Juliyana took her time crossing over to the Lythion. I’d expected that and used the time to sober Lyth as much as possible. I briefly considered waking Jai and Marlow and telling them to cross over here, too. And Sauli should be in on it, too.
But there was the unknown factor that held my hand. Juliyana was playing this stupid game for a reason that had to be very personal, but I couldn’t figure it out yet. It would be kinder to keep this just between us for now. If there was anything important that needed passing along, I could do it later.
The first cup of coffee I pushed in front of Lyth had a half-dose of sobersol in it, which would minimize the side-effects, but diminish the impact of the alcohol enough for him to make sensible decisions.
Lyth cooperated. He ate and drank everything I put in front of him. He knew as well as I did that he needed to be sober, now.
“You have shitty timing,” I told him, as he grimaced and picked up the third cup of coffee.
“This sort of stuff never comes at a good time, have you noticed?” And he drank.
I kept the lights up high in the diner, and I also had Lyssa drop the temperature in there by a couple of degrees. That made the coolness not quite uncomfortable but would help us stay alert.
Juliyana arrived with her entourage. The two unenhanced men, armed to the teeth, and Calpurnia.
“There is no threat here,” I pointed out coldly, while Juliyana stood a dozen paces from the table with her arms crossed. “Send your people back.”
“I move everywhere with them.”
There were a dozen arguments I could have made but I rejected all of them and gritted my teeth. “Get rid of them, Juliyana. You really want them to hear what comes next?”
Her eyes narrowed. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the pair. “Go back and get the ship ready to jump.”
One of them nodded and the pair left.
Calpurnia remained. I looked at her. “You, too.”
“She stays,” Juliyana said.
Calpurnia lifted her chin, looking at me.
“Don’t feel too pleased,” I warned her. “Most of the time, when people say you should probably leave, you end up wishing you had listened, I’ve found.”
Calpurnia shrugged.
“Okay, then,” I replied, with a sigh.
“To the bone, huh?” Lyth murmured to me.
I glared at him.
That seemed to make him happier.
I got right to it. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, working for Humanists?” I demanded of Juliyana.
She had been braced for this, for her expression didn’t slip by a millimeter. “That’s really none of your business.”
“When Lyth is a member of my family? That makes it my business. And his. Did you even stop to consider for a single second about the…the morals of working for them?”
Juliyana shifted her gaze to Lyth, then back to me. “They’re paying a fuck-ton of money. That’s the only moral in question.”
“They lost family, too,” Calpurnia added, her tone righteous.
“And Lyth just narrowly avoided another assassination attempt by them, less than a week ago!” I thumped the table.
Calpurnia jumped.
Juliyana flinched, but she was already holding herself in, controlling her reactions, hiding everything, so only that tiny tic showed. That, and her gaze shifted back to Lyth and away.
I’d surprised her. More than that. But she still had all her shields up.
“Lyth deserves an explanation,” I added.
“Then why isn’t he asking for it?” Juliyana replied.
“Because I’m too insulted to want to speak to you right now,” Lyth replied. His tone was icy.
Juliyana breathed hard. She could feel the ground shifting beneath her. “It has been my policy for…for years, to not pick sides.” Her tone was defensive, but I suspected she was also speaking truthfully. We’d nudged her that far, at least. “Picking sides…that’s how we ended up on Nijeliya, fighting to survive. It’s why the Empire imploded.”
“But Humanists, Juliyana?” I breathed. “Did you even hesitate?”
Her glance shifted back to Lyth and away. She didn’t speak.
Stalemate.
I got to my feet. “Sit down, both of you. It’s late for us. We’re tired. Go on, sit.”
Calpurnia headed for the table without glancing at Juliyana. Juliyana stayed where she was as I brushed by her.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“To get coffee. Late, remember?”
“I don’t want coffee.”
“Sit, anyway,” I told her. “You owe us that much.”
She considered that, then moved over to the table and sat next to Calpurnia, which put her at an angle from Lyth. It wasn’t her usual seat.
Lyth grimaced when I put the three mugs on the table. Only Calpurnia reached for hers with any enthusiasm.
I sat and sipped. I’d had enough, too, but drinking anything was sociable. It could take the edge off communications.
“You’re not drinking?” Lyth asked Juliyana.
“I don’t want any.”
“You love this coffee,” Lyth pointed out, a furrow between his brows. Which was true. It had a thick, rich flavor that I also enjoyed, when I wasn’t on my third mug of it.
“I don’t want the caffeine,” Juliyana said stiffly.
“Since when?”
Calpurnia lowered her mug. She looked as though she had taken a fist to her metal-lined belly. Her mouth was open. She glanced at Lyth and back at Juliyana.
It was her expression that opened the door of understanding for me. I put my mug down, too. “How long have you been avoiding caffeine?” I asked. “And why not just ask for decaffeinated? Or would that be too telling?”
Lyth made a soft sound. He’d figured it out, too.
Calpurnia’s face worked. “You’re pregnant?” Hurt oozed from her. She looked at Lyth once more and her misery doubled.
Juliyana didn’t look at any of us. Her chin stayed up, her eyes shielded, giving nothing away.
“It’s his?” Calpurnia asked, her voice rising.
Juliyana nodded.
Calpurnia got to her feet, staring down at Juliyana. Her chin looked even more delicate now.
I held my teeth together, fighting the powerful need to point out to Calpurnia that I had warned her about the dangers of staying for a conversation to which she wasn’t invited. There was no need to rub it in.
Calpurnia stalked away, all the bounce and energy in her stride gone.
I got to my feet. “You two should talk,” I said to Lyth and Juliyana. Lyth looked like he’d taken a blow, too, but deep in his eyes, happiness lurked.
Juliyana sighed. “And this is why I didn’t say anything,” she pointed out. “Because suddenly, it’s a drama and everyone is running around beating their chests.”
“It is dramatic,” Lyth shot back. “It is a child, Juliyana.”
I picked up the datasphere that Calpurnia had brought over from the Penthos, and took it to the bridge, to prepare for the teeny hop over to the location that Juliyana’s data suggested was one the Blue guys had staked out.
Juliyana would work with us, now, instead of fighting us every step of the way. She’d delivered her sting and while Lyth would have to deal with that on a personal level, we could all get on with the business at hand in the meantime.
We had a hook to bait.