Anguissa mistook the reason for Ryke’s silence, probably assuming that he was devastated by the revelation of his father’s betrayal.

I’m sorry to have shocked you so badly.

It’s all right.

It’s not all right! You think you’re a failure and a discredit to your father, but you’re wrong, Ryke. Look. Look at how they admire you. She showed him the gladiators honoring him, the ranks of cheering citizens awaiting him in the arena, the cheers when he struck a blow and the moans when he fell. She let him hear the chanting of his name and showed him the agitation of the crowd when he was defeated.

She was seductive. It was easy to think as if he believed her, because part of him did.

The other gladiators poured into the arena to kill the hydra, and he recalled watching it through the haze of his pain. They had taken it down so easily that he appeared to be even more weak.

But as Anguissa showed him that memory, Ryke looked at the creature’s eyes. They were dull again, cloudy. It wavered on its feet as if it was already half-dead, restored to the feeble desperation it had shown at first.

Had that truly been the case, or had Anguissa changed his memory? It wasn’t consistent with what he had believed or remembered.

His father was on his feet in the imperial box, calling for the demise of the savage beast.

His hand on Ryko Primus’s shoulder. Ryke remembered that.

Anguissa wasn’t done. Where were you when the Gloria Furore took you, Ryke?

What difference does it make?

Indulge me.

I abducted Ryko Primus when I was forbidden to even see him. We were snatched on the way to our new life.

What a coincidence.

Ryke was impatient. It would look suspicious if he agreed to all of her suggestions. It was bad luck, Snake-Eyes. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Gloria Furore have launched raiding parties on Centurios for eons...

She turned to watch him, understanding in her eyes. So, it was just a coincidence that they kept only you, the son of the emperor, exactly when your father wanted to get rid of you?

It sounded so obvious when she argued it that way.

It made him feel like a failure all over again.

And that redoubled his conviction that she was deceiving him.

And your son?

They ransomed him. My father paid the price.

But not for you?

No one pays ransom on an outlaw.

Ryke’s fists clenched. He slipped from Anguissa’s thoughts, needing to escape the treacherous skill she showed in manipulating his assumptions. He felt like a child, an amateur, an umbro inexperienced with slipping, instead of the master he knew himself to be. He’d achieved the highest rank of skill before being captured by the Gloria Furore and it wasn’t something he was going to forget. Bakiel slumbered on beside him, oblivious thanks to the jump.

Anguissa rolled toward him, her hand on his cheek, and touched her lips to his ear. “Come back, Ryke,” she whispered. “We still have to get out of this mess, and I’m not looking forward to being sold to the highest bidder. Come back, so I’ll know what you know.”

She pressed a kiss into his ear, a sweet slow kiss, sending an unwelcome surge of desire through him. He wouldn’t have thought it possible that he could have responded to her touch, not here, not now, not when his mind was spinning, but he felt warm and reassured.

She was controlling him so deftly that he should have been terrified.

Instead, he wanted to trust her.

Ryke knew he was in trouble—and not just from Hellemut.

“I’ll even let you be on top again,” she murmured, laughter underlying her tone. That she could be amused when they were in such deep shit impressed Ryke. It wasn’t that she was stupid. It wasn’t that she failed to understand their bleak situation.

She was an optimist. A confident, charming, optimist.

And Ryke yearned to have some of her spirit himself. Just the sound of her voice made him ready to fight again, fed his confidence, reminded him of all those things a luxa was supposed to bring to an umbro.

Could all of the myth be true?

No, she was trying to seduce him into believing it. Weaving it into the story she wanted him to believe with a skill that took his breath away.

“Although,” she mused. “It is kind of interesting to have you at my mercy like this.” He felt her run a proprietary hand over him. Her caress was welcome, solace when he needed it most. He studied her and was relieved to see that her gaze was clear and confident again, those flames dancing in her eyes. She looked as if she would take on the universe and give it a good fight, as if she’d go down swinging—if she went down at all. Ryke wanted to really kiss her even as the display flickered on the far wall.

“Looks like we’ll have company soon,” Anguissa said and rose to her feet, snakes swaying, ready for another round. How many jumps had she endured in rapid succession? Ryke had to admire her stamina. He admired more than that as he watched her, hating that he was unable to stand alongside her. “Strength is where you find it, Ryke,” Anguissa murmured. “You can choose to use the power you have.”

It was true. The drug still held his body in thrall, but he wasn’t completely helpless.

