He released an audible breath through his nose. “As Her Majesty wishes.”
After Markham strode away, she glanced at Jordan and found him watching her. He didn’t say anything, but a corner of his mouth curved up again.
“Two smiles in one day?” she said. “Careful or you might hurt yourself.”
“I like the way you stood up to him.”
“Excuse me, General,” interrupted a voice through his com-link. “We have a potential security breach.”
Jordan tapped his link. “Where?”
“Outside the planetary shield. There’s a ship approaching with a speed and trajectory that indicates they mean to force entry.”
He muttered a swear. “What class vessel?”
“Looks like a small cargo ship, sir. Permission to engage?”
“Permission granted. I’m on my way.”
When the Banshee reached Eturia’s planetary shield, Kane didn’t try to make contact with anyone on the ground. One look at the scorched landscape told him the Rose army was no longer in control of the security station. His mind flashed to Cassia and then to his mother as a lump of panic lodged in his throat. But he swallowed hard and poised his finger above the Launch button. He couldn’t help either of them until he’d breached the shield.
“Get ready,” he told Renny, who sat beside him in the pilot’s seat. “Whoever’s in charge down there isn’t going to like this.”
Renny tightened his grip on the wheel and gave a tight nod, peering intently through broken glasses held together at the bridge with medical tape. The scars on Renny’s face had lightened to a pale pink, but the rigid set of his jaw said he hadn’t forgotten the Daeva who’d put them there.
None of them had.
With the punch of a button, Kane launched the surge bomb Gage had made for them using an Infinium core, guaranteed to short out any electrical field. The instant the sphere drifted into contact with the shield, its waves of distortion vanished and Renny rocketed the ship into the atmosphere.
“We’re away,” Doran called from the two-man shuttle, and he and Solara detached. The pilothouse control screen lit up to indicate the shuttle veering east toward the Rose palace while the Banshee zoomed toward the Durango lands, where Cassia was probably being held. But they didn’t know for sure, so they’d agreed to cover both bases.
“Copy that,” Renny said. “Be careful and keep your tracking beacon—”
A crackle of static interrupted him, followed by a man’s voice barking through the radio speakers. “Cargo craft, model FD247, identify yourself and land your ship at the following coordinates. If you fail to comply, we will open fire.”
Kane scanned the coordinates and recognized the location as the security base outside the Rose palace. He answered the summons but waved a hand to indicate that Renny should stay on course. “This is the vessel Banshee,” Kane said. “We’re unarmed and en route to deliver cargo in the neighboring kingdom. No aggression is warranted.”
“I repeat,” the man said. “Land your ship at—” He cut off with a loud rustle, as if someone had snatched the microphone away from him. Then a new voice rang through the speakers.
“Kane!” Cassia’s familiar screech lifted Kane’s heart in tandem with his lips. “I’m fine, you idiot son of a two-assed mule! You just blew my shield to hell! I’ll have your hide for this!”
Kane and Renny turned to each other and shared a look of pure joy, right before they broke into rib-shaking laughter. It’d been so long since Kane had laughed that his muscles seemed to have forgotten the act. He didn’t mind the stomach cramps. It was the most glorious pain he’d ever felt.
“My skin’s all yours,” he told her. “You can use me like a blanket to keep you warm at night. Isn’t that the root of all your fantasies?”
She didn’t respond to his teasing, but he knew her well enough to picture her standing in the com center, her tiny body rigid with rage and her cheeks flushed crimson. The mental image thrilled him. Her combustive temper meant she was safe. That was all he needed to make his spirit soar.
His feet barely touched the ground when he and Renny descended the Banshee’s cargo ramp, never mind the squadron of armed Booters waiting for him. Kane gave them a jaunty wave and practically bounced on his heels all the way to the security station. He found Doran and Solara inside, sitting on a bench and handcuffed to each other. They must’ve heard Cassia’s voice on the radio transmission, because they glanced up at him and grinned.
“Looks like we’re in trouble with the princess,” Doran said.