I reluctantly left Marcus in bed and closed the bedroom door behind me. The kitchen staff was nearly done. Each place setting was laid out with stemware and cutlery. The wine had been decanted to breathe and now two staffers transferred food from the cart to the table.
I’d ordered individual dinners because my siblings were a bunch of damn picky eaters. Bianca ate meat, but she preferred fish, while Benedict couldn’t stomach “anything with fins.” Luckily, the kitchen maintained a list of each person’s favorite meals.
Each dinner arrived in an elegant silver thermoregulator. The chefs figured thermoreg time into their cooking schedule, so the meal was hot and ready at the appropriate time. It gave the staff time to set up the meal and leave before guests arrived.
A young woman in a House uniform set a vase of fresh-cut flowers in the middle of the table. “Do you need anything else, Lady Ada?” she asked.
“It looks lovely, thank you.”
She bowed and the staff withdrew. My brother and sister would arrive in a little over five minutes, which gave me just enough time to deliver Loch’s dinner. I checked the labels but I needn’t have bothered—the staff laid out the table exactly as I requested.
I picked up Loch’s dinner and place setting. What do you know, waitressing skills came in handy when you had to balance too many things on too few arms.
Loch raised an eyebrow when I eased into the room. “Need a hand?” he asked.
“It’ll be easier if you grab the thermoreg, thanks,” I said as I neared. He stood and took it, then set it on the nightstand. I put the rest of his cutlery beside it.
“You ordered me dinner,” he said, a strange inflection in his voice.
“Oh, well, you don’t have to eat it. As I said before—”
He touched my jaw and brushed his thumb over my lips. “Thank you, Ada.”
I smiled and kissed his palm. “You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it. Give it fifteen minutes or so to finish cooking.”
The doorbell rang before he could respond. Of course Benedict and Bianca were going to be on time. “Your dinner guests are at the door,” Didi said.
“Let them in,” I said. They knew their way around my suite and would make themselves at home until I joined them.
“Go,” Loch said. When I hesitated, he turned me toward the door and smacked my butt with a grin. I blew him a kiss over my shoulder.
Time to face the twins.
Bianca and Benedict stood at the kitchen bar. Benedict sniffed a bottle of clear alcohol with a grimace. “Do you think this is still good?” he asked Bianca as he held the bottle up to the light.
“You’re the connoisseur, not me,” she said with a shrug.
Benedict looked down to frown at her and caught sight of me. “Ada!” he cried.
He and Bianca shared the same long face, sharp nose, and light brown hair that they’d inherited from Father. Bianca softened her look with careful makeup and hair dye, but Benedict embraced the stamp of familial legacy. Standing together, it would be immediately obvious that they were related, as it would be for any of my four older siblings. I’d felt like an odd duck with the dark hair and golden skin I’d inherited from Mother, at least until my little sister Catarina was born—she looked just like me.
Benedict had let his wavy hair grow out some since the last time I’d seen him. He smiled as he came around the bar. He squeezed me in a tight hug then leaned back until my feet left the ground. He was the tallest sibling, and Bianca constantly grouched that he’d stolen all of her height.
“Hello, Benedict,” I said with a laugh. “I missed you, too.”
Benedict put me back on my feet, then held me out at arm’s length. “Are you okay? We’ve been worried about you,” he said. “I recently heard a crazy rumor that you’d fought off fifteen mercs with a spoon. Can you believe that?”
“Well . . .” I hedged. I hadn’t actually fought the mercenaries with a spoon. I’d distracted them then ran away, narrowly escaping. It had happened on the station before the one where Captain Pearson had picked me up.
Benedict turned outraged eyes to Bianca. “Did you know about this?”
“Who do you think started the rumor?” she asked with a grin.
“My sisters are going to be the death of me,” Benedict muttered to himself. “I don’t care if your alcohol has gone bad, I need a drink.” He squeezed my shoulders then let me go and moved back to the bar. “Let me know if you want something other than the usual.”
“The usual is awesome,” I said, and Bianca agreed. Benedict made a mean martini and few of us strayed from it.
“Coming right up!” he said.
Bianca and I settled into the living room couches. She sat across from me, and after Benedict handed me my drink, he joined her. By unspoken agreement, we didn’t talk about the impending war. Instead, my brother and sister did their best to catch me up on two years of gossip in an evening. When dinner was ready, we moved to the table and clustered around one end with Benedict sitting at the head.
The food was delicious and wine and cocktails flowed freely. Benedict and Bianca relished telling me about one another’s most embarrassing moments, even as the embarrassed person groaned at the telling. Then, without any other siblings here to stop them, they launched into tales of the others’ embarrassing moments.
It was perfect.
I’d proven that I could handle myself out in the world alone, but I loved having my siblings around. I’d missed this. However, I also found myself turning to look for Loch, and he wasn’t there. The third time I did it, Bianca caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. I tilted my head very slightly toward the bedroom. She nodded.
As the hour grew late, Benedict retired for the night, but Bianca made herself at home on the couch. I sat down next to her.
She turned to me. “So, spill,” she said.
