“I’m glad you made it back all right.” Oku sat across from him as Finn opened the tin, revealing a mix of round, orange and green manjū treats. They smelled of sweet orange and green tea. “Were you tortured?”

  “Of course. But I didn’t tell him anything.” He sounded like he was lying. What could Finn possibly know that Rache would care about?

  “Is he as villainous as they say?” Oku had no intention of mentioning that Rache had visited her before kidnapping Finn. Mostly, she wondered if Rache had told Finn who he was.

  “Even more so. He oozes it.” Finn chomped into one of the green-tea treats.

  “Oozes villainy?”

  “Like body odor but more deadly.” He waved for her to take a treat.

  “Sounds kind of gross.”

  “Yup.”

  Oku eyed the sweets. Finn had already engaged in one plot against her life. Might he be trying again to get her out of the picture? With poisoned food? “I’m not hungry.”

  “You’re sure? I don’t mind taking them all. They’re good.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Finn glanced at the guard. For a moment, Oku thought he might offer one to the man, after all, but he shrugged and ate another one.

  “What did Rache want you for?” Oku asked.

  “To ransom me to Father for five million crowns.”

  Oku had gotten a few short messages from Father, though he’d made it clear he was busy up there, dealing with all the invaders, and she made a note to crosscheck this claim with him.

  “But I escaped.”

  “How?”

  He squinted at her as if he didn’t appreciate the questions. Which also made her positive he was lying. If he’d truly escaped through heroic means, he would have been bragging about it to everyone. “I knocked out a guard and stole a shuttle. Try one of the orange ones.”

  “Are those the ones you poisoned?”

  Finn snorted. “Please, Oku. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to kill you in R.I. Headquarters. There are cameras everywhere. And witnesses.” He waved at the guard.

  Oku glanced warily at him, half-expecting him to have produced a stunner to aim at her.

  But it was Finn who attacked, lunging around the table, grabbing her wrist, and yanking an injector out of his pocket.

  She swore, twisted her wrist out of his grip, and jammed her knee into his groin. He stumbled back, but before she could feel victorious—or open her mouth to scream for help—a steel-like arm wrapped around her waist from behind and hefted her from her feet. The guard.

  “Sorry, Your Highness,” he said.

  Oku opened her mouth to scream, hoping that other guards—more loyal guards—were in the hall. But he was fast and clamped his hand over her mouth.

  Finn rolled his eyes, one hand gripping that injector and one covering his crotch as he came in from the side to avoid her kicking feet. Almost. She twisted as much as she could and launched a heel sideways at him.

  “Hold her still,” Finn growled at the guard.

  “Hurry up and do it, Your Highness. She’s feisty.”

  Feisty? Oku was pissed.

  She tried to open her jaw enough to chomp down on the guard’s hand. Her foot caught the table, sending the damn treats flying.

  Finn lunged for the side of her neck with the injector. She tried to jerk away but didn’t have enough room to maneuver. A sharp hiss at her neck filled her with even more fury.

  “Hell, Oku, it’s just a truth drug.” Finn rubbed his groin and backed far out of her reach.

  She didn’t believe him, and horror surged through her veins right along with whatever drug he’d stuck into her. But already the will to resist them, to keep fighting, seeped out of her.

  “Let her mouth go,” Finn said, watching her. “I think she’s past screaming.”

  “You sure about this, Your Highness?” the guard asked him.

  “You can cover her mouth again if she starts to scream.”

  “I meant about drugging her against her will.”

  “It’s not like she was going to agree to it. But she knows where that Dabrowski is, and Father wants him. There’s footage of her going down to let him out of his cell, but nobody’s questioning her. It’s ludicrous. I’m going to find that bastard for Father, and he’s going to appreciate that I was good enough to get away from Rache and found that rogue when nobody else could.” And thus name Finn as his first choice as heir?

  Oku wanted to tell him he was an idiot, but all of the fight had gone out of her body. Against her will, her muscles went limp.

