“That goes without saying,” she said, and snorted. “It’s not every day a lowly human such as I gets to meet with royalty.”
“And tone down the misplaced humor.” He paused, cocked his head. “On second thought, leave the humor altogether. The last thing we want is to annoy them. They’re already upset enough as it is by their daughter’s actions.”
“I get the feeling you’re implying you find me annoying, Ruckus.” She eyed the bed and then sighed, resigned to agree with him on that much at least. She was exhausted, and sleep sounded really good right about now. It would give her a reprieve from all the crazy that had exploded into her life.
“For all you know,” he said coyly, “annoying means something different on this planet.”
“I doubt it.” She smiled and shook her head at him, then glanced at the large bed yet again. She could probably sleep comfortably on that thing with nine other people. The silky green-and-white sheets looked like heaven, and she wanted desperately to get lost in them.
“Right,” he said, moving toward the door. “I’ve placed Pettus on your protection detail for the night. He’s right outside. If you need anything, ask him. Aside from the Basileus and Basilissa, he, Gibus, and I are the only ones who know about your identity, Delaney. It’s imperative that we keep it that way.”
“Where will you be?” She hated herself the moment she asked it, but she kept a straight face, hoping he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.
“I still have to be briefed.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, exposing for the first time that he was just as tired as she. “It could take a while. After that, my quarters are just down the hall.”
Obviously, her poker face was better than she thought, because it became apparent he’d misinterpreted her reason for asking when he turned back to face her.
“I know this must be daunting, and that it can’t be easy letting your guard down in a strange place but”—he held her gaze as if hoping she’d see the truth of it in his eyes—“you are safe here, Delaney. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Anything else,” she said before she could stop herself, “you mean.”
He flinched, nodded once, and then reached for the shiny silver door handle.
Alone, again, she decided to finally check out the bathroom. She didn’t look at much, just went straight to what she thought was the sink. There weren’t any knobs; instead there were large white buttons the size of her palm. When she tapped the one on the left with a red square painted in the center, a panel opened up before her, exposing an oval basin.
The countertops were made of a polished white stone that shone under the bright overhead light. When she tipped her head back, it was to find that, like in the bedroom, the ceiling here was a skylight. A thousand tiny winks of light flickered above.
Hot water had spilled into the basin, filling it halfway up, and after she hit the button to the right with blue, cold water poured to fill it the rest of the way. It resulted in the perfect temperature, and she dipped her hands in it and splashed warm water on her face—which she refused to meet in the mirror. Her eyes were starting to itch, and she knew she was about to cry.
Twisting, she quickly searched out the toilet, finding another button, this one a square, on the opposite wall of the sink. On it there was a silver rectangle. Clicking that, she let out a sigh of relief when another compartment on the wall, almost as big as she was, opened up and a toilet slid out toward her.
It looked almost exactly the same as the ones she was used to, only there was no back, and the flushing mechanism was down by her right foot.
Her business concluded, she washed her hands one last time, taking a moment to sniff the odd-smelling soap that’d been left out in a silver dish. It was sort of a mix of cotton candy and Red Hots.
She didn’t bother with the closet, instead yanking the thick covers back on the bed and crawling in, fully clothed. Slumping back in the center of the large bed, she curled up and then risked a look upward at the night sky. A star rocketed across the inky black.
One definite good thing about having such a large bed: There were more than enough blankets and pillows to help muffle her sobs.
CHAPTER 6
Despite her exhaustion, there was no hope of her sleeping. Once her tears were spent, she drifted in and out for about an hour before finally giving into her frustration. Tossing the thick comforter off, she stood, mind already racing.
There might not be a way out of this that she could see, but that didn’t mean she needed to wait in here by herself until someone told her what to do next. She’d been in charge of her own fate for so long, the last thing she was willing to do was allow someone else complete control over it. Which meant figuring this place out, and soon.
She wanted to be prepared for anything the Basileus and Basilissa threw at her, especially considering they were the ones who decided when, and whether, she could go home. Ever since waking up on the ship, she’d been in a floating state, allowing Ruckus to lead her where he may, but now that her nerves had—for the most part—settled, adrenaline coursed through her anew.
She’d never been one to sit on her hands.
Delaney glanced over at the door and took a deep breath. There were only two things standing in her immediate way: it and Pettus, whom Ruckus had left behind as a watchdog. She thought over her next course of action carefully before proceeding, moving across the room and twisting open the door quickly before she could think better of it.
Currently, her fear of the unknown vastly outweighed the fear of getting caught, and that was what drove her onward.
Pettus turned to her with a start the second she had the door open. He glanced over her shoulder as if afraid he’d find someone else in there, but then his brow furrowed into a deep frown and he turned to fully face her.
“Is everything all right?” he asked in a soft voice. There was a look in his eyes that sparked the already lit ember within her.
“I just can’t sleep,” she told him.
That look solidified, a mixture of kindness and pity. It was the latter that she latched on to. As far as she was concerned, he was almost every bit as much to blame for her being in this situation as Ruckus was.
“It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure,” he agreed, nodding as if there were any chance he could actually know what it was she was going through. “Do you need anything? Something to help you sleep, perhaps?”
Like a drug? She barely repressed a shiver. Pass.
“Pretty sure I’ve been out long enough, thanks.” She saw him flinch at her reminder that she’d been unconscious on their ship. A tiny part of her felt bad for the jab, but only a tiny part. Stepping back, she made a gesture to indicate he should come in. She hadn’t even thought to ask Ruckus any questions on Olena when he’d been there earlier, but now a million of them were circling her mind like rabid wolves. She needed answers or she’d go crazy.