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  Now, our moment had come.

  “Ready to take on some shifters?” I asked, stretching out my aching limbs. As it turned out, a freezing cold hayloft wasn’t much better than a cramped escape pod.

  Navan turned in surprise. “I didn’t know you were awake. Were we being too loud?”

  “Not at all. In fact, you were being adorably cute.” I shuffled over and kissed them both on the cheek. Nova smiled up at me. “Still, we should probably get this over and done with. Those two creeps won’t be expecting us to come around to the farmhouse until later, so I say we strike when they least expect it.”

  “Good idea.” He paused, glancing down at Nova. “What do we do about the little one?”

  “I guess we take her with us?” I wasn’t comfortable putting her in a potentially risky situation, but we couldn’t leave her here, either.

  He nodded. “Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice.”

  “We should never have left the bag in the pod,” I muttered.

  “Hey, stop that. We thought that pod was like Fort Knox. We could never have known they’d go to such lengths to crack it open. It was a mistake, and we’re going to fix it. No harm, no foul, okay?”

  “If you say so.” I flashed him a grateful smile, before clambering down the rickety ladder. He came down a moment later, clutching Nova tight to his chest. Keeping hold of her, he slid the emergency device into his pocket, while I hid the remaining vials of sweetblood about my person—the ones I’d taken from the bag the previous evening, using two to pay off the Twits. There were only three bottles left now, after Navan had finished the last of one to feed Nova this morning, and she was going to need a hell of a lot more than that.

  Stepping outside, I saw that the storm clouds had cleared, but Mallarot was no more refreshed than it had been yesterday. The atmosphere already felt weighed down with mugginess, though the sun had barely risen, and the air was humid and cloying. I glanced up at the peculiar sky, which was tinged a pale, pinkish gray, and prayed the others arrived today. The sooner we were off this damned planet, the better.

  Staring ahead with grim intent, we strode toward the farmhouse, Nova nestled happily inside her father’s good wing, which he’d curled around her in a strange sort of sling. It wouldn’t be long before she started crying out for more sweetblood, but for now she was content. I still couldn’t believe I’d slept through the rest of the night, leaving Navan to contend with her alone. He was capable, for sure, but it felt weird and almost unmaternal to have given in to my exhaustion. I knew it was crazy to think that, but guilt and I seemed to be the best of friends these days. I mean, Nova was still brand new, and already I was convinced I was going to turn into Sasha, my birthmother.

  A curious scent hit my nostrils as we crept into the farmhouse. It was overpoweringly sweet, like walking into a candy factory, with a citrussy undertone cutting through the tang of pure sugar. Frowning, I sniffed the air again. There was no mistaking it. My body craved that taste, that scent, that high. I’d have known it anywhere.

  At the back of the house, I heard clattering and chatter. I didn’t know whether both of them were in the kitchen, but someone was definitely doing something with sweetblood. I was about to lunge forward, ready to burst in on them, when Navan pulled me back.

  “If they’ve cooked it, it won’t be any use to us,” he said quietly.

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “When sweetblood is cooked, the potency of the substance is heightened. Only, the intensity becomes really unstable. There’s no way of knowing how intense the mixture is—it kills thousands of people each year and would almost definitely harm Nova.” A tense sigh bristled from his chest. “There are addicts all across the universe. As you know, sweetblood in its raw form is relatively harmless to most species, no more potent than caffeine, but when it’s cooked it’s insanely addictive. One taste, sometimes, is all it takes to ruin someone’s life. We call those kinds of people Sacc-heads, and once they’ve had a taste of cooked sweetblood they become fried zombies. They can’t think or do anything other than cook sweetblood and drink it down.”

  “You think that’s what they’re doing?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but we both know how easily addicted shifters can get.” He looked toward the kitchen. “Anyway, even if they are cooking it, I doubt they’ll have used all of the bag. Most addicts only cook small batches at a time.”

  His words gave me all the hope I needed.