He had his mind.

He had his skill.

He could accept her invitation. It would be a feint, because she’d believe they were allied, but neither of them would survive alone.

It was the best of an array of bad choices.

Now that he was warned of her powers, surely he could protect himself against them?

He was never going to see his son again otherwise.

Anguissa didn’t glance back, but as she strode forward to face the display, Ryke slipped.

Welcome back she thought, her tone amused but unsurprised. What’s a custo?

The one who watches over me while I slip.

More than a servant.

More than a friend. It’s a bond from birth.

But Bakiel’s asleep now.

That’s not the only rule I’m breaking with you, Princess.

There was exasperation in her tone when she replied. And you think it was unpredictable for you to come back for Bakiel? Oh, Ryke. If you continue to be so honorable, you might end up being my HeartKeeper, after all.

Ryke felt panic slide through him. There’s no such thing as love, Snake-Eyes.

Oh good, I’m safe then.

Was she mocking him? Without seeing her expression, Ryke couldn’t be sure.

You felt a bit worried there for a moment, Ryke. Is love that terrifying a possibility?

It’s a fiction, but sharing thoughts with someone who believes nonsense poses definite risks.

Anguissa chuckled under her breath. Her Starpod is in the hold. You can slip into her and make her return to it. Then we eject her, seize control of the freighter, and abandon her in this quadrant.

Ryke was dismissive of the suggestion. It doesn’t work like that. I can only compel the host to do what he or she already wants to do. There has to be some urge and Hellemut won’t leave this freighter.

All right then. She needs some motivation.

Good luck motivating her to do anything she doesn’t already want to do.

Oh, Ryke, you’re being defeatist.

Realist, Princess.

Let’s make a little bet.

This is serious...

It is. If I get her into the Starpod, I win.

Win what, Snake-Eyes?

Anguissa ignored his question and Ryke figured he could guess the answer. If she won, it wouldn’t be much of a loss on his part. She had a plan, and he was curious as to what it might be. He tried to investigate her mind, but she had him confined in a specific area, trapped where he could only see her present observations. Her past and her memories were like sealed vaults.

She shouldn’t have been able to to do that.

She should have been an open book to him.

He wasn’t surprised, not anymore, but he knew he should have been a lot more worried than he was.

It wasn’t a surprise that Anguissa wouldn’t follow anybody’s rules.

The communications screen snapped to life, displaying Captain Hellemut on the deck. She leered at them and Ryke was glad he was immobilized.

He wouldn’t have been able to hide his revulsion and that wouldn’t have helped them one bit.

Hellemut was already going to be vengeful, given that he’d refused to help her doppelganger survive.

When Anguissa had first ventured away from Incendium, she’d been surprised to discover how many sentient life forms in the universe were bipeds. She supposed that symmetry made for elegant design, and that having two of most body parts was the most efficient way of guarding against debilitating injuries. There were exceptions, though, and she could never become accustomed to tripeds.

She’d heard in space bars that tripeds could be doubly or even triply endowed, with a set of genitals at each junction, but Anguissa had never seen one naked. She didn’t want to. There was something about tripeds that disgusted her and she had a hard time keeping her expression impassive as she approached the display of Captain Hellemut.

Tripeds could travel at amazing speeds, but the coordination of their limbs while running required a higher level of fitness. In Anguissa’s experience, as tripeds aged, they either concentrated on their physical welfare, or they abandoned all pretense of remaining agile and became sedentary.

Captain Hellemut was of the latter variety. She was monstrously large, with skin of a deep yellow hue, and her green eyes seemed to be half buried in her face. Her malice was clear, though, and not to be under-estimated.

They were alive still, which meant they were useful.

Or valuable.

Why?

Anguissa had to think that her own survival was due to Hellemut’s desire to claim the Archangel.

Which had to be about that cargo.

How much did Ryke know about the Gloria Furore and their plans?

It was time to find that out. Anguissa sought a memory, then pulled it to the fore of her thoughts before she could reconsider the urge to trust an umbro who was already in her mind.

Can you read this, Ryke?

She felt him recoil. It was the warning label on the most carefully packed item in that bootleg cargo and the one that had fascinated Anguissa. The container itself was of the kind used for biohazards, and its presence was the reason she’d quarantined the hold of the Archangel.

His reaction spoke volumes, but Anguissa wanted more.

Can you?

Where did you see that, Snake-Eyes?

It’s in the hold of the Archangel.

