part of me wonders what life would’ve been like if we’d carried on with our normal lives. Only, it’s impossible to think of, because I can’t picture any existence without this guy next to me.” I glanced shyly at Navan, who was gazing at me, a smile on his lips. “I know people don’t always see eye-to-eye, especially when you’re from opposite sides of the universe, but if being with Navan has taught me anything, it’s that you can never trust a first impression.”

“I like where this is goin’!” Stone whistled, listening intently.

“See, when Navan and I met each other, he was this angry, gray-skinned creature, and I was a stubborn, naïve girl who’d never so much as left the country she was born in,” I explained, chuckling. “I was terrified of him to begin with, and would’ve done anything to get away from him, but then I saw him sitting on top of a house, staring out into space. I’d never seen anyone look sadder or more vulnerable, and even then, I felt drawn to him. I didn’t like him much, but something was pulling us together.

“He tried to frighten me once, by going into what I like to call ‘beast mode.’ I should’ve known then not to get involved with a guy who can grow wings and fangs at will.” I laughed, and Navan chuckled too. “In fact, I would’ve been willing to just turn my back on what I’d seen and go back to my normal life, but then things got in the way. Someone he’d considered a friend stole my blood because he thought my species was the key to immortality. So, Navan, Ronad, and Bashrik were forced to intervene. I was introduced to a world of lycans, shifters, coldbloods, everything… and I’ve never looked back. Had it not been for all of that, I’d never know what true love feels like. And frankly, it was worth it. Because there’s always a price, like you said, Stone.”

Navan grinned, sliding his arm around my shoulders. Xiphio was staring at us with twinkly eyes, looking like he might cry at the pure romance of it all. Even Stone looked moved, which surprised me a bit. The other four were smiling too, remembering what it had taken to bring us all here.

“Yeah, if we hadn’t been perving on you all with your shirts off, we’d be living different lives right now!” Angie declared. “I always knew boys would get me into trouble. My mom always said they would.”

“Freaking lumberjacks, ruining everything,” Lauren teased.

Bashrik smiled shyly. “You weren’t the only one to find something wonderful, Riley.”

“I wouldn’t swap you for the universe,” Angie chimed in, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him fiercely on the lips. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, the rest of us looking away in amused awkwardness.

“Well, if this is gonna turn into some sort o’ love-in, I might have to skedaddle. I’m feelin’ a little too bonded to yer all right now,” Stone mumbled. “Just gonna take this with me, keep the celebration going.” He leaned over and plucked the bottle of blue liquid off the tray, tucking it under his arm as he got to his feet.

“You never leave a party early. What’s up with you?” Lauren teased.

“Feelin’ weary, that’s all.” He smiled awkwardly at her, before making a swift exit out of the observatory.

“Wonder what’s gotten into him,” Lauren mumbled, though it was clear to the rest of us what was going on. Well, to those of us who weren’t glued to each other’s faces.

“I think I might hit the hay, too,” Ronad said, standing up.

“No! Don’t go!” I called to him, but he just smiled.

“Always leave them wanting more,” he said, laughing to himself as he left.

“Well, if everyone’s going to bed, I might as well go too.” Lauren sighed, scrambling to her feet. I watched Xiphio’s face, realizing he wanted to say something to her, but it seemed he’d lost his nerve as she stretched out, yawning dramatically.

“Might I walk you to your chambers?” he asked, finding his voice.

Lauren smiled. “It’s only up the corridor.”

“Of course, my apologies—what was I thinking?” He looked so crestfallen, I wanted to shout at Lauren to put him out of his misery.

“Although, I was thinking of getting a drink to wash out the taste of that blue stuff, if you want to come to the kitchen with me?” she murmured unexpectedly, offering out her hand to help Xiphio to his feet. It was a bold move, a blend of old and new Lauren taking over.

A wide smile spread across Xiphio’s face. “I’d be delighted to join you, Miss Lauren!”

I watched them leave the observatory, feeling excited for their fledgling romance. Even so, I couldn’t quite shake off the awkward expression I’d seen on Stone’s face as he’d left. It was clear he completely adored Lauren, but until he said or did something to show her how he felt, it wasn’t going to go anywhere. Who could blame Lauren for showing interest in the man who was obvious in his affections? Romance was hard enough without second-guessing the feelings of a potential partner.

“I guess we should be going, too,” Navan said, tilting his head toward Bashrik and Angie, who were still obliviously wrapped up in one another, their passionate kissing making me feel very awkward. She was my best friend, but there were some things a girl didn’t need to see.

I nodded. “Ready when you are.”

“Do you think they even know we’ve all left?” Navan asked as we reached the door.

I turned toward the preoccupied lovers. “Goodnight, you two!”

They didn’t make a sound, too engrossed in each other to notice that they were the only ones left in the observatory. Laughing at the pair of them, I slipped my hand into Navan’s and headed out into the hallway, making our way back to our room. It was nice to have a moment alone with him, especially after everything that had been going on lately.

As soon as the door to our bedroom was closed, I wrapped my arms around Navan and stood on my tiptoes, kissing him fiercely on the mouth. His hands found my hips, holding me tight, his breath catching in the back of his throat as he kissed me back. Recounting the story of our first meeting had created a warm, fuzzy glow between us, which I was determined to make the most of.

With a devious look on my face, I grasped his hands and pulled him over to the bed, only for him to take a step away from me, breaking free of my touch. His expression changed suddenly, becoming instantly more serious. I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at him, wondering what was going on. Was he worried about Earth? I couldn’t tell. It was something that was always playing on my mind, too, but it only made me more eager to make the most of the time we had, while we had it.

