Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,102

his coat.

“Fifteen … fourteen … thirteen …”

“She’s probably up there right now, sitting pretty on a sateen chaise and sipping champagne, while we’re down here freezing to death. Sols, I can’t stand that little—”

“Ten … nine … eight …”

Gabriel let out a small yelp but mercifully fell quiet.

Through the thick walls of the crate, Marcellus could feel the spacecraft’s giant engines beginning to rumble beneath them. Alouette’s hand brushed up against his in the darkness, searching for him. He grabbed it and squeezed. “Don’t be scared,” he whispered. “Once we break atmosphere, it’ll be smooth.”

“For the last time, I’m not scared,” Gabriel snapped.

“Shh!” Marcellus and Alouette said at once.

“Five … four … three … two … one …”

The engines roared and pulsed, until it felt like the whole ship might be on the brink of exploding.

“Okay, I lied,” Gabriel said. “I’m scared!”

Marcellus reached out in the darkness and grabbed his hand too. This seemed to calm him down. Marcellus had never experienced a voyageur takeoff from the cargo hold, without the proper safety restraints and counter stabilization. It was an entirely different experience. The force of the liftoff was so strong, Marcellus wondered if they would be pushed clean out of the crate, through the thick PermaSteel hull of the voyageur, and into the nothingness of the air outside.

He shut his eyes and felt both Alouette and Gabriel squeeze his hands tighter.

But then, like a wave finally hitting the shore, all the power and fury of the last few minutes suddenly seemed to fade away. The voyageur broke through Laterre’s atmosphere, and the world went calm and still and quiet.

Beside him, Gabriel exhaled as though he’d been holding his breath. “Was that it? Did the ship explode? Are we dead?”

Alouette chuckled. “No. We’re not dead.”

“Well, we’re going to be soon if Sparkles doesn’t put down her paté and open this crate right now.”

“Surprise, surprise,” came a familiar voice from the cargo hold. “Gabriel is complaining. I never would have guessed.”

“You know,” Gabriel yelled, “I’ve had about enough of your sarcasm. Just get us—”

But his words were cut off by a banging sound, followed by a loud creak, and then blinding light flooded into the crate as the lid was yanked open. Cerise beamed down at them. “Awww … don’t you three look cozy?”

Gabriel immediately released Marcellus’s hand and climbed hastily and clumsily out of the crate. He shook out his fingers. “Not funny. Next time you can ride in the ice box.”

“Too bad it didn’t freeze off your tongue,” Cerise said as she grabbed Alouette’s hand and helped her out of the crate. Marcellus clambered out after her, wobbling slightly on his still-frozen legs.

They followed Cerise out of the dim, windowless cargo hold; through a maze of low-ceilinged gangways; and up a series of grated PermaSteel staircases. Finally, they reached the voyageur’s flight bridge, a semicircular room with a bank of blinking consoles, plush flight seats, and glowing monitors on every free surface.

Marcellus nearly crashed into Alouette, who had stopped suddenly in her tracks.

“Oh my Sols,” she whispered as she stared, speechless and gaping.

Marcellus followed her gaze toward the vast window that wrapped around the front half of the flight bridge, and it was only then that he understood her reaction.

She had never left Laterre before.

Which meant, she had never seen stars before.

And as he stood beside her, staring out the window, he suddenly felt like he, too, was seeing the stars for the first time. Through her eyes. There were thousands—no millions—of them. Twinkling and glowing. As though someone had thrown a shaker of salt crystals across a vast, beautiful blanket. A blanket so endless and infinite and black.

And there, nestled amongst the stars, hanging in the voyageur’s window like a priceless piece of First World art, was Laterre. A marble of swirling white and gray.

“Whoa,” Gabriel said, stepping up to the window. “Titanique.”

“Titanique?” Marcellus repeated.

“Yeah, you know. Soop, stellar, awesome.”

“Yes,” said Alouette, turning to share a smile with Gabriel. “It really is titanique, isn’t it?”

Gabriel chuckled. “The planet almost looks nice from here.”

Marcellus squinted into the sky, where he could just make out the faint shadow of Bastille, peeking up over the horizon of Laterre. For a fleeting moment, he let his thoughts drift back to Mabelle. And then to Chatine. He’d checked her location twice since leaving her couchette and both times he’d gotten the same frustrating response.

“Location unknown.”

Where was she?

“I’ve installed the cloaking code,” Cerise announced, and Marcellus turned to see she was seated in front