Then you did look!

Of course, I looked. I’m not going to haul garbage across the galaxy, given the price of fuel these days.

Ryke sighed. Then the stories are true. Before Anguissa could ask, he continued. There have been rumors of a virus being bred in the illicit labs of Gungalorus, engineered to affect all carbon-based life forms. A custom job.

I can guess the client.

You’d guess right. There are also rumors that it was stolen by the lead bio-chemist, now dead. Hellemut received coded messages about it after your first appearance near the Armada Seven.

And you broke the code.

Call it a hobby.

The Gloria Furore could hold any system hostage over the threat of releasing such a virus upon their populace. They’d paid for its creation and it had been stolen. Of course, they’d want it back.

Hellemut might want it badly enough to let Anguissa live for a while longer.

Would it be long enough?

After? So, that’s not why Bond planted the worm?

No, it wasn’t. Wait. You’ve decided Bond was the culprit?

Don’t gloat, Ryke, just because you were right. She heard him chuckle. Is it a deadly virus?

What other kind would matter?

Excellent. Now we have something to bargain with.

Snake-Eyes....

Quiet, Ryke. I’m going to steal this freighter and it isn’t going to be easy. Helpful comments only, please. This isn’t a good time for me to fail.

“You will understand, Princess Anguissa, that I am reluctant to invite you to the deck to parlay, given your destructiveness in the Armada Seven,” Hellemut said.

“I suppose you can’t be too cautious,” Anguissa replied. “Although insulting me when I control everything you desire might be seen as a diplomatic mistake.”

“Everything I desire? Surely you exaggerate.”

Anguissa just smiled.

Hellemut’s sobered. “And what cause have you for insult?”

“Being attacked. Being locked in the chart room with a known traitor.”

“You did destroy the nav system of the Armada Seven, condemning that crew.”

Anguissa waved a hand, pretending to care less than she did. “Minions aren’t worthy of my concern.” She didn’t feel badly that there were fewer members of the Gloria Furore using oxygen, although she felt badly for those in the crew who’d been enslaved. On the other hand, death might have been a relief, compared to serving under Hellemut’s command.

“And my survival?”

“That wasn’t you. It was one of your doppelgangers.” Anguissa leaned closer. “You might be one of Hellemut’s doppelgangers. I’m not convinced that the real Captain Hellemut would risk her survival by boarding this freighter.”

Hellemut smirked. “Where is the risk? This freighter is under the complete control of the Gloria Furore. We set a trap for Ryke and he took the bait.”

“Why?”

“I never trust an umbro. He might not have slipped during his torture, but that was only because his custo wasn’t with him.”

“I thought umbros were myths,” Anguissa replied but Hellemut shook her head.

“They’re very useful spies. We like to convince all of them who cross our paths to join our ranks. Ryke was, unfortunately, resistant to such persuasion. It would have been so much easier for him to capitulate.”

Anguissa already knew that surrender wasn’t in Ryke’s vocabulary. “And yet I felt strangely compelled to destroy the Armada Seven as soon as I arrived on the transport deck and then to flee with Ryke. I think he must have slipped and used me for his own nefarious purposes.”

Nefarious, Ryke echoed.

Anguissa ignored him.

Hellemut’s eyes narrowed. “An umbro can only influence a victim to follow his or her own secret desires.”

“Is it so unlikely that I’d want to survive?” Anguissa asked. “Once the nav system and deck of the Armada Seven was destroyed, everyone aboard was condemned.”

Hellemut regarded her for a long moment, obviously considering this argument. “Don’t insult my intelligence by insisting that Ryke slipped into you on the Armada Seven, or suggest that you’re a victim,” she said softly, but Anguissa could see that she was already wondering.

“And don’t insult mine by insisting that I would board a vessel, destroy its systems, and leave myself with no means of survival, other than relying upon some member of the enemy crew to save me.” Her snakes were thrashing in anger and Anguissa knew that Hellemut was giving credence to her charge. “Someone put a worm in the Archangel’s nav system before it left the first confrontation with the Armada Seven, a worm that would ensure we met again. I don’t think that was a coincidence.”

“There are no coincidences, Princess Anguissa.”

“My thinking exactly. Someone compelled me to damage the deck of the Armada Seven far beyond my plans. Why would I put myself in such peril? No, my argument was with you, because I didn’t realize then that I’d been betrayed by someone on my own crew. I would have been content to kill your doppelganger, Captain Hellemut, and I don’t make mistakes of that magnitude.”

