Salvotor pauses. "What if we run into Lord Sir?"
"What would he be doing in the tunnels at this time of night?" I have to ask.
"Um…I don't know. It's just a thought." The splice looks worried. "He always has a lot of guards around him. Or what if we run into one of the gladiators?"
"Are they ever left unaccompanied?" Alice probes.
"No?"
"Then we won't run into one," she says confidently. "There's one still out there, right? But he can't come back until he has your head. Seeing as how you're here with us, I think it's safe to say he's still out there."
Salvotor nods slowly. "I guess so."
"Just stick with the plan," I tell them both. "No improvising." That goes for Alice and Salvotor both. Kef me, why am I suddenly the responsible one around here? How Mathiras would laugh. With a small shake of my head, I move into the lead as we approach the door at the far end of the tunnel. It's key-coded, but we pulled a wrist-guard off of one of the dead guards for such a situation, and I pull it out of my pocket.
And stop.
"What is it?" Alice asks behind me, a worried note in her voice.
I stare at the symbol on the doorjamb, because I recognize it. It's a family crest, one that displays the swirls and sigils in a particular pattern associated with old nobility. My own family name, va Sithai, has a simpler crest with two color patterns that shows that we're a newer branch of the Sithai house. This crest is one color—gray—and is an old, old family. An old Homeworld family, and old wealth, too.
All this time I've been thinking that Salvotor has been calling him Lord Sir, after the human affectation for titling men of importance as “sir.” Of course he's not. He doesn't speak human.
The family crest before me is of House hs’Serr. When the name is slurred together properly, it sounds like a bit of a hiss before the “Sir” part.
Lord Sir is Lord hs’Serr. And I've met him before.
And I sure can't kill him or all of Homeworld will be after my head.
79
KASPAR
"So," I say. "I don't like this. At all."
The old clans have long reach, and we do our best to avoid them. The last thing I want is hs'Serr's family making trouble for the va Sithai family back on Homeworld because of my antics. I've met hs'Serr once or twice. He'd absolutely recognize me if we cross paths. If we do, I'm keffed. The prices on our heads will go from “unpleasant” to “ridiculous” and we'll have entire fleets of bounty hunters chasing after us, looking for a dream payout.
Worse than anything, Alice will be put in so much danger that I won't be able to keep her safe. That's the part that troubles me the most. It's one thing to risk your own neck, something else entirely to risk the neck of the female you love that's carrying your child.
I put a hand to my chest, checking to make sure my lungs are pulling in air.
"You're fine," Alice tells me, her gaze calm and steady. "It's fine. Do we have other options, Kas?" When I shake my head, she continues. "Well, then, it is what it is. You don't have to like it, but we can't stay here. We'll steal a ship, get the kef out of Dodge, and handle the fallout as it comes. All right?"
I gaze down at my mate with a mixture of pride and wonder. Alice was all nerves until we put the plan in motion. Now she's calm and steady, determination on her face. I'm the one that's second-guessing putting her in danger. She's a glorious corsair and I couldn't be prouder. "You're right. Let's keep going."
She gives me a wink and then turns to Salvotor. "Do you remember the plan?"
He nods.
"Once we go through that door," Alice reminds us, "all hell could break loose. We stick to the plan, no matter what. The goal is to get to that shuttle in one piece and get out of here. It doesn't matter if there's three guards or thirty. You stick to the plan, you get to the shuttle even if you're full of holes, and we fix everything later. All right?" She looks at Salvotor, and then at me. "I'll handle Sterre. You two just worry about the guards and taking care of yourselves. Be quick, be quiet, and if I have to pull my top down to distract a few people, don't get mad." She directs that last part at me.
"Are we ready, then?" I ask, looking at my small group. Salvotor looks uncertain, but Alice is absolutely fired up, and I could not love her more in this moment. Sterre seems agitated, but I don't blame her—there's probably a lot of unfamiliar scents here. And we're all a bit agitated, me especially after learning I'm about to bust into the vacation home of one of the oldest and most powerful families on Homeworld.