“Of all people, you should care about what’s at stake,” Vin said, sounding like one of the old missionaries in the church tents, all pucker-faced, like the taste of their words was sour. “Don’t you want to know why they picked you for the universe’s toilet paper?”
Aly’s mouth flooded with a bitter taste; wind whipped sand onto his tongue and between his teeth. Because he already knew. Of course he knew, deep down, even if he didn’t want to believe it.
Because he was Wraetan.
Because he’d tried to be something else.
“Don’t tell me what to care about.” Aly was shaking.
“You’re the one living in a fantasy land. Not me,” Vin said. His eyes flashed. “You’re so busy trying to be a Kalusian poster boy, you get on your knees for the people who robbed you—”
“I dare you to keep running your mouth . . .” It was bad enough that the UniForce had screwed him over, even though he’d smiled for the cameras and played their little game. But he couldn’t stand for Vin to say it, to know that Vin saw what Aly had tried for so long to conceal.
“Or what? Aly, I’m giving you the chance now to do something about it, to join a revolution—”
“Fuck your revolution,” Aly exploded. He leaned forward so his face was just inches apart from Vin’s. Alina and his ma were dead; everyone would die. Maybe they were looking down on him now, the way the Kalusians believed—shaking their heads about the mess down here. Or maybe it was like the Fontisians said, and it was Vodhan who’d built the world, and now he was pissed they’d ruined it. He imagined Vodhan throwing his hands up, peacing out, just disappearing to try again somewhere else.
“Don’t act like you know me. I sure as hell don’t know you. Liar.” Aly felt toxic. “You play revolutionary because you think it’s fun. Or maybe you just think you’re a hero. Why not? Everyone’s always told you that you’re a hero, right?” Shame and anger edged each other for space deep down in his gut. “It’s easy to be a hero when you’ve never faced anything, never fought anything, always had everything handed to you. It’s easy to fight when you’ve never tasted blood in your mouth—”
Vin hit him. Aly staggered backward, and his goggles flew off his face and spun on their strap halfway around his neck. For a second, Aly just stood there, stunned, while Vin watched him with no expression on his face—vague, almost curious, flexing and unflexing his fingers.
Then Aly tackled him. They went down into the sand, and plumes of grit came up in their eyes and mouths. Aly landed a punch directly on Vin’s nose and heard the crack. Blood was streaming into Vin’s mouth, and Vin was choking, and suddenly Aly pulled away, horrified and ashamed.
Then he realized Vin wasn’t choking. He was laughing.
“See?” he said, propping himself up on his elbow. His voice sounded thick. “Blood in my mouth. Happy now?”
Before Aly could apologize, the greenhouse door opened behind him. Instinctively, he turned around. He saw his mask and goggles scattered across the floor. On instinct, Aly’s hands flew up to try and cover his bare face.
“Because I’m feeling generous, I’ve decided to do half a crate for four thousand—” The Derkatzian merchant froze, both arms full of plants. He looked at Aly with his round black eyes and stuck his flat snout in the air. Pointy ears that had laid back flat, hidden in his fur, perked up. “Well, well, well,” he said. “If it isn’t the most wanted dusty in the universe.”
He lifted his hand toward his neck to access his cube, but Aly tackled him before he could transmit. The Derkatzian let out a garbled yell as they fell back and landed with a thud on the ground. He was wrapped in a filthy tunic like all the other locals, and his exposed fur was matted with sand. Aly gagged from the smell as he pinned the man down, grabbing hold of his wrists. Plants were scattered everywhere.
But the Derkatzian was a big guy, at least a foot on Aly and another seventy pounds. Vicious as hell, too—his kind was an evolution of the desert foxes that walked on their hind legs. He snapped and growled, managing to plant his foot and throw Aly off. Aly scrambled back toward him, kicking up sand as he lunged. He grabbed the furry ear and yanked it back so hard the Derkatzian yelped.
Meanwhile, Vin dived, and drove his elbow down on the guy’s stomach.
“Uhhhfff,” the Derkatzian groaned, crumpling on himself. Aly got him in a wrestling hold, and Vin pinned his arms to his side. But it wasn’t just his cube they needed to worry about; the Derkatzian threw his head back, called out a series of quick barks into the wind, and then began to howl.
“Taejis!” Vin said, and kicked him a second time. He yelped once and went quiet.