Hellemut chuckled. “Have you figured out who it was yet?”

Surprise is on your side here, Snake-Eyes. Ryke prompted and Anguissa knew he was right.

“Of course. What was Bond’s price?”

Hellemut scoffed. “The predictable one. Greed.” She yawned. “He’s been well compensated for his years of spying for the Gloria Furore.”

Anguissa swallowed her anger, knowing that she’d deal with Bond later. She gestured to Ryke, still limp in his seat behind her. “What’s the punishment for treason? More fire ants?”

Hellemut laughed.

“Usually it would be something like that, but things have changed. A bounty has been offered for Ryke since his flight from the Armada Seven, a reward for him dead or alive,” she provided, her voice crackling a bit through the comm. “With a bonus for delivering him dead.”

Anguissa frowned. “That makes no sense,” she said to Hellemut. “If I wanted someone dead, I’d pay extra for the satisfaction of doing it myself.”

Good to know, Princess.

“I don’t argue the terms.” Hellemut’s voice dropped lower. “You appear to be concerned for the fate of your companion, Princess Anguissa. Would you care to negotiate for his survival?”

“No, I was just curious.” Anguissa was deliberately dismissive. “I’d rather negotiate for mine, thanks, especially since he took advantage of me to try to create his own escape.” She turned her back on Ryke again, well aware that he was simmering in her thoughts as he listened. “Unless he’s worth more than the Archangel.”

Hellemut’s eyes narrowed. “The Archangel?”

“You said you want the Archangel, Captain Hellemut, presumably because you want to reclaim the virus in its hold commissioned by the Gloria Furore and stolen by its creator, a bio-chemist who died without revealing what he’d done with the prize. My ship, containing that virus, is in secure quarantine. Only I can release it.”

Hellemut was startled to silence.

Bold play, Princess.

Wait for it, Ryke.

“I’m sure your DNA could be preserved, if you died, Princess Anguissa, and any code broken over time.”

“Both reasonable assumptions, but my kind are particularly concerned about protecting our treasures. And I used my best defenses, since I intend to collect the reward for the virus myself. It’s not a biologically-based lock.”

Hellemut stared at her.

“But perhaps we could make a deal,” Anguissa continued. “Your facilitation and my code to unlock the quarantine, in exchange for shared credit.”

“What facilitation?”

“Let me out of this chart room. Away from this traitor.” Anguissa took a step closer to the screen. “It would be much smarter to negotiate details face-to-face.”

“Why should I trust you enough to let you on deck?”

“Because I’m Gloria Furore, too,” Anguissa said with breezy confidence. She smiled at the astonished commander of the vessel. “We’re on the same side, Captain Hellemut. How like our leaders to launch two volleys after the same target.”

Hellemut blinked.

And Anguissa struggled not to wince as Ryke roared furiously in her mind.

Snake-Eyes!

It couldn’t be true.

Anguissa couldn’t be Gloria Furore.

But she was a space pirate, even if Ryke had believed her to be one inclined to lesser violence than his captors had been. She had no interest in rules and charted her own course. She said she’d been piloting payloads for over three hundred years, and Ryke knew that few survived in that trade for very long.

Never mind who would be invited to a black market auction like the one where she’d bought the stolen virus.

On the other hand, he knew better than to trust her. He had no intention of being seduced by beauty again.

It would have been prudent to withdraw from Anguissa’s mind, but he wanted to know what Hellemut said to her. He wanted to know what Anguissa said and did, and he couldn’t accomplish much in his body’s drugged state. He hoped the risk was worth the reward.

Don’t abandon me now. Anguissa’s thought was firm. I’ll need help to get through the interrogation.

Because you’re not really Gloria Furore?

Don’t tell me that my feint was so good that even you fell for it?

Ryke would have smiled if it had been possible.

You’re going to need three codes and a ritual handshake. Reach for her middle hand, touch your longest finger to the tip of hers, incline your head in a bow, and then shake her hand. Cross your left hand over your right and shake her left hand.

What about her right hand?

She’ll put it over top of your crossed hands. Bow more deeply then.

Got it.

Speak first and say “Andromeda rising.” She’ll reply and your reply will be based on hers.

Sounds thin, Soul-Snatcher.

It’s a stall for time while she verifies your credentials.

Then you’d better get busy forging them.

