Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,170

the ice-white sphere of Reichenstat.

For the first time in weeks, Alouette was glad that Hugo Taureau, the only father she’d ever known, had left. She was relieved he wouldn’t be on Laterre to witness everything that was about to happen.

She extended her hand toward the planet, until the tip of her index finger was submerged in the brilliant, bright light of the hologram.

I hope you’re okay, she whispered into the silence of her mind.

“Sols!” shouted a far-off voice, followed by a loud crash.

Startled, Alouette snapped her gaze to the viewing lounge, just off the bridge. The room appeared to be empty. But a moment later, she heard a bang, and then another slew of curse words. Curious, she followed the noise until she reached the ship’s small galley and pulled to a halt in the doorway.

Every cupboard and drawer had been opened. There were dishes, utensils, and boxes of food scattered everywhere. A metal tin lay on the floor, brown liquid splashed around it. And in the center of it all was Cerise, looking frenzied and agitated.

“What are you doing?” Alouette was almost too afraid to ask.

Cerise gave a sheepish little shrug. “Baking relaxes me.”

Alouette’s brow arched. The girl looked anything but relaxed.

“I just don’t know what to do with myself!” Cerise threw up her hands. “We’ve been hiding behind this moon for hours and those warships are still out there. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how to get around them so we can get the fric out of here, but I’ve got nothing. There’s no way out of here. We’re going to be stuck behind this blasted moon forever. Or at least until they find us or give up. But by then Gabriel will be dead and the general will have his weapon and he’ll send the update to the Skins and all of this will have been for nothing.” Cerise glanced around at the debris and sighed, her voice softening a little. “I didn’t know what else to do, so I came in here. I thought I’d make a gâteau. You know, for Gabriel when he wakes up. He said he’s never had gâteau before. But the ship doesn’t have all the ingredients and everything’s just … just …”

“A mess?” Alouette speculated.

Cerise collapsed against the counter. “Yes. Exactly.”

Alouette had never seen Cerise look so daunted. So weighed down. She was usually the buoyant one of the group. But apparently, everyone had a limit, and Cerise had reached hers.

“It’s a nice gesture,” Alouette offered. “I’m sure Gabriel will love it.”

Her heart ached at the unspoken implication of her words.

If he wakes up.

Cerise gritted her teeth. “Yeah, well, he’s a total pain in my rump, and if I have to listen to him call me ‘Sparkles’ one more time I might throw myself out the escape hatch of the ship. But …” Her voice trailed off as her eyes misted. “But everyone deserves the chance to try gâteau.”

Alouette cracked the tiniest of smiles. She’d never really taken the time to get to know Cerise. But as the slender, obsidian-haired girl stood there, with a hurricane of baking equipment scattered around her and tears pricking her eyes, Alouette couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of affection for her.

“Come on.” Alouette walked over and nudged Cerise with her elbow. “I’ll help you clean this up.” She grabbed a sponge from the sink and began to wipe down the counter. For a long time, Cerise just watched her, like Alouette was performing some unfamiliar ritual from another planet.

“I actually find cleaning to be pretty calming.” Alouette wrung out the sponge. “I used to scrub the floors in the Refuge. That was one of my chores.”

“The Refuge,” Cerise repeated. “That’s where you lived? With the Vangarde, right?”

Alouette drew in a shaky breath. Her first instinct was to clam up, conceal the truth, keep the sisters’ secrets. But when she looked into Cerise’s eyes, she knew she could trust her. Over the past few days, she, Cerise, Gabriel, and Marcellus had become a group. A team. And for the first time since Alouette had left the Refuge, she’d felt like she was part of something again. Part of a family. She may not have known her real family—and she might never find the answers she was looking for about her mother—but she knew that the word “family” could be as wide and as all-encompassing as the universe itself. The sisters had taught her that.

“Yes,” Alouette finally said. “I lived with