A gentleman would look away when a lady disrobed. This was his wife. He could ogle all he wanted, especially since his kid had chosen to perch on a rock and stare off into the distance.

No one to censure his behavior. To stop the lust.

At least no one could spot his arousal under the water. No one to see his lack of control caused simply by his wife stripping down to simple form-fitting black shorts and a bandeau across her chest.

Before she joined him, she handed Karo her pistol. The child, now armed with a pair, nodded solemnly a few times before returning to watch the water. Older than her years. It made him sad; he’d missed so much. No more. He’d be there now for the rest of her life.

A life that would get boring awfully fast if they couldn’t escape this planet.

Waiting for Dara—who dug out a liquid-to-air filter of her own, along with goggles—he treaded water. The murky depths got clearer, oddly enough, despite the dead worm in the water. The body had emitted some kind of chlorine-like ichor when stabbed, which eradicated the algae and allowed some of the sunlight to penetrate.

Kobrah waited for Dara to swim out to him before allowing a cocky grin. “Told you I could swim with sea monsters.”

“You’re an idiot.” Said with fondness, but it was the quick kiss she plastered on him that truly warmed him to his toes.

“Shall we?”

Together they dove, taking turns playing critter spotter as they roamed the surface of the ship.

On their third rise to the water’s surface to reconnoiter, Dara cursed. “I lost it.”

“Lost what?” he asked.

“My amulet.” She patted her chest. “I got too close to something on the ship and it snapped the chain.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Especially since it was the only thing that blinded her to the eyes of the drones. But there was nothing to be done about it now. It probably rested at the bottom of the lake.

They continued to dive and explore. The ship larger than expected. The shape appeared knobby with growths. Lichen covered every inch of it. Tough barnacles that scraped the palms. It made finding an opening almost impossible.

Almost.

Dara found it, and the only warning he got was the push of air and bubbles that suddenly lifted his body and flung him out of the water. He managed a startled yell that spat out his filter before hitting the liquid again, mouth open, taking in too much of it.

He wanted to cough, but he had to kick to the surface first. Spit. Then heave in a lungful of air. Choke. Sputter. Then try again.

It didn’t help the water got rough. Waves pushed at him, bobbing him like flotsam to shore.

Karo stood on the edge, ignoring the lapping waves, staring at something beyond him.

Was Dara in danger? He whirled, ready to swim back, only to gape as a large, misshapen form emerged from the lake—a dark glistening blob, with a cut-out in its side. From behind a shimmering haze, a shape stood, and he realized it was Dara waving.

Karo waved back before turning to beam at him. “Mommy found Raffie’s ship.”

Technically Karo had led them, and he’d found it, but he wouldn’t quibble. Not when the mother of all miracles landed farther along the shoreline where there was an area large enough to accommodate.

A gangplank emerged from the opening where Dara had disappeared. She reappeared and beckoned. “Are you coming aboard?”

Damned straight they were. After he got dressed. He slid on his pants and shirt before scooping up Karo. Long strides quickly saw him clambering the ramp. He entered a white chamber, and he meant white all around, even the floor. Only the light from outside penetrated.

A frown pulled his brow as he noted Dara playing with a screen inset within the white wall, the gleaming cleanliness of it jarring compared to the outside. “How did you get the ship to move out of the water so quickly?” A vessel abandoned, even for a short period of time, should have taken awhile to warm up. Or, at the very least, need some kind of help to maneuver.

Dara’s shoulders lifted and fell. “I didn’t do anything. One minute I was running my hands over stuff. The next, a door opened, and I was inside drip drying.”

“And it didn’t flood?” He noted the dry interior.

Her head shook. “It put up some kind of force field to keep out the water. Guess it’s running on auto-captain.”

“I could see the force field being environmentally triggered, but it doesn’t explain how it got here.” He set Sprout down and clambered down the ramp, the dull thuds of his booted feet the only noise. And he meant only. Despite the ship having emerged from the water using some kind of power, he heard no engine sounds at all.

A chill went through him as he stood in the shadow of the massive vessel. And he meant massive. Not quite as big as the Moth, but certainly more sizeable than the Widowmaker.

With the lichen covering its surface, it proved impossible to see any markings. Lumps all over it hid its original shape.

Yet…he walked around eying it from all angles. Noting how it didn’t sit on the ground, but rather hovered just above.

He made a full circle and found Dara at the top of the ramp, fingers clamped onto Sprout’s shoulder, more than likely to keep her from wandering.

Then again, perhaps they should let the kid wander. After all, she and her imaginary friend had found a possibly functioning ship.

Which begged the question, why was it abandoned and by who?

Heading back up the ramp, he joined them in the white antechamber. Despite the dampness outside, as soon as he crossed the threshold, the air became drier. Clean. Warm. Warm enough that Dara’s synthetic undergarments were already dry, and she didn’t appear cold despite her lack of clothing.

He ran his fingers along the wall. Not a speck of dust.

“Air is breathable. Looks like the filtration system is working fine. At least in this section.”

“Did you see anything?”

He shook his head. “But that’s good news. No holes means possibly no hull breaches.” Could they be so lucky as to have found a space-worthy vessel?

“Why do you think it was in the lake?”

Before he could answer, Sprout did. “Raffie needed to hide.”

“Is Raffie on board?” he asked.

Karolyne nodded.

“Can we meet him?”

Her nose scrunched. “He says yes and no. He says I should bring you and show you.”

“Show me what?”

Karolyne giggled. “He says you’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

He cast a glance at Dara, who shrugged. “I don’t have any better ideas.”

“We’ll follow, but stick close to me, okay, Sprout? Just in case the rats are hungry.”

The wide eyes lasted only a second before Karolyne smiled. “Raffie says there are no rats. No danger at all.”

