Coldbloods (Hotbloods #2)

I gulped and shook my head. “I don’t know anything about a tracker, Your Highness.” It wasn’t a lie. I hadn’t known there was a tracker on the sample pod, and I had absolutely no idea where it might have gone, if what Queen Brisha said was true. In fact, the very idea of it going missing filled me with a renewed sense of dread. What if someone had taken it? I wasn’t sure who else might have known about it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.

“Jethro assured me the cargo would be safe on the journey, given the pod’s stealth mode. He warned me in his last message that the tracker would only start flashing on my monitors once it was a certain distance from Vysanthe, to keep the location of the sample’s origin a secret. So, I was delighted when it did begin to flash, just under a week ago. Given my current need to rally troops, I couldn’t spare any to go on a lengthy mission after it, figuring the pod would come to me in good time. Each evening, I would trace its path, and delight at the thought of its arrival. But then, it stopped, and it hasn’t started again.” She sighed irritably. “As you can imagine, this has brought me no end of frustration—these things are usually so reliable, which is why it is beyond me how the pod has managed to disappear off the face of the universe.”

I shrugged. “I… I can’t help you, Your Highness. I don’t know anything about a tracker, and I don’t know anything about the pod’s disappearance. Do you at least know where it went missing?” I asked. If someone had taken the pod, I wanted to know where they had snatched it from.

She frowned. “Somewhere out in the Severn Quarter, close to the Ferrite System. But, that’s beside the point. I want you to tell me what you know about this blood sample before I start going off on any wild-goose chases,” she demanded, her friendly tone all but gone. It was clear she had run out of patience.

I thought about lying to the queen, but knew it would do nothing to help me gain her trust. Right now, we needed that more than keeping the pod’s secret, especially if it had gone missing somewhere in the depths of space. Navan and I could worry about that later, once we were away from the confines of Vysanthe… If we ever got away.

“The sample… It is from my home planet,” I finally replied. “But I’m telling the truth when I say I don’t know anything about the pod going missing, or the tracker suddenly disappearing. Is the Ferrite System far from here?”

Queen Brisha frowned. “Just under a fortnight from here.”

That seemed a long time compared to our journey from Earth in the Asterope, but I had to remind myself that the queens didn’t have the same advanced technology yet. “So, that’s still a fair distance away?”

She nodded. “I suppose so.”

“Well then, all I can say for certain is, if it vanished so far away from Vysanthe, it’s highly unlikely that your sister intercepted it,” I said. “From what I could gather while I was in the South, and from Navan’s father, they are no further along with making a breakthrough in the immortality elixir. They don’t have the right blood, and nobody has found any with potential… who hasn’t switched to your side at the last minute,” I said pointedly, letting her know I knew about Jethro, and the promises that had been made.

A wave of relief washed over Queen Brisha’s face. “I suppose that does make sense. Only Jethro and I knew about the pod, aside from yourself and Navan, by the looks of it. Perhaps I will send a small team after it to see what has become of it. Maybe it has simply malfunctioned.”

I nodded. “That could be the case.”

“Alternatively, you could tell me where to find your planet,” she said suddenly. “I would only seek to take some samples—I would not interfere with, or harm, your people.”

My stomach knotted. Neither queen was supposed to have technology advanced enough to travel the distance to Earth yet, but once she knew my planet’s location, I had no doubt that she’d pour all her resources into ship development, and it would only be a matter of time before she cracked it. If Jethro and Orion’s group had, others could.

I shook my head, trying to remain calm and choose my words carefully. “With all due respect, Your Highness… I’m not going to tell you where my home planet is. I trust you, and I believe you when you say you would only take samples, but I can’t risk others finding out its location. I’m worried about the coldbloods who might be watching you, just as you are watching them. Imagine if I told you where my home planet was and you set out for it. Within minutes, your sister could have put a tail on your ships. You said it yourself—she’s paranoid and on the edge of madness. She will do anything to seize ultimate power, and that includes going to extreme lengths to obtain the immortality elixir first.”

“I will worry about my sister. Just tell me where your home planet is,” Queen Brisha pressed. I could tell I was testing her patience, but I felt I had firm ground to stand on. Everything I’d said was true… except for the part where I said I trusted her. These sisters were embroiled in a constant game of one-upmanship. Of course Gianne would follow wherever Brisha went, out in the universe.

I sighed wearily. “Your Highness, you of all people must understand the idea of loyalty to one’s home planet, the desire to protect one’s people. Surely you can understand why telling you might not end too well for my species? Coldbloods are ravagers and plunderers—you move from planet to planet, taking what isn’t yours and leaving chaos in your wake. You wipe out resources so you can take them for your own needs,” I said, unable to prevent the words from tumbling out. I had been harboring them for a long time. “You don’t care about those you take from—and in this instance, that resource is my people.”

Queen Brisha’s eyes glittered with anger. “You know nothing of our people, little Kryptonian,” she snapped.

“I know enough, Your Highness,” I countered, trying to maintain my cool. “However, it seems you’re mistaking my intention—I’m just trying to point out why telling you where my planet is would be a disaster. I still want to prove myself to you.”

This seemed to surprise Brisha, her features softening at the revelation. Instead of fury, hope sparkled in her eyes.

“What do you suggest?” she asked, leaning forward.

I sucked in a deep breath, knowing that what I was about to say was insane, but the queen had backed me into a horribly tight corner, and in this moment I didn’t feel I had any other choice. “Instead of revealing my planet’s location to you… why don’t I give you a sample of my own blood? The same blood Jethro was sending to you.”