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SECURITY ON THE ESTATE had clearly turned to focus on making sure nothing went wrong with the Oscavian prince. Andie snuck out of her room and managed to get past the main grounds and well on her way towards the house where the crew was being kept without once being challenged by a guard. She had to be on alert to avoid the electronic sensors, but they were easy enough to spot. The whole Mebion estate was too focused on the big event to pay attention to one woman taking a walk, even if that woman was a hostage.
It was a bit trickier when she made it to the house. Guards walked a rotation that didn’t leave a meter unwatched. Misdirection could have gotten her inside, but freeing the crew wasn’t enough. No one could know they were gone until they were ready for it. If the guards ran away to investigate something suspicious and came back to find their prisoners gone, they’d sound the alarm and the game would be up.
But Andie wasn’t a fighter and she didn’t have a weapon.
All she’d managed to take from the estate was a small flashlight. The beam was strong enough to make her wince and she hoped it reached the house from where she was hidden. She flashed it towards an upper story window, blinking the light as quickly as she could. When she saw a guard look up she cut the light and held her breath, hoping she hadn’t been spotted. The lights in the room flicked off and then two seconds later flicked back on. It could have been a coincidence, but Andie didn’t think so. The crew knew to look for her. That was a signal.
And two minutes later the guards went running towards the house. Andie wanted to run after them, but she forced herself to stay still. The rest of the crew had to handle that fight and she’d just get in the way. After several more minutes of quiet the upstairs light flashed on and off again and Andie took that for a signal, breaking her cover and running towards the house.
The main room looked like a tornado had ripped through it, the couch flipped over and things scattered across the floor. Kiran rubbed at his cheek where a bruise was blossoming and Sayevi’s shirt was ripped. Otherwise everyone looked fine, though she realized Malax and Taryn were missing.
“Guards?” she asked.
“Being tied up downstairs as we speak,” Keana replied. A moment later the missing crew members came out of the hidden staircase. Taryn tossed something at Keana, who studied it for a moment before putting it in her pocket. “Comms,” she explained to the group. “We can listen in, make sure we’re out of range.” She turned her gaze to Andie. “Any last minute changes?”
Andie shook her head. “All good on my end. I snuck away when the prince arrived. No one was looking my way.”
“And the captain?”
“At the party,” Andie confirmed. “He left about two hours ago.” And she couldn’t confirm that he was still there, but they all had to know that, so Andie kept any stupid doubts quiet. This thing would only work if they all trusted each other to get their jobs done. Xandr had to stay at that party, had to keep eyes on Mebion and the prince or this all went to hell very fast.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Keana, slipping into her leadership role. She’d only been captain for a little while, but she’d been first mate for almost as long as Xandr had run his ship. She could lead the crew on a mission just as well as him.
With the guards tied up in the servants’ quarters, they didn’t need to move with the utmost stealth, but that didn’t mean they weren’t careful. Zeesa had managed to give Xandr the information the crew needed and Andie relayed it as Sayevi drove them in a stolen vehicle to a large farm on the very edge of the Mebion estate.
The place was teeming with action and no one noticed the extra vehicle. Andie’s stomach roiled as she saw lines of people with their heads bowed being led to large shipping containers that could easily be transferred from land vehicles to space ships. There were Oscavians, humans, and half a dozen other races that Andie didn’t recognize, but they all stood the same, just the same as she had stood back when she’d lived on Ixilta. Defeated. Cowed. Hopeless. There were dozens of them, more than enough to overpower the people herding them like cattle, but no one was fighting back.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to. Andie didn’t need to get close to know that rage roiled in the guts of every single captive out there. But at a certain point they’d all realized there was no use. No one was coming to save them and survival would stretch on in misery until it couldn’t stretch anymore.
She’d been lucky. Ixilta was a terrible place where a placid surface masked the violence that kept the planet running. But she’d had a modicum of freedom. No choice in job or accommodation, but she hadn’t been worked to the bone, hadn’t been violated by grabbing hands and probing tongues. If she’d closed her eyes and let herself forget how she’d gotten there, there were times she could almost imagine she was free. It had been a trick of the mind to protect herself, something that became clearer every day she lived with Xandr and his crew, and she couldn’t stand to watch as these people were loaded up like inconvenient things. People weren’t possessions.
A hand landed on her forearm and she looked over to see Keana watching her. “How are you holding up?” the first mate asked.
“I’ve had better days,” Andie answered honestly. “Can we fuck shit up now?”
Keana grinned, and it was the first time Andie could remember seeing the expression on her face. “Let’s give Nevys what he has coming to him.”
Sayevi stopped the car behind a small shed that shielded the crew from view. Keana, Andie, Taryn, and Kiran got out while Malax and Hayk stayed with the pilot. Andie’s group could have used Hayk’s considerable martial skills, but the prisoners were more likely to need a doctor than she needed an extra set of fists. And if things went well, they wouldn’t be fighting much anyway.
“Good hunting,” Keana told Sayevi, Hayk, and Malax before turning away. She waved the rest of their group on and Andie followed closely, anticipation thrumming in her veins. It was time to mess things up.