  The guard settled her to the ground and loosened his grip on her but didn’t let her go. He was the only thing keeping her from crumpling to the floor. Small mercies…

  “Where is he, Oku?” Finn asked. “I know you’re hiding him. Once I find him, I’ll make sure to tell Father that you let his enemy go.”

  “Why are you worrying about this now, Finn?” she asked, trying to avoid answering the question, though it took a lot of energy to do so. And she struggled to remember why she didn’t want to make it easier on herself, why she didn’t just answer him.

  Her eyes had grown gritty, the lids so heavy. She wished Finn would leave so she could sleep. “The world is under attack,” she mumbled. “You should be up there with the Fleet helping Father, not worrying about Casmir.”

  “Don’t you dare tell me what I should be doing.” Finn lifted a hand, as if to hit her.

  The guard lifted his own hand to block the blow. Finn squinted at him but let his hand fall.

  “Where is he, Oku?” Finn softened his voice and forced a smile, as if he were a friend wanting some information, not her vile brother, not her interrogator.

  Unfortunately, the drug had fully kicked in, and her mouth opened to answer. “Not in the city where you can find him,” she said, trying her hardest to be vague, but it was so much effort.

  “I’ll take your chip if you don’t give me a straight answer,” Finn said, “and someone in the computer lab up there will find out exactly where you’ve been.”

  Screw you was what she wanted to say, but her muzzy mind instead mumbled, “The Asger estate.”

  “Their castle?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is he with them? Those traitor knights?”

  “Yes.” Her eyelids drooped. Sleep, she wanted sleep.

  Finn clenched a fist and met the guard’s eyes over Oku’s shoulder. “That’s it. We’ll gather a huge team and fly out there now and catch them while they’re sleeping.”

  “Excellent, Your Highness.” The guard didn’t sound that pleased, did he?

  Oku slumped against him, too tired to stand up on her own. Would she fall asleep? Or had Finn drugged her with something worse?

  Finn started for the door but paused and looked at Oku and then the guard. “I don’t suppose you’d like to take advantage of this moment to remove her from the possible line of succession?”

  “No, Your Highness,” the guard said coolly. “I would not.”

  Finn opened his mouth, as if to deliver a threat, but then said, “Fine,” and walked out. “Drop her and let’s go.”

  The guard did not drop Oku. He lifted her and laid her on the bed.

  “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” he said again, voice soft. “But I couldn’t act against your father’s wishes, or his, in case… well, you know what’s likely to pass.”

  Oku was barely aware of him as he bowed and walked away, promising to make sure someone from the infirmary came later to check on her.

  Her muzzy mind was busy trying to grasp the meaning of what she’d done. Finn would go… go to the Asgers’ castle. She had to do something. What?

  Warn…

  She passed out before the thought could fully form.

  Entire squads of armored Fleet soldiers and Kingdom Guard troops ran through the concourse in Forseti Station. Most of the restaurants and shops were closed, and the kiosks that sold everything from T-shirts to snacks to robots to spaceship parts had disappeared. That hadn’t been the case the day before when Bonita had been buying the last batch of hull plating for repairs. Was the station expecting another attack?

  She walked warily through the concourse, half-expecting some of the troops to veer over and apprehend her. What if someone had picked up the transmissions from the Fedallah? Her certainty that she wouldn’t be shot, only arrested and fined, for futzing with the broadcast system crumbled as armed men and women jogged past.

  As she reached the exit of the concourse, Bonita eyed a large display on a wall. It showed an image of the ominous AI ship next to a scanner readout showing it as a blip zipping through the system. A ticker estimating its speed startled her into halting to stare.

  The ship was traveling at more than half the speed of light. That meant it could reach Odin in hours instead of days. And it could reach Forseti Station even sooner if its route took it in this direction.

  “That might be what they’re worried about.” And what she should possibly be worried about since she was docked here. “Let’s do this quickly and get out of here,” she muttered to herself.