  We crept closer to the kitchen and burst through the door to find Rini at the stove, stirring a large pot with a spoon. She turned in surprise, immediately slamming a lid on the pot. The bag itself was nowhere to be seen, but the overpoweringly sweet scent was even stronger here. I doubted gumshi made that kind of smell when it was cooking.

  “Good morning!” she shrieked, pressing her back up against the stove. “We weren’t expecting to see you up and about so early, after all your weary travels. You’ve given me a fright, so you have!”

  “What’s in the pot?” I asked bluntly.

  “Gumshi porridge, for my husband and me.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’m sure. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a bag, have you? One got stolen from our pod last night, and your husband wasn’t much use when I found him in the toolshed. I was wondering if you could shed more light on the situation.” My eyes glared daggers at her.

  “The toolshed?” she asked.

  “Yeah, that shed you have outside, between here and the barn.”

  A look of alarm crossed Rini’s face. “What were you doing out there so late at night?”

  “I could ask your husband the same question,” I shot back. “He didn’t want me to tell you, but since he’s the one who stole my bag, I don’t see why I should keep his secrets. I found him—”

  “What’s going on in here? Can’t an honest farmer get a good night’s rest without being woken up by a load of chattering?” Bosen’s gruff voice bellowed as he appeared in the doorway behind us. “Oh, I might’ve known it’d be you two. I told you already, you’re not welcome here anymore, so you can head off back to the barn, pack your things, and scram—leave us to our breakfast. If you don’t, I might see fit to charge you another two vials for troubling us, then send you packing.”

  By now, I was seething. “That’d be pretty hard to do, since you’ve already stolen all of our sweetblood!”

  “Don’t know what you’re yammering on about,” he muttered, pushing past us to reach his wife.

  “We think you do, Bosen,” Navan said icily.

  He looked up at Navan, and a flicker of fear crossed his sagging face. “It’s like I told your wife last night, I ain’t seen no bag and I ain’t broken into your pod. Isn’t that right, Rini?”

  “And just when did you encounter this woman last night?” Rini’s voice was shrill and accusatory, her red-veined eyes turned toward her husband in disgust. “You told me you found all this dumped behind one of the containers in the barn.”

  “All of what?” Navan hissed.

  “Rini, my precious desert bloom, it ain’t what you think,” Bosen protested. “I was in the middle of my shedding when this wench burst in on me, without so much as a knock. What could I do? I couldn’t hide it from her. I tried, believe me, but she didn’t give me a moment to get decent.”

  “You liar!” I yelled, my temper rising. “I thought it might be a bunch of rats, gnawing away at something in the toolshed. I didn’t know what you were up to. Anyway, I only went there to confront you for stealing my bag! You were more than happy to strut around in your new skin, asking me to keep your secrets for you. Weren’t you the one who told me not to say a word to Rini?”

  Rini gasped. “Say it’s not true, Bosen!”

  “All of what behind the container in the barn?” Navan pressed, everything getting confused.

  Bosen tried to paw at his wife. “You believe this creature over me?”

  “I didn’t mean to intrude on anything,” I said defiantly.
“I never would have gone to investigate the noise if this bastard hadn’t stolen my bag of sweetblood from right under our noses.”

  “Bosen, you told me you found it. You never said you stole it from the girl!” Rini snapped. “And now I find out you’ve been peeling in front of her? You never peel in front of me, no matter how many times I ask you. You used to, when we were younger, but now you always fob me off with some excuse about being self-conscious, or too tired! She isn’t even a shifter, Bosen. Well, now I guess we know where our son got it from, don’t we?”

  “Listen, you nasty little thieves, it doesn’t matter whether your husband found it or stole it. You knew it was ours!” I roared, morphing into full mother-lion mode. “And if I find out you’re cooking it in that pot, I’m going to boil you both in it!”

  The two shifters froze.

  “Now, I’m going to ask you, very nicely—where is the rest of it?”

  “Rest of what?”

  “The sweetblood!” Navan and I snarled together.