“There was a story I wanted to tell, in the circle,” he said suddenly. “I couldn’t work up the courage to do it in front of everyone, but it’s one I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time. Until now, the moment has never been right.”

“You’re not engaged to another person, are you?” I asked.

He smiled sadly. “You said I frightened you, when we first met. Firstly, I wanted to apologize. Secondly, I wanted to explain why,” he said quietly. “Honestly, back then, I was a different person than the one I am now… because of you. I hid from emotions, and I wasn’t good at dealing with things I couldn’t understand. I was dealing with a lot of pain, pent up over the years.”

“Because of what happened to Naya?”

“Partially, but there was more to it than that,” he continued. “I know I told you about the fighting pits, and me not being able to deal any death blows. And yet, you saw me kill Jethro. No doubt, you were confused. The thing is, Jethro wasn’t the first person I’d killed, though after Naya died I swore never to hurt anyone again.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you remember me saying, but before I was an Explorer, I worked for my father in his alchemy lab,” he explained. “To begin with, everything was fine; I was helping out with serums and elixirs and getting to learn all the useful stuff that made the job seem like something I wanted to do. I presume that was my father’s intention, to draw me in first, before he revealed the dark secrets of what truly went on behind the scenes.”

I looked at him with concern etched on my face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I had no idea what I was getting into. Making elixirs was one thing, but I didn’t understand then that, to create powerful alchemical compounds, test subjects are required. Toward the end of my apprenticeship, things took a turn for the worse. After we started making headway with the Immortality Theory, my father’s experiments became more extreme. Soon enough, he was bringing test subjects into the lab, from all over the place. He would send requests in to the Exploration Corps, to bring him back subjects of various species so that he could study them and experiment on them.”

“What?” I gasped.

“You saw what happened to those poor bastards at Queen Brisha’s alchemy lab, when they put that test elixir into their veins,” he murmured. “I never saw anything quite like that, but I did witness the endless suffering of the test subjects that were brought in. My father, and the other alchemists, kept them locked away in cells beneath the lab. He would send me down there to fetch them, and then… when the trial didn’t work out, or a nasty side effect took hold… it was up to me to put them out of their misery.”

“Oh, Navan…”

“I remember that first kill as if it were yesterday. I used to dream about it every night, though the nightmares have faded in recent years,” he went on. “He was a coldblood criminal who had been imprisoned for infidelity. He hadn’t robbed anyone, killed anyone, or harmed anyone physically. And yet, he’d been thrown in prison for what he’d done. I remember him crying out to me as I approached him. He thought I was going to help him.

“I remember hearing those cries and looking into that man’s eyes… and panicking. I didn’t want to kill him, but if I didn’t, I knew I would bring my father’s wrath down on my head. Worse than that, I knew I might end up facing a similar fate—Jareth had threatened as much. I realize now that it was a lie—he didn’t have that kind of power—but back then I believed every word he said. I was more afraid of him than anyone else, and I couldn’t even fathom the idea of him lying to me. Barely thinking of the consequences, I took the knife from my belt and plunged it into the man’s chest, just as my father had told me to. I’ll never forget the shocked look on his face as he fell.”

“Oh my God…”

“In that final year at the lab, I killed more people than I can count—people from all across the universe. I killed them because I had to, and with every single death, it got easier,” he murmured. “The action got easier, anyway, but the pain never went away. Then, one day, I couldn’t do it anymore. I lifted the knife to kill a Carokian and I froze. He lunged for me, snapping me out of it, but after that kill I told my father I couldn’t kill anyone else… I wouldn’t kill anyone else. He called me a coward and sent me to Lazar, and I never set foot in the alchemy lab again. It was my uncle who taught me how to compartmentalize everything, and lock pain and guilt away, deep inside, where it can’t get out. He was the one who told me that the faces of the dead never go away, but they fade over time.”

“I don’t understand. How come you went to the pits, then, when Naya died?”

He shrugged. “I was numb, and I wanted to feel something again. I wanted to remember all those I’d hurt. I wanted to be punished for everything I’d done, and everything I hadn’t done… to protect her. I wanted to pay some kind of price for following Jareth’s lead in murdering those innocents, now that he’d done the same to my sister. I knew that the only way to do that was to bring back the ghosts of everyone I’d killed. I wanted to feel that pain again and drown myself in it—it was the only way I knew how to deal with my grief.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked, concerned. “Do you want me to forgive you? I do forgive you. You were young and vulnerable; you didn’t know what you were doing. I’ve seen Vysanthean brainwashing firsthand. I know you were only following Jareth’s orders.”

“But I shouldn’t have done any of that. It’s something I’ve always been deeply ashamed of—a year of my life that I wish I could erase from my memory,” he said. “I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping it hidden, but I didn’t want to hide it from you anymore.”

“Why?”

He sighed, a sad smile playing on his lips. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

“I don’t have any secrets.”

“No… No, I suppose you don’t,” he murmured. “I just wanted to tell you mine.”

He moved forward and sat beside me on the bed, pulling me into his embrace. Nestling close to his chest, I could hear his heart beating faster. It worried me. There was something in his voice that turned my stomach in knots, a tremor of doubt bristling through my body. I wanted to press him further, desperate to ask why it felt like he was still hiding something from me. But, as he tilted my chin up and kissed me deeply, I realized I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

Besides, I was probably just being paranoid.