Jade felt Dragon’s despair and anguish as if they were hers.

It was unsettling because she needed to keep her wits about her and couldn’t risk having an emotional breakdown. Centering her inner self on the mission ahead, she called forth her assassin nature and mentally visualized the ship’s geography.

“They are coming here next,” she said, at the same time Dragon said, “I need to take you somewhere safe.”

As they talked, the siren became louder. A metallic clank announced that the compartment walls between the ship’s sections were being lowered as a safety procedure, locking them inside their quarters.

“I have a better idea,” she shouted, pulling at their united hands. “Let’s save the princess, recover Glory, and kill whoever stands in our way.”

Dragon’s hand squeezed Jade’s as if to pull her back, then he said, “All right,” and led the way outside as the crew opened to let them pass. “Which way is the safest to the kitchens?”

“We used the shaft tubes to escape notice,” the older man answered. “And now it’s the only way to cross the ship.”

“There must be a hatch entry that opens into our chambers,” Jade said, looking around.

Dragon’s quarters were large enough to justify a crawlway that the maintenance crew could easily access through the shaft tubes which formed a system of narrow tunnels encased inside the ship hull.

“This way.” Dragon turned toward the small living room and continued to the adjacent library. “There.” He stopped in front of the shelves brimming with tomes and raised one hand to push at the spines of two books that abutted against the lateral frame of the furniture. The entire wall swung on well-oiled hinges, revealing a low shaft tube behind.

“Get in,” Dragon said to Jade.

She crouched and entered the tube, taking care not to raise her head lest it bang against the low ceiling. A frosty cold fogged her breaths into small puffs. Dragon dropped to his hands and knees and followed her inside. Jade promptly moved further in to let the rest of the crew fill the crawlway. The last to enter activated the hatch that closed behind them with a hissing sound. Darkness engulfed them for a moment but was replaced by a feeble luminescence when one of the crew turned on an emergency light.

On all fours, they made slow but steady progress without talking.

After several minutes, Dragon broke the eerie silence. “What are your names?”

“Lewis, High Lord.” The older man answered first, followed by the rest of his men.

“You were very brave, and I owe you for risking your lives to warn us,” Dragon said. “Thank you.”

“We’re just doing our job,” Lewis answered, and the rest of the group agreed in a chorus of “Aye.”

Even though Jade maintained a good pace that should have warmed her, the cold soon seeped through her bones, chilling her to the core until her teeth rattled in her mouth.

“How long before we reach the kitchens?” Jade asked through clenched teeth a few minutes later.

She already knew that the utility wing was located on the opposite side of the living quarters, it was the same on every spaceship, but little variations in the design could mean their destination was farther away than she thought.

A small cramp seized her stomach. Walking while crouching wasn’t comfortable, and compounded with the near-freezing conditions, it made for a miserable time. She could only imagine how worse it was for someone as big as Dragon who had to crawl, keeping his body close to the ground. At least he ran on the hot side.

“Another fifteen minutes,” Lewis answered.

Another cramp hit her. This time, the pain was stronger. Jade stopped, clutching her belly. The rest of the group halted behind her.

“Jade—?” Dragon called her, worry in his voice. “Are you okay?”

She hurried to answer, “I’m fine,” but she wasn’t because she felt a third cramp starting, and it was the most painful yet.

Leaning against the wall, she let herself slide to the metal grid of the floor to catch her breath.

Dragon’s large body immediately cocooned her in his warmth, shielding her from the crew who remained silent a few steps behind.

“Jade, what’s happening?” Dragon caressed her arm in a soothing motion.

“Nothi—” Another cramp cut her answer short and made her automatically reach for his hand to hold. When the pain ebbed, she leaned her forehead against his chest.

“You’re shaking,” he said, hugging her tight to him.

She was and hadn’t realized it until he told her. “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she finally said. It wasn’t entirely the truth. She had a terrible feeling and was afraid for her child, but she wouldn’t say the words out loud for fear that her dark thought could become true.

“Give me a moment,” she said instead. “I need a breather.”

“Of course.” He kept his head close to hers, but turned to say over his shoulder, “Lady Jade needs to take a break.”

Unbidden, tears welled in Jade’s eyes, and she felt lost. She couldn’t have a meltdown in the middle of an escape.

“I am a Master Assassin,” she whispered under her breath. “Plans change. Assassins adapt.”

“Jade?” Dragon paused his caresses to lean away and look at her.

“I’m okay.” She snuggled closer to him. “We’ll be okay.”

“Of course we’ll be okay.” His embrace and reassurance made her feel better immediately.

She let her body relax in his arms, waiting for the next spasm to arrive but it didn’t. A choked sob escaped her mouth. She waited a few heartbeats to be sure the episode had stopped before moving away from the safety of his arms.

“I’m fine,” she finally said.

“Are you sure?” Even in the dim light, Dragon’s eyes were as bright as ever, two pools of light that warmed her heart. “We can stay here longer if you need a respite.”

“The princess could be dying as we speak. I’ve delayed her rescue long enough already.” She placed her hand against his chest and gently pushed him away.

