“Said no one ever in the history of the United Systems. That is the worst advice ever, big sister.”
Kindel pointed to where Bastien was now hugging Fain Hauk and greeting the others. “You have been in love with that man since the night he called you in the hospital and asked you out for dinner. Do you remember what you said to me?”
“Not at all.”
“That Bastien was the only man who ever met you and Alura at the same time and then chose you. And that he was sexier than hell.”
“And the craziest lunatic ever born!” She definitely remembered saying that part.
Kindel ignored her outburst as she continued. “Why do you think Alura did what she did to you and Bastien?”
That was easy. She was a selfish bitch, but most of all … “She wanted to be a visira.”
“In part. But mostly, it was to get back at Bastien for daring to love you and not her.” With a gimlet stare, Kindel folded her arms over her chest. “You know why she testified against him?”
And that was an even easier question to answer. “To save her own ass.” It was what Alura was best at.
“No.” Fury glinted in Kindel’s eyes. “Back then, she talked to me. Told me everything. Originally, she had planned to hide while Barnabas did his coup. What changed her mind, you ask? Bastien overheard you talking to Cinder about your breakup with Cedric. You remember that?”
“Vaguely.” He’d been an unimportant rebound. But it had cut her to the bone when he broke up with her after he found out about Rian. He’d been furious to learn she had a child and hadn’t disclosed it to him on their first date.
“Well, you can ask Cin to verify this. While talking to you, she turned around and saw Bastien’s face. He looked as if he’d been gutted. At first, she thought he was feeling sorry for himself. Until she heard later that he’d gone to Cedric and beat the utter shit out of him for hurting you.”
Ember’s jaw went slack. “You’re kidding me.”
Kindel shook her head. “He made you cry so Bastien made him weep. When Alura found out who Bastien assaulted and he refused to tell her why, she put it together and was furious that he was still defending you. That he still loved you enough to care and go to jail for you. So she went to Barnabas and told him she’d do whatever he wanted to get back at her husband … because he loved you, his ex-girlfriend, more than he loved her, his wife.”
Yeah, that sounded like something her sister would do. No one hurt Alura’s feelings with impunity. “Does Bas know?”
“I have no idea. But I thought you ought to, given what it cost him.”
She was right. And now she felt all the worse about it. “Thank you, Kiki.”
Leaving her sister, Ember headed for Bastien, who was laughing with a tall, dark-haired Qill who must be the Chayden Bastien had mentioned earlier. By his Tavali patch, she saw he was a Rogue pilot.
“Psycho Bunny?” she asked as soon as she saw the name on his patch.
He laughed good-naturedly over his call sign. “Chayden Aniwaya … although, Psycho Bunny is much easier to pronounce.”
Bastien clapped him on the back, letting her know they were close, too. “They were just explaining to me how they blew our League friends out of the sky.”
“Yeah,” Jupiter said with a wicked grin. “You missed one hell of a great dogfight, Cabarro. You should have been there, cade.”
“Well, my ship was, during one fight … without me.”
Now it was Fain’s turn to laugh. “You know, when I first heard that story from Drake, I thought you were in it, till I realized you’re not quite that crazy. How much explosive did you load on it?”
“I was hoping enough to take them all out. Epic fail to that.”
Ryn, who was even in height with Bastien, shook his auburn head. “You’ve been hanging out with my little brother too long. I thought only Darling was that reckless with explosives.”
“Really?” Bastien asked drily. “’Cause Dancer Hauk was the one who blew my base to smithereens. I’m still pissed about that.”
Fain snorted. “You? I still can’t believe my brother did that, given how much he hates explosives and explosions. Says it all about how worried he must have been.”
“Given the fact that we were responsible for Nyk’s beloved daughter at the time? I’d risk the explosion, too.”
“Truth to that.” Chayden laughed. “You weren’t there when I helped escort Thia here for her new assignment. I don’t think any of us breathed until we were clear of Sentella-controlled space and made sure Nyk wasn’t trailing after us, target-locked.”
“Speaking of being target-locked…” Fain glanced around the group. “Has Ryn told you?”
“What?”
“We’ve got intel on Barnabas from Syn. We’re all planning to go with you to fight him.”
Bastien gaped. “Suddenly, I feel so loved.” Then he grinned, but only for a second, until it melted into a frown. “I can’t believe you’d risk your lives for me and mine.”