Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

As I came to the end of my story, recounting the new ships, the scrap with Aurelius, and the return through the mountain pass, I glanced around, my eyes resting on Navan.

“What happened to Aurelius, by the way?” I asked, realizing I had no idea. Things had gotten so crazy that I’d forgotten to find out what his fate had been, against Navan’s blades. I had just assumed Navan to be the victor, since he’d returned in one piece. Then again, if Navan had killed Aurelius, then surely that meant Seraphina was off the hook? That would sure solve a lot of problems.

Navan smirked. “He ran off with his tail between his legs.”

“So, he’s still alive?” I murmured, sighing.

“As far as I know… Why? Do you think I should have killed him?” Navan asked, frowning.

I shrugged. “I was worried he might have seen your face. It wouldn’t be good for us if he told Gianne he’d seen you,” I reasoned.

He shook his head. “I kept my hood up the whole time and kept my face turned away from him. I’m pretty sure he didn’t realize it was me.”

“So, if Brisha thought you betrayed her, how come you’re not dead?” Angie asked. I was grateful for the distraction.

“We explained we didn’t really betray her, we just got sidetracked. The information about the new ships bought us back her favor, for now,” I replied. “She wants to send Navan back the day after tomorrow to scope out the technology. I imagine she’ll want to blow a few ships up, too.”

“I’ll request to come with you,” Bashrik announced abruptly, prompting a worried glance from Angie.

Navan frowned. “Don’t you have the alchemy lab to finish?”

Bashrik shook his head, a pleased grin curving up his usually tense mouth. “We put the final touches in place today. It’s finished and raring to go. The alchemists are already back at work.” He sighed happily, a weight evidently lifted from his shoulders. “I think there’s supposed to be an unveiling ceremony in the morning, to officially open the building. However, as soon as I’m done schmoozing, I am at your disposal. I’d be more than happy to come to the South with you and scope out some ships. Besides, I can always cover for the deep-space engines. If Brisha doesn’t send anyone else with engineering knowledge, we might just get away with it, and encourage her to blow everything up instead!” he said, a boyish glee in his eyes.

“What is it with boys and blowing things up?” Angie muttered, and I could see it came from a place of concern. She didn’t want Bashrik to get mixed up in this any more than I wanted Navan to.

“Bashrik has a point, though,” Lauren chimed in, adjusting her spectacles on the bridge of her nose. “The more people we have who can vouch for the ships not being capable of deep-space travel, the better.”

Bashrik’s face softened slightly as his eyes rested on Angie. “Look, we don’t have to worry about it until after tomorrow. We can enjoy the unveiling ceremony and take pride in what we’ve achieved,” he said. “It’s not every day you build a whole lab in under a month!” I noted he kept using the word ‘we,’ the sound of it bringing a smile to my lips. They’d make a good couple, despite their mutual stubbornness.

“Wait, the alchemists have gone back to work already?” I asked, realizing what he’d just said.

“I’m afraid so. They were straight back on it, as soon as the last piece was in place,” Bashrik murmured, his expression turning grim.

If that was the case, then our human blood was on its way to being synthesized. And, with the device Yorrek had spoken about, that gave us less time than anticipated. Still, if we could get the two sisters in a position where they were fighting one another, that might buy us more time, with Brisha’s focus drawn elsewhere. The immortality elixir would remain important to her, for obvious reasons, but she might put it on the backburner while war was underway. After all, she wouldn’t want her sister stealing it from under her nose during the conflict.

“Speaking of the lab, we were just congratulating Lauren when you knocked on the door,” Angie said, distracting my attention. “In fact, I think it might be the best news you’ve heard all evening.”

Lauren smiled as I glanced in her direction. “The alchemists have offered me an apprenticeship. I sent them an essay discussing the different ways in which elixirs can be stabilized, and they asked to have me on board,” she explained, excitement bristling in her voice. “I thought it might be a good idea to have someone in the lab keeping an eye on things. Brisha trusts me, thanks to our evenings spent in the library, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to slow down any work they might be doing. Just a hint of a mishap here, too much soren root there, that sort of thing.” Her cheeks flushed slightly as everyone’s eyes turned proudly in her direction.

This was perfect news, and Lauren had done it all of her own volition. I could understand that. Had she told us of her plans, we might have tried to talk her out of it, or stick our own oars in, but this was the perfect cover. The alchemists’ desire for her knowledge had overcome their suspicion of her being an outsider. I doubted any of us could have planned it better if we’d had weeks.

After the gamble we’d taken earlier, it was just the sort of positive news I needed. With Bashrik and Navan figuring out a way to keep the deep-space engines secret, Lauren keeping an eye on the alchemists, and Brisha reinstating our good name, removing the weight of imminent punishment, things were looking brighter than they had seemed mere moments before. They were small victories, of course, since we would still be forced to send intel to Orion via Pandora and her little device, but it was something.

Even so, the thought of Earth drifted back to me. I kept wondering how a little, relatively primitive planet in the far reaches of the universe could be causing so much trouble. How could we be so important? More than that, I wondered if we’d ever see its beautiful green-and-blue surface again, or set foot on its precious soil. With each day that passed, it seemed to be getting farther and farther away.

“I’m going to turn in for the night,” I announced, feeling suddenly drained. It was too much for one day. “We’ll no doubt be expected at this grand unveiling tomorrow, so we should probably look as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as possible. Although, I think I’m going to need a miracle.” I laughed dryly, rising up from the sofa.

“Will you come down for breakfast tomorrow morning?” Lauren asked with a hopeful smile. “I start at the lab, and it’d be nice to get a pep talk before I go—the way we used to before our big exams.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I promised, hugging my friends before heading for the door.

“It’s good to see you safe and sound, Brother,” I overheard Bashrik say as I stepped out into the hallway.