His mouth moves in close enough to raise my body temperature. Only the heat doesn’t warm me—it burns.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, stepping back lest the fissure in my glacier expand and expose me. “I just don’t feel the same way anymore.”
Hysan flinches, like my words have physically hurt him. “I’ll leave you alone then.”
And just like that, we’re through.
30
WE ENTER LEO’S ATMOSPHERE VEILED from the Psy and hidden from view.
The plan is for Hysan to keep ’Nox aloft while the rest of us pile into the two small black bullet-ships we tugged with us from Aries. There’s one on either side of Equinox. Ezra, Gyzer, and I will take one, while Nishi, Skarlet, and Mathias take the other. Pandora will stay on the ship with Hysan. She’s our designated survivor.
If all fails, and Hysan has to land, she’ll eject in the escape capsule into the arms of the Zodai fleet that followed us from Aries and is waiting out of sight. They’re our Plan B. I wanted Nishi to be the designated survivor, but the look she gave me when I suggested it made me shut up.
Thanks to Ezra’s spying on Aquarius’s technology, we know we can’t use Veil collars on the Mothership because we’d still trigger motion sensors. So Mathias, Nishi, and Skarlet dress up in Marad uniforms we stripped off the dead soldiers. Since we still don’t know how to remove the masks, even in death, the Dreamcasters on Phaet spent the day creating convincing replicas—they look just like the real thing. It’s strange seeing the three all-white uniforms and knowing that behind those porcelain masks are people I love.
Well, technically two people I love and one person I tolerate.
Ezra winces when she looks at them, and Gyzer rests an understanding arm around her.
Our fake soldiers are going to rescue Mom and Gamba—since they won’t look conspicuous transporting prisoners—while I get Ophiuchus. He and I, on the other hand, are bound to stick out, so if we get caught, we’re counting on Ophiuchus’s superstrength to help us like it did on Aries.
Hysan explained that Aquarius has been on the mortal plane for three millennia, so his body is human. But Ophiuchus has spent millennia amassing Psynergy in the astral plane, and now he’s more star than man. He’s become a kind of hybrid who attracts too much Psynergy—half the time it strengthens him, and the other half it leaves him drained.
We’re going to be too many people to pack into the tiny bullet-ships, so Hysan will have to land ’Nox in the hangar deck to pick us up. By then, our cover will be blown, but hopefully it won’t matter because we’ll be back in the air.
We have exactly forty-five minutes to pull everything off. Hysan handed out yellow wristbands that will buzz once when there’s fifteen minutes left, twice when there’s five minutes left, and three times when he’s here. Anyone who doesn’t make it to the hangar deck in time will have to find another way off the planet.
Our team of Marad soldiers lands first; Ezra and Gyzer gave them directions where to go, and since Mathias is familiar with the Mothership, he shouldn’t have trouble navigating it. Once Ezra, Gyzer, and I land, we dart indoors and cut across the Family Room to the south wing’s spiral staircase.
“I was beginning to worry you’d changed your mind.”
I turn around, and when I see Blaze I cross my arms like I’m irked. “And I was beginning to trust you—I guess we were both wrong.”
He frowns as he strides over from the pale blue couch where he’d been sitting in wait. “What is it?”
“Ezra and Gyzer flew me to Aries so we could try convincing our old friends to join us. Only someone beat me to it.”
Blaze exhales heavily and stuffs his hands in his white suit pockets. “Imogen is there for the same purpose as you. She’s a little more forceful about it, but her goal is the same as yours or mine—we just want to save Zodai lives. Aquarius told her she couldn’t force them to come.”
I let sadness fall over me, willing water to fill my eyes, but it doesn’t work. I’ve spent my whole life crying over everything, and the one time I need my tears, they won’t come. Still, the expression must be convincing enough without the waterworks, because Blaze sighs. “They said no?”
I nod.
“I’m sorry, Rho.”
I shrug. “It’s their choice. I’m done thinking about it. I just want to sleep.” Then I widen my eyes, like I’ve thought of something better. “Is Aquarius back? I’d put off sleep to chat with him if he’s around,” I lie.
“Is that why you were headed to the south wing?” he asks curiously, and I force myself to nod. “Well, he’s not here, but he should be returning any moment. I’ll let him know you’re looking for him. But for now, sleep is a good idea—since we’re leaving tonight.”
“Tonight?” I echo in shock, and Ezra and Gyzer come closer.
“Aquarius says we’re ready,” says Blaze, his russet eyes bright.
I don’t bother trying to return his smile because I know I would fail. So instead I frown and say, “I’ll believe it when it happens. Trust Only What You Can Touch.”
Blaze nods approvingly. “Always.”
Ezra, Gyzer, and I climb up the east staircase instead, like we’re heading toward my room. Once we’ve put enough space between us and Blaze, we cut across to the south side of the ship, toward Ophiuchus’s cell.
I try to ignore the squirming in my stomach. I know this feeling because I’ve already done this so many times before: thrown myself at the stars’ mercy by embarking on a life-or-death adventure.
Only this time is different. My pulse isn’t racing, nor am I clinging to memories of my loved ones or fantasies of my future. Instead, I’m feeling the anticipation of a spectator who’s watching someone else’s life unfold and wondering how it will end.
As for myself, I feel finished.
I want my friends to survive, and I want the Zodiac to see tomorrow—I’m just not sure I want to stick around for it.
Ezra and Gyzer wordlessly point out Ophiuchus’s door, and then they speed away to help the others. Since I don’t see any special technology keeping him caged in, I try twisting the handle. It’s unlocked.
The Thirteenth Guardian’s suite is bigger than mine. The luminous, windowed space I walk into seems to be some kind of antechamber, and there’s a colorful spread of food on a glass table. I thought he’d be in a jail cell, but here he is, sitting on a cerulean throw rug, deep in meditation, his radiant snakeskin glowing with health.
His muscles bulge through the lightweight white suit he’s been given to wear, and his body looks more powerful than I’ve seen it, like he’s had plenty of time and space to recover his strength. He isn’t trapped, because Aquarius knows he’s not going anywhere: Ophiuchus has no intention of stopping the Last Prophecy—if anything, he’s come to see it through.
“This whole time, you never really chose a side,” I say, shutting the door behind me. “You’ve been playing us both.”