  Bonita found a lift and took it to the hospital floor, not sure if the soldiers she’d delivered would still be there, but the idea of visiting Maria Lopez on the civilian station was more appealing than trying to get aboard one of the Fleet military ships.

  An android nurse directed her to a few rooms that had been given to the injured soldiers. Bonita was relieved to find Maria sitting in a waiting area outside with another soldier, playing a three-dimensional holographic shooter game.

  “If this is what the Kingdom Fleet pays you to do,” Bonita said as she approached, “maybe it’s not such a bad gig.”

  “Hey, Captain.” Maria paused the game and stood up. “They’re supposed to send a ship for us eventually, but everything has been directed in-system to defend Odin.”

  “Sergeant,” her buddy said in a warning tone, giving Bonita a significant head nod.

  Why, because Maria wasn’t supposed to tell civilian bounty hunters that there was a huge battle being fought on their home world?

  “Everyone in the Twelve Systems knows what’s going on there right now, kid,” Bonita said.

  He scowled at her, unpaused the game, and obliterated Maria’s ship.

  “You’re a dick, Brunswick,” she said.

  “A dick who’s now caught up with you.” He winked.

  “By cheating.” Maria rolled her eyes and walked toward a pair of potted plants with Bonita.

  “I came to see how you’re doing,” Bonita said, wincing inwardly at the dishonesty, but it seemed like she should open with small talk before requesting that Maria help her do something treasonous. “Viggo and I have mostly gotten our ship repaired, and I’ll be taking off soon.”

  “Out of the system?”

  “That would be the wise route.”

  Maria smiled. “And is that the route you’ll be taking?”

  “Probably not. I’m undecided. My one and only permanent crew member is on Odin.”

  “Ah. I hope she’s not hurt in the fighting.”

  The last Bonita had heard from Qin, she had been taking off on some harebrained scheme with Casmir. Being hurt seemed inevitable.

  “Me too.” Bonita looked at the other soldier to make sure he wasn’t paying attention. He’d started a solitary version of the fighter game. “Is there any chance you could help me with something that I believe will be beneficial to your people but that might not be entirely legal?”

  Maria’s eyebrows flew up. “My people or my husband’s people?”

  “The Kingdom. I figured you claim them as yours after four years in their military.”

  “You must not have seen Brunswick annihilate my ship.” Maria stuck her tongue out at him when he glanced over, then walked farther down the hall.

  Good, they would be out of his earshot then. Bonita doubted any of the android nurses cared what they spoke about.

  “I’m going to send you some video footage I got from a doctor who, against his wishes, was in a position to witness it.” Bonita felt bad that she wasn’t being entirely honest. As far as she knew, Yas was obligated to serve on Rache’s ship, but he’d also agreed to be obligated.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Maria asked.

  Bonita requested permission to contact her chip-to-chip. Maria accepted, and Bonita sent the video file.

  While Maria watched the video on her contact display, her chip transmitting the audio directly to her brain for processing, her eyes grew unfocused. Bonita gazed out a faux window in the corridor; it let them pretend they were looking out on a sunny pasture with horses nipping at the grass. She wondered if kids ever thought the windows here were real and begged their parents for pony rides.

  “This is horrifying,” Maria whispered. “Does Rache still have Prince Finn?”

  “I think he’s escaped or was let go. I’m not sure. The doctor didn’t give me all the details. He saw that I’m a bounty hunter and am docked here, and that’s why he reached out to me. He thought he could hire me.”

  “For what?”

  “He wants me to hack into the broadcast system that transmits out of here and play the video for everyone in the Kingdom to see. Including, I gathered, the king and all of his Intelligence people.”

  “Do you know how to do that?”

  “No. That’s why I came to talk to you.”

  “Oh, mierda.” Maria scrubbed her face with both hands. “I can’t be involved in anything that goes against the government.”

