Page 52 of Devin
“And not in your mother’s. I checked there,” Meadow said. “We thought they were with you.”
Jane picked up the pad that was next to her. She began to search for them in the system. He could tell the moment she switched into soldier mode, and his worst fear became real.
“Sober up boys. They’re not here. Anywhere, and,” Jane said as she scrolled a bit more.
“There was a shuttle signal about a mile that way an hour ago. That sneaky fucking Adrastian must have taken them.”
An hour. With an hour start and a ship, they could be in deep space by now. The shuttle wasn’t made for more than a brief hop and a planetary orbit or two. Perhaps at a stretch it could make a moon hop or two, but following a cargo ship like the Adrastian? No.
Zenik stood immediately and ran toward the shuttle.
“If it’s a ransom or kidnapping, they aren’t going to go very far,” Jane said. “The shuttle might be able to pinpoint their coordinates.”
“But won’t they just hide out of the shuttle’s reach until-” Meadow started until Jane threw her a look. “I’m sure we’ll find them.” She was not a convincing liar.
“He has no motivation to kill them. Grena is worth a fortune, I’m sure,” Humility said with more tact.
Yes, his mother’s safety was practically guaranteed. The Takalian fleet might not be large compared to Mahdfel standards, but killing a princess was the best way to ensure that every resource available was bent on tracking you down and exacting revenge.
No, it was Val that he was worried about. She had no one in the universe except him to depend on. She was expendable. And he had let her get taken from right under his nose.
“Don’t worry,” Jane said. “We’ll get them back. If we can take on a Suhlik invasion, we can take one stupid alien.”
Chapter 27
Val
Val needed a plan. It was all well and good to be flustered by a mother-in-law from another solar system who just happens to drop by and pay a surprise visit. But if she continued to be flustered every time she tried to speak, Val was going to have a problem.
It was like suddenly having a famous vid star at your table. Val could stay cool, calm and collected and not appear to be a fawning idiot for the space of a meal, and hopefully get a really good tip out of the deal, but she couldn’t imagine one of those customers inviting her to sit down at the table to have an in depth conversation about her goals and aspirations in life.
Up until recently, she’d just been trying to get by. And now? Val had no idea what she wanted to do.
She wasn’t the type to want to open a restaurant, and at least so far, there didn’t seem to be anyone else opening one either. It was hard to fault the food replicators here, although Goru did seem to have a knack for making things, she couldn’t see a Mahdfel working in a kitchen all day and being happy that theyweren’t out smacking things over the head and bringing them home to eat.
She’d worked at gardening in prison just to get some outside time, but it wasn’t really a passion either. Besides, they had a full time botanist, and she probably didn’t need any help growing weird alien plants.
Val supposed she could try to take some correspondent courses, but school had never really been her thing either. She’d barely scraped by with her basic education. Hitting the books again had never been high on her agenda.
Of course, with all the pregnant ladies around, it was clear that life was going to change for most of the women around here. The place was going to be literally crawling with tots in a year, possibly her own.
Being a mother had never really crossed her mind. She didn’t have any experience with children or babies, and never found a guy that lasted long enough to even imagine a future family. Val was stalling. She couldn’t sit around all day up in the tower Devin had made for them. She had to confront her fears and face down Grena. Once she spent some time alone with her, perhaps Val would start feeling more like a daughter-in-law and less like a lady in waiting.
Val called the lift, but didn’t expect it to open with Grena inside. Grena entered the apartment and made herself at home. Perhaps here, alone, would be a better place to face Grena, even if it meant that there would be no rescue if she stuck her foot in her mouth.
“I must admit this view is to die for,” Grena said, admiring the view. “Devin does know how to make a statement with the structural elements, but the rest of the place is… is so white.”
“We just moved in a few days ago,” Val explained, already on the defensive. “I haven’t had a chance to-”
“Yes, yes. Just promise me you won’t buy any of those horrible gold lanterns that Etlon is so fond of. Those are so last decade.”
“I’ve never been to Etlon,” Val stated. But gold lamps did sound tacky. “I was thinking some sort of blue for the walls.” Honestly, it was harder to decorate a household when you were afraid your green husband might clash with the color scheme.
“And the floor,” Grena said as if it were covered with a layer of grime, which it wasn’t, because the cleaner bots came in twice a day to scrub the floor.
“Like I said, Devin has been pouring all his energy into his work, and-”
“If we left it to the Mahdfel, we’d be living in white boxes just big enough to breathe and fuck,” Grena said with a dismissive hand waving. She turned her attention to Val. “This hair of yours. Does it change colors?”