“About what?” I asked. I had hoped to avoid an inquisition, but I should’ve known that Bianca wouldn’t waste an opportunity to grill me while we were alone.
“I don’t know, why don’t we start with the hulking convict you brought home who touches you like you’re his.” Bianca said it sarcastically, but a thread of true worry lurked in her tone. “Of all the men in the universe, you had to pick the Devil of Fornax Zero?”
I shrugged. “It started out as a business deal, but the more time I spent with him, the more I liked him. Plus, he’s hot.”
Bianca smiled but she wasn’t deterred so easily. “You believe his version of what happened on Fornax Zero?”
“Yes,” I said. “His story is corroborated by another friend who has no reason to lie.”
“How are you going to use the Genesis Project information to get him pardoned?”
“I have Father’s agreement to vote on a clemency hearing of my choice, so I just have to bring Yamado or Rockhurst around to my side. I think enough careful threats about going public with the details might do it.”
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “Are you sleeping with him?” she asked abruptly.
Heat spread through my face, which was answer enough.
“You never were one for easy paths,” she said at last. “Be careful, Ada. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Something old and sad touched her expression before she wiped it away with a raised eyebrow. “Why didn’t you invite him to dinner?”
“I did, but he thinks that keeping a low profile is the smarter move until he’s cleared. He’s probably right.”
“Benedict wouldn’t betray you,” Bianca said, “and I’ve already met him.”
“I know. But old habits die hard, and he’s been on the run for a long time.” I decided that inquisitions could work both ways. “What’s going on with you?” I asked.
Her expression flickered before smoothing into a smile. “I’m not used to the whirl of the Consortium anymore,” she said. “And remembering to play the grieving widow in public is taxing.” She stood before I could respond. “Speaking of, I have to get up f
or Lady Yamado’s breakfast in the morning,” she said, “so I need to get to bed.”
I knew a dodge when I heard one, but she looked tired enough that I didn’t call her on it. I walked her to the door.
Bianca pulled me into a tight hug. “I never told you this,” she said softly, “but Hannah offered me the chance to run, once Father started making noise about my wedding. I couldn’t do it. I don’t exactly regret my choice, especially because my husband’s timely death left me a happy widow, but I’m so proud of you,” she said.
It didn’t surprise me that Hannah, our oldest sister, had offered Bianca an out. Father had arranged Hannah’s marriage without her input. It was not a happy union.
“What about Catarina?” I asked, worried about our youngest sister. “Has Father started on her?”
Bianca’s expression turned dark. “Yes,” she said. “Cat is playing along for now, and Hannah and I are doing what we can to stall, but it won’t be enough. She’s like you—independent and not willing to settle for someone of Father’s choosing. We may need to get her out.”
“Or let her get married then kill her husband,” I said, mostly joking.
Bianca smiled a secret smile. “That is one option,” she said. Before I could question her about it, she nodded and left.
I breathed a sigh of relief once the quiet settled over my room. I’d gotten used to fewer people and quieter surroundings. It would take me a while to settle into the hustle and bustle of House von Hasenberg again.
That is, assuming my plan didn’t get me killed.
Chapter 28
After a week of debriefing, I was ready to make a run for freedom. Eighteen-hour days meant at the end of each day Loch and I barely had time to fall into bed before we had to start the process over the next day. I could feel him growing more distant by the day, but I didn’t know how to fix it.
Add to that the fact that Bianca was having trouble tracking down information about the Genesis Project, even with Rhys and Veronica’s help, and I was ready to snap.
I stood and stretched, trying unsuccessfully to work the knots out of my back. It was nearly midnight. Hunger had hallowed out my stomach hours before but no one had taken the time to order food. The middle-aged scientist who’d been questioning me about alcubium looked up. His name was lost somewhere in the exhausted fog in my brain. “You’re not leaving, are you?” he asked.
I’d spent a week wearing my public persona, so Mother’s glare came as naturally as breathing. The man flinched back. “I am leaving,” I said. “And I am taking tomorrow off. Tell the teams.” A week of debriefing fulfilled my contract with Father, so technically I was done, but I knew the scientists still had questions.
“But, my lady,” he stammered.
This time my glare was sharp enough to cut. “The only words I want to hear from you right now are ‘Yes, Lady Ada.’”
He gulped. “Yes, Lady Ada.”
“Very good. The first person tomorrow who messages me, or knocks on my door, or disturbs me in any way, dies. The same goes for the second person. And so on. Do I make myself clear?”
His eyes were huge. “But Lord von—”
“Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” I asked again, jabbing a finger into the desk with each word and leaning forward until I loomed over him.
“Yes, Lady Ada.”
I inclined my head slightly and swept out of the room. By the time we made it to the suite I was ready to crash facedown on whichever horizontal surface happened to be handy. Even the floor looked tempting.
Loch led me to the table when I wanted nothing more than the bed. I nearly cried. He pulled me into his arms. “Shhh,” he said. “You need to eat. I’ve been listening to your stomach growl for hours and it’s driving me insane. Let me feed you.”
I nodded against his shoulder and slid into a chair. I think I must’ve dozed off because the next thing I knew, Loch was setting a plate of food in front of me. I ate without tasting anything, half-asleep. Loch helped me get ready for bed and then, finally, I fell into the soft arms of my mattress.