  Bonita thought about offering to pay her, but she had a feeling that appealing to her sense of right and honor would get her further. “It’s not against the government. It’s a warning to them, right? Finn is an asshole, and his people should see it, so they can act to protect their interests. To protect their king. The kid wants to kill his own father—and maybe his sister, too, right?”

  “I guess, if those recordings haven’t been altered or made up.”

  “Who would alter them? Rache? It’s not like he would want this to get out.”

  It wasn’t like he was paying Bonita a fortune to intentionally get it out…

  “Why would this doctor you mention care about transmitting these to the Kingdom? Or is he from here himself?”

  “I didn’t ask for a lot of details—he was waving money at me—but I think he’s from Tiamat Station. The Kingdom supposedly killed their president to try to make a deal and rule through their vice president, at least before the civil unrest put an end to that. He probably doesn’t want to see a twenty-year-old kid who might be even more ambitious than his father in charge. Nobody should want to see that, right?”

  Maria gripped her chin and stared at the floor.

  “All right,” she finally said. “Do you have a stunner?”

  “Yes.”

  “We can’t hurt anyone doing this, or my career will be over. It might be anyway.” Maria groaned. “I do want that message to get out, but what if it fails? What if nothing happens and Finn ends up in power anyway? He could go after my husband. He—”

  “Perhaps,” Bonita interrupted, “if you were seen being forced into the broadcast station at gunpoint, your superiors and your government wouldn’t blame you for anything that happened.”

  “Then they’ll blame you.”

  “Yes, but I don’t like them anyway.” Bonita didn’t want to get in trouble with the Kingdom again, but they had so many other problems right now that she doubted anyone would take the time to send bounty hunters after her.

  Once she got Qin and however many of her sisters wanted to come, Bonita could leave this system forever. She would miss Bjarke, but if he ended up permanently in exile, he could leave with her. She supposed that thought shouldn’t make her wistful, but she’d been lonely these last few days without any company. She couldn’t keep from imagining him in the co-pilot’s pod, pompously sharing all of the adjectives of bear superiority that his name supposedly conveyed, as they flew off to find new adventures.

  Maria snorted. “Let’s go do it then. Before I lose my nerve.”

  She told one of her officers that she needed to use the facilities and headed out of the hospital, as if she knew where she was going. Happy to let her guide them, Bonita kept her stunner in her pocket until they came out of a lift and a plaque on the wall showed a satellite dish with Broadcast Station 3 written below it. Nobody was in the hall, but security cameras monitored their passing from high on the walls.

  For their sake, Bonita drew her stunner and pointed it at Maria. “Pick one, Sergeant.”

  “This should work.” Maria pointed at a solid metal door to Station 3 and tried the knob. It didn’t turn. A panel above it had a number pad.

  Bonita fished into another pocket, hoping the tool she’d dug out of her cabin would work. It had been a while since she’d had to pick a lock. She affixed it to the door next to the pad and thumbed it on. It clung to the metal and hummed faintly, buzzing with electricity. Or maybe magnetism. Bonita had never read the operations manual.

  “Breaking into places is easier when my roboticist guest is on board,” she murmured.

  “A profession known for teaching lock-thwarting abilities?”

  “You’d be surprised.

  A clunk sounded, the lock being thrown. Bonita removed the device, opened the door, and started to nod for Maria to go first.

  But someone in a station uniform sat at the console.

  He spun, leaping to his feet. “Hey, we’re recording! Wait, who are you?”

  He lunged for an alarm. Bonita shot him in the chest with the stunner.

  “We’re committed now,” she whispered, pulling Maria inside and closing the door behind them.

  The recording equipment took up most of the space in the small studio. A single chair was locked to the deck in front of a console. On a side wall, a display showed the AI ship advancing inexorably into the system.

  Maria glanced at it, then jerked. “I didn’t realize how close that ship is. That’s the gas giant Freyr. It’s practically in Forseti Station’s back yard.”

  Bonita waved her to the complicated-looking broadcast equipment. “Can you upload the file and transmit? Now that I’ve stunned someone, the clock is ticking.”