  “Ain’t none of it left, so there’s no point in threatening us. It’s all in the pot, where it ought to be. Payment for our troubles,” Bosen replied. “You should never have had so much in the first place. It’s just plain selfish for someone to carry around so much without sharing the love. Ain’t that right, Rini?”

  “Right as always, Bosen my love.”

  Fury pulsed through every vein in my body.

  I was glad I didn’t have Nova in my arms, because now my hands were free to claw at the pooling, sickening flesh of these two idiots. They’d stolen from me, and they’d put my daughter’s life at risk. They deserved to burn for what they’d done. If there was no sweetblood left, then they’d placed a death warrant on my daughter. I no longer cared about showing mercy.

  I rushed forward, snatching the large pot off the stove and gripping it by its protective handles. It was heavy, the liquid sloshing inside.

  “You be careful with that!” Bosen yelped. “Could kill a person, swinging it around like that.”

  I glowered at him. “Maybe that’s my intention.”

  My hands full, I brought the saucepan to my side. With my hip, I bumped the lid off the top, and a hazy steam of sweetness rose from within. I’d expected Navan to back me up, but he wasn’t even looking at me—instead, he’d lifted the emergency device from his pocket and was staring intently at the screen.

  Bosen took a tentative step toward me. “Expensive stuff, that!”

  “Aye, keep us away from reality for months, that will,” Rini agreed, staring ravenously at the pot. “Will make my husband hurry along with his ploughing and picking, too—jot of that in his tea each morning, can go like a machine all day.”

  I grimaced. “You stole this. You stole this, knowing my daughter needs it! You better believe I’ll throw this whole thing over the both of you for putting her in harm’s way.”

  “Hey, we didn’t know she needed it,” Rini complained.

  “You did, you lying sons of bitches. You did, and you took it anyway!” I bellowed. “No wonder Mort hated you both! He was worth a million of you combined. I’m just sorry he’s not here to see me kicking your ass!”

  “No time for that,” Navan said suddenly, slipping the emergency device back in his pocket. “We’ve got to go.”

  I whirled around. “What do you mean?”

  “The others got stopped by customs agents, even though they were trying to avoid them,” he explained rapidly. “Naturally, they got rejected, so they’re coming for us now. They’re going to swoop down and pick us up from here, as covertly as they can. They’re five minutes away, at most.”

  Turning back to face the shifters, I heaved the pot of sweetblood at them. They ducked for cover as the burning liquid surged across the kitchen in a golden wave.

  “No! All that sweet goodness… wasted!” Rini roared, covering her face.

  “That were our stuff!” Bosen barked, though he stayed tucked behind a kitchen chair.

  The pot clattered to the floor, and I reached for Navan’s hand, following him out into the humid yard. Dust kicked up behind us as we sprinted across the paddock and into the gumshi fields, running as fast and as far as our feet could carry us. Nova was safely tucked in Navan’s wing, though she looked startled as her father’s movements jolted her along.

  “The pod?!” I glanced over my shoulder. There was nothing useful inside it, but if it was found then the Mallarot authorities would know where we’d come from… not that they’d do anything to fight against the Vysantheans, but they could always send word to Ezra and Aurelius, letting them know we’d been here. I wanted to leave as little evidence behind us as possible.

  “Got it covered,” Navan replied, lifting out the emergency device and pressing in a series of symbols. A moment later, an explosion erupted behind us, the earth shaking underfoot.

  “What the—?” I yelled, hitting the deck.

  Navan smiled, helping me up off the dusty ground. “Self-destruct protocol.”

  “You could’ve warned me!” I said, exhaling nervously as I looked back. A plume of black smoke rose up from where the pod had been. Through the debris and the smoke, two figures emerged, running fast in our direction. “Oh crap, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are after us!”

  Navan turned to see what I was talking about, before taking my hand and hauling me along, using his coldblood speed to spur me on, faster than my human legs could carry me. The emergency device was crackling loudly in his hand, a familiar voice trying to get through.

  “This is Bashrik. Do you read?”