I woke the next morning flat on my back with Loch curled around my right side. I kept still, not sure if he was awake.
“Why do you let them push you so hard?” he asked. He smoothed a hand down my left side and tugged me deeper into his embrace.
“Because this technology is the difference between winning the war and losing it. It’s important.” I sighed. “I know I haven’t done much toward your pardon yet and I’m sorry. Bianca is working on it. I’m planning to meet with her today.”
Loch made a frustrated sound. “This isn’t about me. You’re letting them work you to death.”
“I know,” I said. “But I have this constant feeling of dread, like something terrible is going to happen. And the longer we’re here, the worse it gets. I’ve put all of my siblings on alert and so far no one has noticed anything unusual, but I can’t relax. And if I can’t relax, I might as well work. My obligation to Father is finished, so I can set my own hours now. But that doesn’t mean you have to stick with me. You’re free to come and go.”
He kissed my shoulder. “Do you think that’s going to happen?”
“No. You are as stubborn as I am. But you seem unhappy,” I ventured.
“Fuck yes, I’m unhappy. This place is making me antsy. Plus I’ve had to sit on my hands and watch you work yourself to exhaustion for a week straight. And I can’t even be useful as a bodyguard because there’s no one to guard your body from.”
“Be careful what you wish for. Once I start stirring up the Genesis Project trouble, plenty of people will prefer us both out of the picture.”
“You didn’t mention that it would be dangerous for you,” he said.
“It will be more dangerous for you. My High House status will protect me to some degree.”
“I know you want to do this for me, and you don’t know how much I appreciate it, but maybe we should forget it.”
“Not going to happen,” I said as I slid out of bed. “Now get up. I promised Bianca we’d lunch with her and it has to be late already since I don’t feel like a zombie.”
Bianca’s suite was laid out the same as mine, except with light wood floors and dark, delicate furniture. Loch looked like he would crush anything he sat in, but the furniture, like Bianca, had hidden strength. The metal nanocomposite frames could support a transport—I knew it for a fact because Bianca had forced the salesman to back up his claim with a demonstration.
She’d changed her wall color from bright aqua to flat, metallic silver. It made the space look very modern but a little cold. I didn’t think that was a coincidence, either.
“I can’t believe Father let you have the day off,” she said. She wore slim white pants and an orange blouse. She was barefoot, which meant she considered Loch nearly family already.
I grinned at her. “Father didn’t. I threatened the scientists with death if they knocked on my door. I’ve barely slept for the past week so I wasn’t doing anyone any good. My brain is mush, but the torture starts again tomorrow. At least I’ve done enough to fulfill my part of the contract, so Father can’t complain if I choose to work normal hours this week.”
She led us over to the table that was already set with food, freshly prepared. Bianca actually liked to cook. Craziness.
“I’m glad you’re free today,” she said as we settled down to eat, “because we made some significant progress yesterday. We were cracking archive systems when Veronica found one with a few Genesis Project records. Those led us on a merry chase, but we finally tracked down the genetic reports for a squad of eight.”
I took a bite. The delicate salmon fillet drizzled in some sort of dill cream sauce melted in my mouth. Bianca not only liked to cook, but was exceptional at it. Ian Bishop had no idea what he was missing.
“Which squad?” Loch asked.
Bianca shrugged. “We don’t know. Names were redacted. We wouldn’t have known to look at these records at all if not for the Genesi
s Project files. They are buried deep in a generic database. We’re going through the rest of the records to see if they are related.”
“Is it enough to prove the Consortium was experimenting with genetic alterations?” I asked.
“It’s no smoking gun,” Bianca said. “But it’s a start.”
“Thank you for helping,” Loch said.
“Family sticks together,” she said with a smile. “And if I ever need someone intimidated, you’ll be the first person I call.”
“Would you like me to have a talk with a certain director of security?” Loch asked. “I’d be happy to help.”
Bianca beamed at him. I’d never seen that smile directed at anyone other than a sibling. She glanced at me. “You can keep him,” she said.
“You’re too kind,” I deadpanned.
She inclined her head regally before cracking into laughter.
We finished with lunch and moved to the couches for coffee. The conversation turned to lighter subjects for a while before inevitably drifting to the war. “Have you heard anything?” I asked when Bianca brought it up.
“There have been a few minor skirmishes,” she said, “but both sides seem to be biding their time. I’m assuming Father is waiting for the report on your ship so he knows what he’s up against. I don’t know why Lady Rockhurst is hesitating.”
“I got the impression from Richard that they were trying to avoid war. Maybe their new fleet isn’t ready yet. Or maybe they’re waiting to see what Father does with Polaris. If he announces the technology, Yamado will likely side with us for a share of the prize.”
“Do you think he will?” Loch asked.
“No,” Bianca and I said at the same time. I waved her on. She said, “The only way he’ll announce it is if we are losing badly. If he defeats Rockhurst, he can corner the market for House von Hasenberg. Even if Rockhurst has the technology, if they don’t have the resource then they’re dead in the water.”
Polaris Rising Page 31