Hopefully Torran had some sort of veggie stock and lentils or beans or potatoes—even rice or pasta would work. I just needed something filling.
Opening the nearby cabinets yielded a big pot, so I was on my way. Across from the fridge, an unmarked door opened to a giant walk-in pantry. The shelves were filled with cans and boxes with Valovan labels, as well as bins of flours, grains, and other produce. I could guess what some of them might be, but most were unfamiliar. And while I doubted Torran had poison in his pantry, making an incorrect guess could make dinner inedible.
I was about to give up and ask for help when a box with a Common label caught my eye. A multitude of items crowded the narrow shelf, most of them the same brands I’d bought on Bastion. The bins underneath were carefully labeled in Common as well, with everything I needed to cook my usual meals.
Either Torran kept highly expensive imported food around on a regular basis—and he just happened to eat vegetarian and preferred the same brands that I did—or he’d ordered extra food especially for us to use while we were here.
The fastest way to earn my trust was to take care of my people, and by providing food, Torran had done exactly that. He might be a master strategist, but this didn’t feel calculated. It felt personal.
It felt kind.
And strategy or kindness, it was working. As much as I tried to shore up my defenses against him, he kept knocking them down.
I grabbed all of the ingredients I needed and made my way into the kitchen proper. I poked around until I turned up a cutting board and knife, then got busy with prep. Chopping had a soothing kind of rhythm to it, and I let my mind drift.
Luna, who always had a nose for dinner, even in its early stages, came and sat next to her empty food bowl. When that didn’t get the result she wanted, she chirruped at me and sent me a picture of said empty bowl, just in case I didn’t realize it was empty.
I made her wait while I finished chopping carrots, then I got out her food and filled her bowl. I didn’t usually give her so much at once, but we were in a strange place with a different schedule. Until we all got used to it, I would err on the side of too much.
Luna dove into her dinner with her usual gusto. I watched her for a second before going back to my prep work.
Once everything was in the pot, I began looking for the stove. I wasn’t completely ignorant of Valovian technology, but I’d never seen a kitchen this nice. Usually the stove was visible, just like in a typical human kitchen.
I found a trio of seams in the counter under what looked like it could be a vent hood. I waved my hands around, trying to trigger it to open, but nothing happened. I hoped whoever was in charge of surveillance was having a good laugh at my expense because this had to be hilarious to watch.
A flat control pad on the wall lit up when I reached for it. The labels were in Valovan, but it also included handy little pictograms. I pressed one and crossed my fingers.
The seamed section of counter sank down and split apart, with each piece sliding sideways out of view. The stove underneath rose until it was flush with the rest of the counter. It was pristine and I made a note to take more care than usual not to get soup everywhere.
I had just figured out how to get the burner on when my comm implant crackled to life.
“Tavi,” Kee said, her voice flat, “I got into the security system. You need to see this.” That tone was never a good sign from my normally bubbly systems engineer.
I turned off the stove and covered the pot. Dinner would have to wait. “Are we in danger?”
A long pause sent adrenaline flooding into my system, but eventually Kee said, “No, I don’t think so. I’ve already alerted the others. They’re on their way.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I debated taking Luna, but if we weren’t in danger, then she would be okay here. And taking her away from food was a good way to get nipped. “Stay out of trouble,” I told her as I left.
The short walk to the guest wing felt like forever. By the time I let myself into Kee’s room, I’d come up with a hundred worst-case scenarios.
Anja, Lexi, and Eli were already crowded into the room. From their expressions, they were also planning for disaster. Anja and Eli had changed out of their gym clothes at some point. I wondered if they’d joined Lexi in doing some snooping of their own.
Without a word, Kee turned her slate around to face us and started the video. It took me a second to recognize the hallway Torran and I had entered earlier. Four soldiers in blacked-out armor came into view from the left. With helmets, body armor, and cloth covering every inch of skin, there were no distinguishing features visible at all, but they moved like humans.
Military-trained humans.
They swept down the hall and stopped at the second door on the left. Without a word, the first soldier held up a small square device to the lock. The door slid open and all of the soldiers disappeared inside.
Kee held up her finger, silently telling us to wait.
Less than thirty seconds later, the soldiers reappeared, but one of them was carrying something. As one, we all leaned forward, trying to see what it was.
The soldier shifted and the bundle in their arms resolved itself into an unconscious, dark-haired Valovian child, no more than seven or eight. The soldiers took the child and disappeared off the left side of the screen, presumably back out the same door they’d entered.
“Oh, fuck,” Eli breathed.
“That,” Kee said, her voice hard and angry, “was Cien Nepru, the empress’s grandson—and Torran’s nephew.”
Chapter Nineteen
Fury turned my vision red as I stalked out of the guest wing. “Torran!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. When no one responded, I turned and started for the family wing, shouting as I went. I would shout this building down if I had to.
I was nearly to the room on the video when I heard multiple sets of footsteps behind me. I spun to find Torran sweat-slicked and shirtless. The rest of his team arrived on his heels. It looked like they’d come from the gym.
Torran scanned the area for threats before his gaze settled back on me, confusion clear.
“You,” I growled, closing the distance between us with furious intent. “You lying, deceitful son of a bitch.”
Torran waved, and his team silently melted away, but not before casting sidelong glances my way. Once they were gone, Torran’s eyes narrowed.
“No,” I said, jabbing a finger at him. “You don’t get to be insulted. You lied to me. We’re not looking for some stupid ring, are we?” I didn’t give him time to answer. “No, we’re not. We’re looking for a fucking child and you didn’t think this information was important enough to share.”
Torran’s entire posture changed, transforming from confused to deadly in the blink of an eye. “What do you mean?”
I ignored the implicit threat and pointed a furious finger at the closed door. “You know exactly what I mean. You hired us to do a job. Did you think we were so incompetent that we wouldn’t find out? If so, why hire us at all?”