  Navan lifted it to his lips. “This is Navan. Do you copy our position? We’re currently on the run, so it’s going to have to be a moving swoop-and-grab.”

  The shifters were some ways behind us, but neither Navan nor I wanted to risk them catching up. Already, while they were running, they were snatching up gumshi fruit from the ground and hurling them at us with surprising reach.

  “You won’t get away with this!” Bosen yelled. “We’ll get customs to boot you in prison for the rest of your days!”

  “Is that Riley? She sounds different,” Bashrik remarked.

  “No, that would be the people chasing us,” Navan replied, flashing me an apologetic look.

  “Right, well, we’ll be with you in less than a minute. Be ready for a swoop-and-grab.”

  “Copy that.”

  We kept running, dodging the gumshi fruit hurled in our direction, until a Fed ship appeared in the sky overhead. It was a short distance from us, descending rapidly. The belly of the hold opened, the gangway sliding out, though the ship showed no sign of stopping. Navan scooped Nova out of his wing-sling and clutched her to his chest, before encircling my waist with his arm.

  “Hold on tight,” he said, offering a smile of reassurance.

  I looped my arms around his neck, reminded of the countless times we’d done this before. Still, no flight compared to that first one, traveling across Earth in his embrace. Now, that really did seem like a lifetime ago.

  Bracing his legs against the ground and opening his wings, he surged upward with Nova and me gripped tightly against him. The gaping cavern of the Fed ship’s hold was advancing rapidly, while the shifters were gaining speed below. There was no way they could knock us out of the sky, but I’d seen Mort stretch to great heights; there was no telling what these two were capable of, in pursuit of vengeance for their spilled sweetblood.

  Like the mouth of a whale, the Fed ship swallowed us whole, Navan arching his wings to slow us down as we hurtled into the hold, coming to a halt before hitting the far wall. The gangway came up behind us, the blast doors closing, the dusty surface of Mallarot disappearing from sight.

  Good riddance, I thought.

  Part of me wished we hadn’t bothered going to Mallarot. Although we’d delivered the news of Mort’s death to his parents, they hadn’t cared, and we’d lost almost all our bottles of sweetblood to those vicious little shifters in the process. I had to wonder how
differently things might have gone if Mort had been with us, as per the plan. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference at all.

  One thing was for certain: those monsters didn’t deserve their son. My heart hurt to think of him, that last image replaying in my mind. It was hard to remember the good times, though there’d been a lot. Even those days in the clinic, with just me and him, my sides had ached from laughing so hard. In the end, I supposed he had found what he’d never had in his life… a family to call his own, who had cared about him and forgiven him, regardless of his past.

  And I would make sure Nova never forgot the uncle who had loved her dearly. I knew I’d never need to paint him as a better man than he was, to her, in the way he’d asked me to—he had been a better man because of her.

  Chapter Six

  “Are you okay?” Navan asked, setting me down.

  I nodded, smiling. “Nothing I haven’t done before.”

  “Well, one of us seems to be able to go through anything without batting an eyelid,” he cooed, swaying Nova from side to side.

  I chuckled, brushing a thumb across the plump rise of her cheek. There was something so satisfying about squishing her cute little face.

  The door to the ship’s interior slid open with a hiss of mechanics as the others came running in, their boots thudding on the metal floor. It seemed like an eternity since we’d last seen each other, and a wave of relief washed over me at the sight of them all hurrying into the space—my motley crew, my band of brothers and sisters, my second adopted family. Bashrik, Angie, Lauren, Ronad, and Xiphio. I noticed Stone wasn’t with them, but presumably someone had to be flying the ship out of here.

  “Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you hear?” Angie was the first to break the silence, rushing toward me. She paused just shy of where we stood, eyeing the baby in Navan’s arms. “Wait. Hold the damn phone. Whose kid is this? Where’ve you stolen this thing from? Is someone going to come chasing after us because of this? Please tell me this is all above board and you haven’t been snatching kiddos from alien planets?”