“You’re such a fool, Zarya. How can you be so blind after everything you’ve seen? People just aren’t that decent or reliable. They’re not. We all want to believe in the magical hero who flies in at the last minute with his army and saves us from our enemies. But it doesn’t happen in real life. Ever. People hurt you and they disappoint you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to take care of yourself first, and realize that when the rain comes, you’re standing in it all alone.”
She shook her head, then hissed at the pain it caused her. “You’re wrong, Ture. When someone really loves you, they don’t give up on you. Ever.” And she would never give up on Darling, nor had she stopped looking for Kere—not until she’d found him.
Ture leaned his cheek against her hair in a way that reminded her of how Darling held her. “I used to be like you. And when my life fell apart I saw the ugly truth of people. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. There’s no such thing as friendship. People only hang around when there’s something in it for them.”
She frowned at the bitterness in his tone. “What are you getting from my friendship? Other than beaten to a pulp and starved to illness?”
He brushed at her hair. “When we’re not imprisoned, you make me laugh. And I missed not having a friend. You keep me from being lonely.”
Still, she didn’t believe his argument. “And when I called you, you came to me to do something dangerous. Why?”
“Because I’m stupid and loyal, even when I know other people wouldn’t be that way for me. I learned a long time ago that I never get out of a relationship what I put into it.”
She winced as he struck a bruise on her scalp. “You’re not the only one who’s loyal and decent, Ture. It’s why I won’t betray Darling. He wouldn’t betray me and I know it. When someone really loves you, they find a way to get to you, even in the darkest night, against all odds. Through the worst nightmares, they are there, holding your hand. They’re there to stand with you to the end. I don’t just believe that. I know it.”
Ture scoffed. “When I was a child, I believed that, too. I did. But my hero spit on me and walked out. I hope for your sake that yours doesn’t.”
“He won’t.”
Ture sighed. “But he’s not here now…”
“He’ll come…”
Ture kissed her forehead. “I hope so, honey. Just once in my life, I’d like to be wrong.”
“So what’s our plan?” Hauk asked as Darling adjusted his trajectory settings.
The link crackled before Nykyrian answered. “Keep Darling alive.”
Darling rolled his eyes at Nykyrian’s droll tone. “You two are aware of the fact that I am on this frequency, too, correct?”
“Of course we know, sugar,” Jayne said. “It wouldn’t be any fun to talk about you if you couldn’t hear us. So anyone got some juicy Darling tidbits to share? If we push it, we can probably make his skin match his hair… C’mon, Mari, I know you have to have good dirt.”
“I do, but… I’d rather keep it to myself. You never know when you’re going to need blackmail material.”
Jayne laughed over the link. “You suck.”
Darling ignored them and returned to Hauk’s original question. “The plan is to get the prisoners out and back to Caronese territory before we get killed.”
Syn cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to be the kick in the crotch, but you do know that this would have been easier had you given us enough time to pull specs and actually formulate a plan of attack.”
Probably, but Darling hadn’t been willing to wait. “By then, they could have killed another hostage. Or all of them.”
No one argued that.
So Darling continued. “We have cursory plans of the prison’s layout. Hauk and I will go in to distract the brunt of their forces, while the rest of you pull out my people.”
“Uh, you’re not going to make anything explode, are you?” Hauk asked.
Darling snorted. “One of these days, we’ve got to get you over your fear of explosives.”
Except there wouldn’t be a future for him. Not after this. Darling had no intention of coming back…
This would be his last fight with his friends.
He didn’t want to think about them mourning him. He couldn’t afford that.
Not now. This wasn’t about love or family. It was about vengeance. Making the people who hurt Zarya pay… a life for a life.
Nothing else mattered.
None of them spoke much as they flew in under the League sensors, courtesy of Nykyrian’s knowledge of their security procedures and equipment, Syn’s hacking abilities—along with the fact that he, Jayne, Ryn, and Nero were four of the very few who’d escaped League prisons and lived, and the updates that Saf had sent to them. Darling had no idea why Maris’s little brother was sticking his neck out for them, but he was grateful that whatever madness had infected Kyr hadn’t traveled down to Safir.
Yet.
Once they were safely through the barrier, they docked in an area where the League patrols wouldn’t be able to see or sense them. Something that was helped by the fact that there was only seven of them flying in first. They would take down the scanner system and alarms so that the prison wouldn’t be able to call for help.