Anguissa had to be striding along the corridor toward the deck. Ryke was aware that she could smell the canteen and tried to estimate her moment of arrival. He could share her thoughts, but he didn’t know everything Anguissa knew. He realized there had been limitations when he’d slipped before, but he hadn’t been so aware of the host’s boundaries as he was with Anguissa.

I need a little help, Ryke.

No kidding, Princess. You’re going to need a lot of help to pull this off and it’s not going to be easy to fake on any timeline. There are no files supporting your membership claim, no dossier on you...

She interrupted him. But there has to be a secured storage area in the ship’s electronic memory. It’s going to take her time to get into those files and to be certain that there’s no record of me joining the Gloria Furore.

And?

You’re a code jockey, Ryke, by your own admission. If you’re half as good as you say you are, you’ll falsify an infection alert, one that says I’m a carrier of the virus in the Archangel’s hold, and you’ll do it fast.

Have you forgotten that I’m sedated, Snake-Eyes?

Have you forgotten that you can slip, Ryke? Bakiel can be your fingers if you slip into his mind.

Ryke was outraged. I can’t slip into two minds at once and it’s not smart for an umbro to slip into his custo anyway. Never mind that I’d have to abandon you to Hellemut...

Anguissa’s response was warm. I knew you cared, Ryke. Get me through the handshake then tell me how to get Bakiel the access he needs.

And then?

And then I’ll think of something. I’ll stall.

It’s a long shot, Snake-Eyes.

Really? I assumed your confidence was earned, Ryke, since you call yourself the best. She paused for a heartbeat. Bond could have done it, you know.

The comment about Bond made Ryke want to spit, or better, show Anguissa who was the better man.

She knew how to provide motivation, that was for sure.

Your taste for danger could leave us both dead, Princess.

We’re dead anyway, Ryke. The long shot is the only chance we’ve got.

As much as Ryke hated to admit it, she was right.

Could Ryke do it?

Anguissa seriously hoped so.

Hellemut’s suspicion was a tangible force on the deck. Even the robot Piper Twelve seemed to exude skepticism. They didn’t act against her, though, which meant they still weren’t sure. The cross-check was in progress but not complete.

Anguissa sauntered onto the deck as if she owned it and surveyed her surroundings. Where? She thought the question for Ryke.

Comm station. Ryke supplied tersely. It has the weakest security so the ship can be easily hailed by alien systems.

Anguissa performed the handshake with Hellemut, ensuring that she ended up near the comm station. “Andromeda rising,” she said when the handshake was done.

“Quasar eclipsed,” Hellemut replied softly.

Ryke chuckled in Anguissa’s thoughts. He said something in a language she didn’t speak and she repeated it carefully.

Hellemut’s eyes glinted with either surprise or satisfaction, and she lounged in the captain’s chair, studying Anguissa with much greater interest than before. “You are filled with hidden surprises, Princess Anguissa.”

Anguissa sat down at the comm station, making it look as if she had chosen the nearest seat. “Aren’t we all?” she replied easily. What the fark was that about?

You just revealed that you have a higher rank than she does. It’ll make her cautious.

Brilliant, Ryke. Remind me to reward you for that stroke of genius.

Only if we get to celebrate our survival of certain death again.

Enough chit-chat. Get busy so we can do that.

Can you put your hand on the tracking pad and glance down without appearing to do so?

Of course.

Anguissa began to shift shape, but didn’t let the shimmer of her dragon side eclipse her humanoid form. Her senses sharpened but she didn’t even have a blue light around her form. It was a trick she’d learned by accident and perfected over the monotony of long jumps, because it was so useful. Her dragon had extremely keen vision and could make sense of large quantities of information with the barest look. She barely cast a glance at the display, but her dragon memorized every line, as well as the layout of the keyboard and station. She smiled at Hellemut as the information unfurled in her mind and she heard Ryke’s inhalation of surprise.

“And so, Princess Anguissa, what do you want in exchange for the security code?”

“A reason to give it to you, Captain Hellemut,” Anguissa said smoothly. “After all, I should follow orders and surrender it to my superior.”

“But you’re in a compromised situation.” Hellemut smiled. “I don’t have to release you.”

“And see that virus lost forever? I don’t think you would be so disloyal to our order, Captain Hellemut.” Anguissa traced a lazy fingertip on the console. “It could be hazardous to your career.”