They resumed the slow crawl, and this time, Jade thought it better to continue on all fours, instead of crouching as she had done before. The new position was highly uncomfortable, but her stomach remained relaxed.

A muted sound reverberated through the metal corridor, accompanied by a quake that shoved her forward.

“Glory has been boarded,” Lewis said.

“Of course it has,” Dragon commented darkly. “It was too much to hope they had no reinforcements.”

“We could’ve used some luck on our side,” one of the men commented.

“It doesn’t change our objective.” Dragon moved forward, and a heavy silence fell in place.

Several minutes later, Lewis’s voice rose from behind Jade and Dragon, “We are almost there. Look for a hatch with the food symbol on it. It should be on your left.”

After another long stretch of time, Jade’s eyes finally landed on a square maintenance door with the stencil for bread and vegetables that was standard on the Fifth Moon’s System ships. With shaking hands, she moved the hatch’s wheel. A hiss of warmer air bathed her face as light invaded the crawlway.

When she blinked and focused on the sight in front of her, she saw an electric rifle pointed at her face.

“It’s Lady Jade! Lower your weapon,” Dragon shouted from behind her. “The High Lord commands you.”

“High Lord! Thank the Goddess it’s you—” The rifle disappeared at once, replaced by a young man’s face. “I apologize, Lady Jade,” the man said, offering her his hand to help her jump down from the hatch into the kitchens.

It was common practice to place maintenance doors close to the ceilings in the utility rooms, because kitchens were flooded in case of fires, and those exits doubled as escape routes in case people were trapped inside.

Jade accepted the extended hand and jumped, landing on her feet. Dragon was at her side a moment later, and as usual, his grace of movements made it look like he had glided toward the floor, instead of falling for several meters.

“Where’s the princess?” Jade asked the young man, scanning the brightly-lit room. Besides the metal countertops and kitchen accoutrements, the place was empty of human personnel.

“When we heard the noises, we hid her in the pantry,” the man answered, pointing his rifle at the metal door between two large refrigerators. “Oy!” he called over his shoulder. “It’s safe to come out. It’s the High Lord and Lady Jade.”

As the man finished speaking, the door opened, and several staff members filed out.

Three men and two women, all wearing white aprons and hairnets and holding rolling pins and pans. Through the opening, Jade saw a woman on the floor and a second one guarding her.

“How’s the princess?” Jade asked the group.

The shorter of the two women answered, “She must have hit a corner or something pointy. Her attacker left her bleeding in the hallway behind the command room—”

“That’s where I found the princess,” Lewis said stepping forward to join the woman who gave him a thankful look.

“I’ll check on her,” Jade said to Dragon.

“She hasn’t woken yet,” the woman added as Jade moved to the pantry’s door.

“Lady Jade—” One of the men held the door for Jade while bowing to her.

Jade wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to being called a lady. She thanked the man and entered the cold room. The air in the pantry was as cold as in the hatchway, and her skin immediately puckered.

The woman sitting by Gilda began to rise to show her respect to Jade, but Jade stopped her. “No need to stand on ceremony around me, please.” She crouched by Gilda and saw the large, blackening bruise on her face. Someone had hit her and hard, judging from her swollen skin and the gash on her scalp.

“She hasn’t even stirred,” the woman said, looking at Jade with imploring eyes.

Saving people wasn’t Jade’s specialty, killing them was, but she knew a thing or two about inflicting injuries. She had also been on the receiving hand of Maarlo’s brutal treatment when she was training at the Academy and knew how to treat wounds.

Following Dragon’s example, Jade asked, “What’s your name?”

“Myriam, Lady Jade.” The woman bowed her head.

“You did good in keeping her comfortable, Myriam. And the cold temperature helps with reducing the swelling,” Jade said.

With Myriam’s help, Jade checked that Gilda didn’t have other injuries. The princess was all in one piece from what she could tell. Now, it was a matter of waking her up.

“Do you have something with a pungent odor that we could use? Like a strong vinegar?” Jade asked, looking around at the pantry shelves stocked with all sorts of vegetables, fruits, and poultry.

Myriam nodded. “Yes, but not here. The chef keeps the vintage Laurum vinegar he uses for the reductions in the cellar.”

“Where is the cellar?” Jade asked. “Is it detached from the kitchens?”

“No, it’s in the adjacent room.” The woman peeked out of the pantry and said to someone, “Grab a bottle of the chef’s vinegar.”

Within minutes, Jade was waving an open bottle under the princess’s nose. “It’s strong,” she said when her own eyes started watering. The acrid fumes triggered her nausea—something she had thought was a bad memory. She handed the bottle to Myriam. “I can’t stand the smell.”

Smiling knowingly, the woman said, “I think a more direct approach is going to work faster,” and went ahead and dabbed two drops of vinegar to Gilda’s nose.

The application gave immediate results. Gilda’s face regained some color and her eyelids fluttered a few times before she opened her eyes.

“Lauren’s here,” Gilda mumbled.