And Beckett knows it, too. “Why don’t you ask her?” she suggests with a shrug.
Oh, yeah, lots of payback coming my way. She knows I hate talking to the fucking ship. And that my suggestion was a fucking deflection.
“Starlight, can you bring up the plans for the palace on Askkandia?” Max comes to my rescue.
Seconds later, the plans pop up on my HUD, and I whistle.
“No way,” Gage exclaims. “She must’ve cut through every level of security Askkandia has to get those plans. Doc V would kill to be able to do what this ship just did.”
Beckett is the only one who seems unimpressed as she levels her gaze at me. “Maybe she deserves a little more respect from her captain,” she says.
Point to Beckett, but I’m not going to give her the satisfaction. Instead, I focus in on my HUD. “That’s a big fucking palace.”
“Better for us,” Merrick comments. “More places of entry.”
He’s not wrong. “Okay, then, any guesses as to which of these areas might be Kali’s room?” I haven’t lived in a house since I was eleven years old, and when I did, it looked nothing like this palace. And since none of the rooms are labeled, I haven’t got a fucking clue about which section is which.
Beckett frowns as she leans in to get a better look. “My guess is one of these two suites of rooms,” she says after studying the drawings for a couple of minutes.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because they’re the biggest.” She points to the smaller of the two. “And they’re obviously bedroom suites.” She points at the different boxes on the drawing. “Sitting room, bathroom, bedroom, dressing room, closet.”
I’m as horrified as I am fascinated. No wonder Kali felt like she was slumming it on the Starlight. “Who needs five fucking rooms? Or a closet that’s bigger than this fucking ship?”
All of a sudden, the Starlight shudders.
“I don’t think she liked you calling her a fucking ship,” Gage pipes up from his spot under the dash, where he’s messing with who knows what.
“Or maybe you messed something up,” I shoot back. “Be careful what you fuck around with under there. And you’d better be making sure our landing credentials aren’t going to be flagged crossing into Imperial airspace.”
He flips me off—there seems to be a lot of that going around right now.
“So, assuming our genius over there doesn’t fuck up the credentials, we need to figure out how to get in there without getting noticed,” I say. “That seems like it’s going to be difficult, considering her rooms are literally in the center of the palace.”
“More proof that they’re hers,” Merrick says. “Easier to protect her and the Empress that way.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem,” I tell him. “Easier for them to protect her. Harder for us to sneak her out.” I look at the others. “Any of you have any suggestions?”
I’m usually a wing-it kind of guy. But storming the royal palace doesn’t seem like a wing-it kind of situation.
Beckett leans over my shoulder and points to an entrance at the back of the palace. “That might be the best place to try to get in.”
I’d already thought of it, but my experience in breaking into shit is that the most vulnerable-looking entrances are rarely the most vulnerable in reality. Guards tend to compensate for the weakness with extra personnel.
But when I say as much, she throws up her hands. “Well, then, if you think we can do better, why don’t you ask the Starlight for a plan?”
“Not a bad idea,” I say, just to humor her. “Hey, Starlight, we need to rescue Kalinda from the clutches of the evil Empress before she unwittingly kills three planets’ worth of people. Any ideas?”
I don’t expect anything to happen. I mean, it’s a spaceship. She might be able to defend herself from attack, but she doesn’t have actual ideas. That requires a kind of tech wizardry that hasn’t been invented yet.
Except I feel another shudder run through her. And then we’re speeding up, the map in front of us revealing a slight change in trajectory. I watch the new coordinates flash up on my HUD, along with a new schematic of the palace.
“Holy shit,” Beckett says. “She’s doing it. She’s really fucking doing it. I love this ship.”
I’m starting to see why. A little uneasy, I settle back in my chair and study the new schematic she just threw up—complete with her projections for the easiest door to hit to get in.
“Isn’t she great?” Beckett crows.
She kind of is. Not that I’m about to admit that.
I do, however, memorize every place she points out as vulnerable. Just in case the Starlight really is as smart as Beckett thinks she is.
Chapter 77
Kali
The public meeting was excruciating. My jaw aches from holding it in precise position. But the feed went out to all the Ruling Families, and at least the news will filter out and the world will soon know that I’m back in the palace. That, combined with the one-on-one I just had with Arik, finally makes me feel like Ian and the others will be safe. And that makes all the very bad lying I just did worth it. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Now I’m sitting on the bed in my palatial bedroom, but I feel claustrophobic. Like the silk-lined walls are closing in on me. I’m still wearing the purple dress, and I can’t get up the energy to change. Lara offered to help, but I need a few minutes alone to think. And to just be.
But I can’t sit still. I stand and start pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a better way to protect all the people on the Inner planets. But I’ve got nothing. As long as I’m here in the palace, my mother and Dr. Veragelen will find a way to make me.
Which means I’ve done all the good I can by having come here and protecting my friends on the Starlight. If I can convince Lara and Arik to come with me, then I have to get out. Now.
Before I can figure out how to do that, however, there’s a light tap on my door. I scramble to open it and find Lara on the other side, carrying a tray of food. There is a guard on either side of her, obviously stationed outside my door.
For your safety, I can practically hear my mother say. Not because you’re a prisoner, but because someone is trying to kill you, and now they know where you are.
Too bad I don’t believe for a second that all she wants to do is protect me. I am very much a prisoner in this palace. I should have listened to Ian. It’s galling to admit that, but the truth is the truth.
I never should have come back.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?” Lara asks. “You look seriously freaked out.”
“I am seriously freaked out. There are guards by my door.”
“I know. It’s terrible.” She sighs. “But you need to sit down and eat, Your Highness. You’ve had nothing substantial since you arrived. You have to keep your strength up.”
I allow her into the room, figuring once we’re alone, I can level with her and make a plan of escape for us. She enters and closes the door softly behind her, then puts my tray down on the small dining table in the corner of my sitting room. I dig in—it’s delicious, but I was kind of craving fishgalen casserole.