Later, Snake-Eyes. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Ryke’s thoughts were crisp and he was gone before Anguissa had time to reply. Her mind felt lonely. Echoing with emptiness. She realized how easy it would be to become accustomed to sharing thoughts with him. She’d never had a real partner, never had that profound trust of another person, and she felt naked in Ryke’s absence.

It was unsettling, both to miss him and to realize how quickly her dependence had grown. Was this what it was like to have a HeartKeeper? Would she ever know?

Anguissa strove to hide her reaction from Hellemut. She lifted her brows. “Unless you have retirement plans beyond the Gloria Furore?”

“Of course not. I could still steal the Archangel and force the hold open.”

“The containment unit is of excellent design.”

“I could attack and destroy the Archangel, and loose the virus on Incendium.”

Anguissa had thought of that, many times, and she pretended to be more confident than she was. “Impossible. An armed vessel would never get close enough. You would be destroyed before there was any chance of fulfilling your plan.” She shook her head and spoke slowly, hoping to give Ryke as much time as possible. There was only so far she could stretch this discussion. “It seems to be a plan that’s unworthy of your intelligence, Captain Hellemut. No, you need me, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

“Do I?”

“Oh, yes. Luckily for you, I don’t actually need the credit for delivering that payload. I’m willing to share.”

Hellemut’s eyes immediately narrowed. “Why?”

It was Anguissa’s moment to prevaricate. She spun the chair then rose to her feet, strolling across the deck as if acquainting herself with its design. “I don’t know that I need to reveal that detail.”

“You do, if you expect me to trust you.”

Anguissa laughed. “Trust? I didn’t know we were talking about trust, Captain Hellemut. I thought we were talking about ensuring personal advantage.”

“What benefit could you possibly see by letting me deliver the payload?”

Anguissa wagged her finger. “A clever question,” she had time to say before the biohazard alarm sounded.

Thank fark for that.

Or maybe she should thank Mercado.

The distinctive whoop was a universal alarm, used on all vessels, legitimately registered or not. Hellemut paled, staring at Anguissa’s cool smile. She spun in her chair and scrabbled at the closest console. “Report!” she barked, then fixed a glare upon Piper Twelve.

The robot had plugged his fingertip into a port on the closest comm. “Level seven biohazard detected on deck. Toxin is highly infectious, organic and threatening to one organism currently on deck. Evacuate. Evacuate.”

“One organism?” Hellemut echoed.

Anguissa shrugged. “You can’t catch a virus you already carry. Apparently, dragon shifters have a longer incubation period but the virus remains very infectious. Good to know, don’t you think?”

“You! You brought the virus from the Archangel!” Hellemut fell backward, her hand over her mouth.

“I volunteered to test it,” Anguissa lied. She saw Hellemut stagger, then straighten, purpose filling her features. “That’s why I don’t need credit for delivering it. I’ve got more credit with the Gloria Furore than I can use in this lifetime.”

“You lied to me!” Hellemut cried and Anguissa laughed.

“While you’re always honest? I don’t think so, Hellemut.”

Hellemut ran toward the portal, moving as quickly as she could.

“Don’t go!” Anguissa said. “Not when the conversation is just getting interesting.” Hellemut didn’t stop, but Anguissa wanted to make sure she kept running. She summoned the change, feeling the fire charge through her body and reveling in its power. The shift was liberating, potent, and truly wonderful.

This time, she didn’t attack the nav system. She did however exhale a long hot breath after the fleeing Hellemut. Anguissa recognized that Ryke had slipped into Hellemut by the change in her posture. Hellemut moved with Ryke’s decisive purpose. The former captain didn’t even bother to secure the door, as she strode toward the hold.

Ryke managed to propel her even more quickly than she would have gone herself.

Anguissa understood. Hellemut wanted to leave now, so Ryke could expedite her departure. And then what? Would Ryke feast on Hellemut? Devour her soul, the way umbros were rumored to do, and feed his own strength with that of another? Would he feast until Hellemut bled to death, alone in her Starpod? Could he refrain from doing what was his nature to do? Could he stop once it had started?

Anguissa shuddered, feeling that it had been foolish to let him into her own mind. It had been a question of survival—and she wouldn’t do it again.

She turned off the display, not wanting to watch.

Piper Twelve was motionless, clearly uncertain of how to proceed. He hadn’t been programmed for this situation. Anguissa recognized that Ryke had left the robot to her while he eliminated Hellemut.

“Release the docking mechanism and open the hold, Piper Twelve,” she commanded.

The robot hesitated.