***
XANDR HADN’T REALIZED how much he relied on his comms until he was standing alone in the ballroom and waiting for a sign of how things were going. He offered smiles and greetings to the attendees who acknowledged him and ignored those who didn’t, but he played his role with only half his mind, the rest preoccupied on what the crew was doing.
It had been more than an hour since the prince had arrived. Dinner was set to start at any moment. Now would be the perfect time to strike. And Xandr could do nothing but wait. If he moved without the crew he guaranteed that he’d be struck down.
Zeesa glided up behind him, seemingly from nowhere. “Are you having a good time?” she asked casually.
“As good as always,” he responded lightly. He’d despised these events as a young man and they hadn’t improved with time.
“My husband is getting anxious.” She smiled at him as if she hadn’t asked him to kill her husband just a week before. “There’s no telling what he’ll do once he’s set his mind to something.”
Ceetr stood by the prince and even from across the room Xandr could see the tension radiating from him. He couldn’t like that Xandr was in the room, and he had to be fuming at the fact that Nevys had appeared to cause trouble. Only one thing needed to go wrong before everything exploded.
And as a guard approached him and whispered in his ear, Xandr was certain something had. The duke straightened and barked something that made the guard flinch and caught the prince’s attention. Ceetr smiled at the prince before grabbing the guard’s arm and hauling him away.
Show time.
“I’d suggest getting away from me before things get any worse,” Xandr warned his former betrothed. “Your husband is an angry man.”
“I could be the one to support you if things go right.” She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed.
Xandr looked down before looking up to meet Zeesa’s hopeful eyes. Whatever expression she saw returned in his made her eyes dim and she gave him a sad smile. “Well, I suppose not. Good luck.” She let go of his arm and let the crowd swallow her up, leaving Xandr a bit puzzled.
Zeesa had made it clear she wouldn’t risk her position to help him escape, not even if he killed his brother, and now she was making eyes at him and talking about standing beside him? Perhaps a decade with his brother had made him seem like the better option. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t want to remain here even if he didn’t have Andie. And having Andie made him blind to any other potential partner.
“What!” The duke’s yell was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room and all eyes turned toward the hallway, but if he said anything else it was swallowed up by the distance. Xandr could feel his lips curling up and squashed his grin. A moment later the duke returned, a fake smile plastered on his face as he spoke to the prince, who looked curious.
Xandr crossed the room and took his place beside his brother. “Your majesty, I hope you are finding Mebion to your liking.” He ignored Ceetr, who stared at him like a fighter in the second before a match started.
Prince Ryxar nodded. “It is a lovely planet. Your stewardship is to be commended.”
Ceetr sputtered out a laugh. “His stewardship?”
The prince clearly didn’t see what was so funny and Xandr kept quiet. If Ceetr was this close to snapping then it was almost time to move. “Is there a problem, your grace?” the prince asked.
Ceetr snapped his mouth shut and jerked his head from side to side. He glared at Xandr and took a deep breath. “There’s some awful business I hate to bring up now, sire, but I’m afraid it cannot wait.”
“Your grace!” A different guard ran up to them. “The captain needs you. There’s an issue at the docks.”
Ceetr snapped his attention from the prince to the guard. “Now is not the time! The captain can handle it himself.”
Prince Ryxar’s brow furrowed. “If you are needed, your grace, we can continue this conversation later.”
“I would be happy to keep the prince company, brother.” Xandr smiled sweetly, as if their rivalry was something all brothers endured rather than the nasty gnarled knot that had festered between them.
Ceetr’s eyes narrowed and he took a step towards Xandr. “You—you’re doing this.”
“I’ve been here all night, brother, I have no idea what’s going on.” Technically true, though he could guess.
Ceetr grabbed the guard who’d been trying to slip away. “Go find the girl. That will make my brother speak.”
“But, your grace—” the guard sputtered. “What about—”
“I said find her!” Ceetr bellowed and all eyes turned to them. “He knows the price for not admitting to his crimes!”
“Crimes?” the prince chimed in. “My lords, perhaps we should take this to a more private venue.” He looked between the two brothers, barely sparing a glance at the guard. “And what is this about a woman? Your grace?”
Ceetr breathed heavily and he stared at the prince as if he just remembered that they had a visitor. All eyes were on them and Xandr wanted to make his move, but he hadn’t gotten his sign yet. He couldn’t level an accusation until he had the proof. It couldn’t be long now, going by what the guard had said, but if things had gone wrong at the docks then Xandr had to find another way out.
“Get your damn hands off me!” A gruff voice came from the servant’s entrance. “I know my business.”
And Xandr knew that voice—if there was ever a sign, this was it.
Ceetr’s face lost most of its color, going from its rich purple to a sickly gray. “No.” He turned to the prince and tried to compose himself, but he trembled. “Please excuse me, I must deal with this.” And then he fled.
Xandr gave the room a quick once over and saw Nevys standing just outside the door to the servants’ hallway, wearing fighting gear and looking ready to explode from anger.
“Do you know who that is?” the prince asked.
Xandr felt satisfaction unfurl. “That man is assisting my brother in the slave trade. There is much we must discuss.”
