Apolonia

Cy spoke, “He’s Benji Reynolds, son of Agent Frank Reynolds, chief intelligence officer for Majestic Twelve.”

I looked at Benji, my mouth gaping open.

Benji took a step toward me. “Rory, just let me explain.”

“Tell me it’s not true. That’s the only thing I want to hear from you right now.”

Benji looked up at me. “It’s true.”

I stepped back, physically evading the truth. “So, you were a plant, just like Ellie? I was your target?”

Dr. Z was immediately next to me, holding my arm. He always knew what I needed. And right now, I needed not to fall onto my knees in shock.

Benji came to my other side, but I pushed him away. “I knew what Cyrus was. Even before that, I knew Majestic was watching Dr. Zorba. I know this looks bad—really, really bad—but I wasn’t using you, Rory, I swear. Dad said he wanted me to watch out for your safety. Heck, I wanted to watch out for your safety. And by the time I knew what Majestic really wanted, it was too late. I’d already made a decision by then.”

“We do not have time for this,” Apolonia said, crossing her arms over her stomach.

“No, we don’t,” Cy said, reaching out for me. “C’mon, Rory.”

“What kind of decision?” I asked, facing Benji.

Benji shrugged, as if it should have been obvious. “That I was in love with you.”

Dr. Z watched for my reaction. “If you recall, Rory, Ellie also said that there was one member of Majestic who couldn’t stay away from you.”

“Well, Ellie was right about that.” Benji lowered his chin, staring me straight in the eyes. “Look at me, Rory. You have to know. All I’ve ever wanted was to keep you safe.”

Tsavi grinned. Cy looked as if he wanted to end Benji’s life, and Apolonia looked impatient.

“Rory,” Cy said, bending his fingers a few times, asking me to come to him.

“What was too late?” I asked.

Benji took a few steps toward me and then cupped my shoulders. Purplish half-moons under his dim brown eyes revealed just how sleep deprived he was from looking for me the night before and from watching over me on the infirmary table. His shirt was wrinkled, and his hair was tousled. “It was too late for them to convince me to help them because whatever side you were on was where I wanted to be.”

I fell into his arms, and he pressed his cheek against my hair, squeezing me tightly against him.

“I knew they were coming for the rock. That’s why I wanted to get you away from there before dinner. I was going to try to get you both out before they came. But I’ve had to plan every move carefully, Rory. I couldn’t help you if I didn’t have inside information. I wanted to tell you everything. It just had to be the right time.”

Cy laughed once and then turned around to face me, his fingers laced on top of his head. “He can’t go with us, Rory. We can’t trust him. He’s Majestic!”

My mouth formed a hard line. I understood this was important to Cy. Everyone in that room had a lot at stake, but Cy didn’t know Benji like I did. “Do you trust me?”

Cy’s eyes bounced between me, Benji, Dr. Z, and finally, Apolonia. Her eyebrows moved infinitesimally toward each other. Cy took a breath and looked at me again. “Do you trust you?”

I reached for Benji’s arm, and he moved toward me. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, Cy. I believe that.”

“It’s settled then,” Tsavi said. “They’ll return any moment, this time with more men, and we have to make contact with Hamech.”

“Be mindful of the fallen crew,” Apolonia said. “We will retrieve them and take them home to their families.”

With glossy eyes and a small smile, Tsavi spoke, “They died an honorable death. Hamech will give them grand Kahtpech funerals.” She watched Apolonia for a moment and then went into the other room before quickly returning with short, thin robes for Dr. Z and me.

Dr. Z thanked her and then put his on. There was no zipper, but the front seamlessly joined together as if by magnets.

Dr. Z’s eyes widened, and he smiled at Tsavi. “It’s very warm, thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Cy smiled at Tsavi. He appreciated his people being kind to humans, and Tsavi seemed to like us. The feeling was mutual. She seemed more…human—at least more so than Apolonia. Knowing Cy, I couldn’t imagine what made him fall in love with such a dry, emotionless, and angry person. He once called her emotional. I couldn’t disagree more. From what I’d witnessed, it was unclear if she even had a soul. Cy was a warm, kind being. He begged the soldiers—men who were out to harm all of us—not to engage his betrothed, so we wouldn’t have a massacre on our hands. How can he love such a monster?

Apolonia walked to a door and tapped her finger on a rectangle full of strange symbols. They lit when her finger made contact, and when the door slid behind the wall, a closet full of weapons was exposed.

“What are you doing?” Cy asked.

Apolonia threw a small palm-sized weapon to Tsavi. It looked like the rubber grip on a bicycle but solid.

“We need weapons, Cyrus,” Apolonia answered.

“We can’t continue harming the humans. We have you and your sword. That’s all we need.”

Apolonia touched Cy’s face tenderly, but her expression still seemed emotionless. “I have already lost so many. I can’t leave Tsavi defenseless.”

Cy nodded and turned to Tsavi. “Try not to kill anyone.”

Tsavi smiled. “Of course.”

Cy and Apolonia led the way out of the ship, followed closely by Tsavi and Dr. Z. Benji and I straggled behind. He helped me over bodies and wreckage even though my wounds were healed. Other than fatigue, I felt fine, but I let him worry about me anyway.

Finally, daylight hit my face. The cold air hit me at the same time, and my next breath came out in a cloud of white mist. My eyes squinted, and I lifted my hand, shielding my face from the morning sun. Benji pulled the robe from my other hand and held it up.

“Dr. Zorba called this warm. It’s a millimeter thick and has no liner.”

“I guess we’ll see,” I said, slipping my arms into the sleeves. The front melded together, and instantly, the cold dissipated from my body. “The fabric must include some special form of technology. It’s better than my goose-down coat.”

“And all this time, I thought you didn’t own a coat,” Benji said with a teasing smile and a wink.