“I’m taking command of the Magnetawan, in the absence of any other authority.”

“Yes, Captain Anguissa.” He did as instructed, and they watched in silence as the Starpod left the ship and sailed into the void.

Had Hellemut lost her mind yet? From what distance could Ryke slip back to his own body? Anguissa didn’t know. She feared then that he might not return and found that an unsettling possibility—even knowing what he was.

He was an unsettling man with a disconcerting effect upon her. Anguissa couldn’t blame it on the scent of the Seed anymore.

Miss me, Snake-Eyes? Cocky, convinced of his own charm and sounding suspiciously more vigorous. He had feasted.

Even so, Anguissa was glad to hear his voice.

Nice timing, Ryke.

So you didn’t miss me. His tone was wry, and Anguissa took a chance.

She provoked him by letting him see her horror of what he was.

Next time, I’ll go for good. His thought was soft, almost a threat as well as a promise. Anguissa wished they could talk about it, but she sensed Ryke’s resistance. He was the one isolating his thoughts now, hiding his impressions and feelings from her.

She might as well have been alone.

They were too different. Their kinds would never get along. They’d survived Hellemut and that was the only common ground they’d ever had.

She wouldn’t think about their child.

Anguissa pivoted to survey Piper Twelve. “I hate robots,” she told him and thought she saw a flicker of trepidation even in his impassive expression.

Tell him to plug into the infinity port, Captain. Ryke was terse and Anguissa felt his tone like a slap. His nature wasn’t his fault, she knew that, but she couldn’t make peace with his need to feed.

The sooner he got to Centurios and their ways parted forever, the better.

“Plug into the infinity port, Piper Twelve.” The robot hesitated and Anguissa filled her lungs with air, more than ready to fry him to cinders. “That would be a direct order, Piper Twelve.” Her snakes were rising like cobras prepared to strike and when they hissed, he moved to do as instructed.

“What comes after, Captain Anguissa?”

Anguissa was so surprised by the question that she assumed she’d misunderstood. “What do you mean, Piper Twelve?”

“Is there chaos or oblivion after existence?”

Anguissa supposed a religious argument wouldn’t be very compelling. She expected Ryke’s commentary and missed it. “Personally, I’m hoping for oblivion.”

“As am I.” He plugged his finger into the portal and nothing happened for a moment. Then he jerked and began to make a whirring sound that couldn’t have been one of his usual reactions. He looked toward Anguissa, as if to beg for mercy, and she breathed a targeted plume of fire, granting him the oblivion he desired.

When she was done, there was only a pile of blackened metal and wire remaining. She shifted back to her usual form and swept it into the grinder and disposal unit. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Ryke was silent.

Gone from her mind for good.

He’d done what he said he would do.

Anguissa knew she should be glad, but she did miss him. The upside of him abandoning her now was that her reliance upon him couldn’t become worse. He wouldn’t be able to destroy her, or their child. She’d take him home, wave goodbye, then go after Bond and the Archangel alone.

Too bad she couldn’t summon much enthusiasm for her own vision of her future.

“Prepare to jump, gentlemen,” she said into the comm, but no one replied.

Hellemut’s mind was not a place where Ryke wanted to linger. He stayed only long enough to get her into her Starpod, then ensure it was locked and released from the dock. He programmed the nav and locked in the coordinates of a distant destination, one that she had insufficient fuel to reach.

Would it be a lack of fuel or oxygen that ensured her demise? Ryke didn’t care. She was doomed, which evened the score.

When there was no chance of Hellemut turning back, he abandoned her to her fate. He slipped into Anguissa’s mind, triumphant, only to be shocked by her horror of what he was.

She thought he was feasting upon Hellemut’s anima.

She was revolted by the idea. The power of her emotional reaction shook Ryke to his core. How could she so despise what he was? How could she blame him for his own nature? How could she have shared his thoughts and not realized that he was different from his fellows, by choice?

Once, Ryke would have slipped away, but Anguissa said she was carrying his son. He owed that child the opportunity to know his or her own father. This might be his last chance to leave a legacy of any kind for his child. Anguissa couldn’t go to Centurios and survive, but the presence of his son there meant that Ryke didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Anguissa announced the impending jump and Ryke knew he would dream of a failure. He was tempted to withdraw from her, but reconsidered.

Could he choose his dream and show Anguissa something specific from his past? Could he give her a story to share with their child, the child he would never see?

Ryke was certainly going to try.