It was a lie, of course, but he would never know. “Get your stuff and get the fuck off of my ship.”
Loch went stone cold, his expression wiped clean. “I said I will go on this trip, and so I will. And I dare you to try to stop me, Lady von Hasenberg,” he said, his voice soft with menace.
The title was a knife to the chest, and I only kept my expression placid through long practice. I very nearly picked up the gauntlet he’d thrown down. But if he didn’t leave soon, I was going to break down in front of him, and I couldn’t allow that to happen. “Very well. Retrieve your stuff and choose a new bunk on deck two.”
Loch stalked into the bedroom and came out a few minutes later carrying his bag. He let himself out without a word or glance.
The world went watery, but I refused to let the tears fall.
Chapter 18
We made the jump to Nu Antliae Dwarf Seven with no signs of Richard. Either he hadn’t caught up to us on APD Zero or he was biding his time, waiting for me to appear in a less populated sector. If it was the latter, then I’d just handed him his golden opportunity.
To ease our transition back to Universal Time, Veronica cooked breakfast for dinner and announced it was ready over the intercom. I would’ve preferred to grab something from the synthesizer and retreat to my room, but I refused to hide.
I was the last to arrive and sat at the end of the table facing the door. The table was piled high with a platter of pancakes, a large frittata, and a bowl of fresh fruit. I’d told Veronica she didn’t need to cook for everyone, but she said she enjoyed it—and I wasn’t going to turn down real food if she felt like making it.
Loch was pleasant to everyone around him but ignored me as thoroughly as if my chair was empty. Veronica shot me a questioning look but I just shook my head slightly. I ate without tasting the food and retreated as soon as I could without looking like I was running away.
I allowed myself an hour’s power nap, though I hardly slept, then I got to work. I would go to bed early tonight and by tomorrow my internal clock would once again match Universal Time.
Today would be long, though.
Because the Antlia sector was so sparsely populated, we had jumped in close to NAD Seven and by the time I made it to the flight deck, we were five minutes out from orbit. Scanners picked up no transmissions or signs of life.
The planet visible through the windows was larger than I expected, covered in white with sheer black cliffs breaking up the landscape. The ship confirmed the planet had atmosphere, but not one breathable by humans. It was close enough it could be terraformed, but no one had decided it was worth the trouble.
I settled us in a polar orbit and watched the planet slide beneath the window. The scanners kept searching but found nothing. Whatever it was that House Rockhurst wanted with this planet—if, indeed, this was the planet they wanted—our House hadn’t found it.
Perhaps I was on a snipe hunt, chasing after a reason that wasn’t a reason at all. Maybe House Rockhurst really was just upset that I’d thrown over their golden son, even if nothing had been made official. If they were willing to go to war over the marriage, I’d have to marry him, my own desires be damned.
I set the scanners and defense systems to alert me at the first sign of anything unusual. The FTL drive was ready to send us to our next destination, just as soon as we were finished with this one. The Rockhurst planets might orbit the next nearest star, but it was still several light-years away. That might make them next-door neighbors in space terms, but only because the scale of space was so mind-numbingly gigantic.
I dozed lightly, trying to snatch rest where I could. The swish of the flight deck door woke me some time later. A time check confirmed I’d been asleep for less than half an hour.
Rhys flopped into the navigator’s chair slightly in front of me on the right. He watched the planet through the window, then spun around to face me. For all of his studied casualness, something in his posture alerted me that he wasn’t as chill as he seemed.
“What’s