He wasn’t ready to trust this Raffie yet. “Stick close to me, anyhow, Sprout. So I don’t get lost.” He held out his hand, and she grabbed it. Only then did he angle his head at Dara.

She had retrieved her gun and held it in one hand, the knife in the other. Apparently, she wasn’t ready to put all her faith in Raffie either. She crossed the antechamber and slid her hand over the console by the outline of a door.

The opening to outside sealed shut, the slam so sudden that by the time he whirled it was already closed.

No amount of slapping consoles or cursing opened it again. The portal to the hallway, however, loomed open.

“Guess we don’t have a choice,” he muttered.

“Think of it as an adventure,” Dara replied as she peeked around the edge of the opening. “Clear.”

The hallway beyond the antechamber loomed empty. And long.

Nothing to the left, right, or overhead… He craned. “How many stories do you think?”

“Too many,” she muttered.

The hall ran for as far as the eye could see, ahead, behind, overhead and even under, the floor made of some clear material that she could see right through. Not exactly reassuring.

Neither was the lack of any signs of life. Which could also be considered a positive thing. What kind of thing would live in this dead ship underwater?

No one wanted to know.

The corridors only had the barest of illumination, their surfaces dark. Dull. Their footsteps sounded so loud.

Of them, only Karo seemed unperturbed, tearing free from Kobrah, skipping ahead, happy as could be.

Dara frowned. “This isn’t possible.”

“What’s not possible?” he asked, quickly catching up to Sprout. He grabbed her hand to keep her close. Something about this place unsettled him.

“It looks like the inside of a citadel.”

He didn’t ask how she knew what the interior appeared as. He imagined it probably related to her issue with the Rhomanii. What he did feel a need to point out was, “Citadels are supposed to be made of that weird black material like the drones, and aren’t they like ten times the size?”

“They come in different dimensions. I’ve seen one this small once before,” Dara said.

“Only the infected ones are dark.” Karolyne added her statement to the mix and stunned them both to silence.

“What do you mean by ‘infected,’ Karo?”

“The blood of the chosen one is the one to rule them all,” she sang.

Dara’s face blanched. “Who said that to you?” She dropped to her knees in front of Sprout and grabbed her. “Who told you the words ‘chosen one?’”

“Raffie did.”

“Raffie isn’t real.” Dara lost control for a moment and yelled at Karo, whose face crumpled.

“He’s here. I’ll show you.”

Kobrah had let go of her hand while she talked to Dara. Big mistake. The kid showed great speed as she took off, her pink jumpsuit shockingly bright against the white.

“Karo! Get back here.” Dara took off after her, only to scream as part of the wall seemed to detach itself and hover down before them.

Kobrah eyed the white, hovering body and the tentacles hanging down.

“Um, Dara, is it me, or is that…”

“A drone? Yes. I told you it was a citadel.” Dara eased her knife out in front of her, ready to attack, only the drone didn’t do anything.

It spun and began to glide in the same direction Karo had taken. During their encounter with the machine, she’d disappeared.

“Oh shit,” muttered Dara. “I can’t believe I led her right to them.”

“We don’t know these drones have the same orders as those other ones. Don’t forget, this one has been lying in a giant puddle for a while.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Neither did he. Especially since his daughter wasn’t the only thing to vanish. The long hallway suddenly got short as walls appeared, blocking their passage, forcing them into a single direction. As if they were being herded.

Returning the way they’d come became a non-option given the hall sealed itself after their passage.

Like it or not, they were about to meet whoever ran this ship.

“Do you think the captain is alive?” he whispered.

She shook her head. “Doubtful. This citadel has obviously been here awhile.”

“Then who’s commanding it?”

At that query, Dara had no reply. Not the most reassuring thing.

The drone leading them never hesitated, nor did it speak a word. They only realized they’d reached their destination when it once again melted out of sight, somehow merging with the ship, probably hidden compartments that were invisible when sealed.

The door before them was already open, and before he could urge caution, Dara was flying through it, following the sound of Karolyne’s voice.

“Karo!”

Since there was no screaming, he took his time, entering slowly and carefully, glancing all around at the room. Not exactly a bridge, and yet he’d wager they’d just found the heart of the ship.

There was an almost petal-like contraption in the center of the room. A large central hump with pod-like shapes extending out from it.

Approaching, he realized the hump in the middle was a web of crisscrossing wires. Filaments that pulsed white and red. Their shape…

“Almost looks like a body under there,” he remarked.

“Could very well be.”

“What makes you say that?” What exactly did Dara know of this ship?

“Because of this.” She rubbed the dusty glass on one of the extending petals and beckoned him closer.

He held back. Did he really want to see?

Karo had no hesitation. She walked over and placed her hand on the glass. “She looks like you, Mommy.”

His feet moved until he stood over the pod, which held a woman who did resemble Dara with her blonde hair and creamy complexion. Even the shape of her nose and lips was similar. He couldn’t tell if the eyes were, as she was sleeping. Expression calm in repose. Nothing moving.

Not even her chest.

“Fuck me, these are coffins.” He flinched away from the glass.

“I don’t know if I’d call them dead.” Dara peered through the glass. “Could be some kind of stasis.”

“I am not opening them to find out.” With his luck, the body would crumble to dust.

“We found the lost ones.” Karo beamed.

“Oh damn,” Dara muttered.

“Who are the lost ones?” Because it seemed Karo and Dara knew who these sleeping folk might be, whereas he…he wanted to be far away from this ghostly-feeling room.

“If I’m right, we’re looking at Emma. And that…” Dara scrambled over to the other pod for a scrub. “Must be Mikhail.”

Emma and Mikhail, the names seemed vaguely familiar. “Who were they?”

“Legends.”