“I am. It’s part of the plan I’m putting together. Just leave it all to me. I’ll handle my mother.” He gives me a thin smile. “According to the Jabberwock, my mother is out ‘visiting’ a few of her vacation homes. We’ve got plenty of time to pull things into place, and I’d love nothing more than to take her down myself.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Oh, I am.” The look on his face is cold. “The revenge will hurt more coming from me, and I truly want it to hurt.”
Well, that’s one thing settled, I suppose. I’m not sure I like handing off the matter, but if anyone has a personal stake in things, it’s Lady sa’Rin’s much-slighted son. “Then we’ll follow you back to Risda,” I tell him. “Or at least as far as Jerrok’s station. Before we head out, though, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? Straik tilts his head, eyes narrowing at me. “What sort of favor?”
“I need to borrow your mate for a few hours. Helen isn’t handling things well, and I think she’d probably feel better if she talked to Ruth one on one. We can pick her up with a shuttle so she can visit, or I can bring Helen to you. Whichever is easiest.”
“My pregnant mate isn’t leaving my ship.” I can hear the overprotectiveness in his voice. “But you’re welcome to come on board with Helen. It might be good for her to see Ruthie and Alice, too. And you can say hello to your brother.” He pauses. “He’s not a good listener, by the way. I don’t know how he hasn’t managed to get killed yet. The moment there’s a whiff of battle, he just charges right in.”
That sounds like my brother, all right. “We’ll be by in a few hours. My thanks, Straik.”
His eyes gleam. “I should be thanking you. With this cloning operation and Zebah’s records, my mother’s going to be neatly caught in her own trap.”
CHAPTER 99
HELEN
When I wake up, I’m alone.
Whimpering, I flail my way out of the blankets that trap my limbs. I don’t like them. I don’t like being confined and unable to stretch out. It reminds me of the tight ducts on the derelict that I had to crawl through over and over again, knowing that I didn’t have a choice if I was going to save Matty. I sit up in bed and extend my arms and legs as far as I can, just to feel the burn of my muscles, and then hug my legs tight to my chest.
Mathiras is here, isn’t he? He said he’d always come for me. He swore it on his blood.
Licking my lips, I call out into the darkness. “Matty?”
There’s no answer. Hot panic bubbles up inside me again. He wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t. I’m on the Little Sister. I’m safe. I’m home. I fight back the anxious thrum of my pulse, because I instinctively know if it speeds up too much, I’ll go back into that mentally blank space where nothing gets through to me. I don’t need to go there unless we’re in danger, and it worries Mathiras when I’m like that, because I kill people.
Ruth’s face flashes before my eyes and I shake my head to clear it. No. It wasn’t my sister. It wasn’t. Ruth is safe.
I stagger out of bed and move to the control panel. I don’t know how to read the language, but I’ve watched Mathiras’s perfect, strong fingers move over the screens enough that I know which things to tap to activate the ship’s computer. I turn on the comm. “Mathiras? Where are you?”
Immediately, there’s a comm back. Mathiras’s voice, warm and comforting, surges into the dark bedroom. “I’m on the bridge, love. Want me to come get you?”
I relax a little at that. “I’m coming to you.” I need to see him. To hold him close and breathe in his scent. To have him wrap his arms around me and remind me that everything is all right, that we’re both safe, and nothing is going to tear us apart. I open the door and race down the hall toward the bridge. Mathiras’s scent lightly drifts through the air, and it gives me flutters of relief. When I arrive on the bridge, I see his big, strong back, his tail lightly swishing as he leans over the controls, and I have to bite back a squeal of delight at the sight of him. Instead, I just rush forward and press myself against his back, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him.
He chuckles, his arms moving over mine as I hug his stomach. “Good morning, love.”
I smile against his back, loving the feel of his laughter moving through his big body. “I missed you.”
“Hey, uh, you know what else you should miss?” calls Adiron from the far side of the bridge. “Clothes.”