Wandering Star: A Zodiac Novel (9 page)

“I need to Wave Hysan.”

“He already knows you’re here,” says Nishi. “He checked in last night and said he’d come over as soon as he can.”

“How soon?”

“I don’t know, but don’t worry about him. He knows what he’s doing.” She links her elbow with mine and steers me into a big, open sitting area in the center of the mansion, filled with long paneled windows and a circle of creamy levlan couches that could seat a small army.

“Hysan’s arranged for a fleet of bullet-ships to transport people to Verity,” explains Nishi. “Guardian Ferez said all are welcome. Most Sagittarians are evacuating to our other planets and moons, but some have taken Ferez up on his offer.”

Ophiuchus’s warning thunders through my mind, and I wonder whether I should tell Nishi. I’d love to share the weight of his words with her—if only the action didn’t feel so cowardly. I have no way of knowing if Ophiuchus is telling the truth, and neither does she. The two of us raising the alarm once more would be the perfect way for him to wreak more damage to our already fragile House bonds. Once again, he’s wound me up like a toy set to self-destruct.

But this time I’m not playing Ochus’s games. I’m going to help Sagittarius.

Nishi fetches a carafe of water and some glasses, and Aryll and Deke sprawl out on separate couches. Deke rests his dirty boots on the light-colored cushions.

“Nish, where are your parents?” I ask.

“That’s sort of . . . the thing,” she says, trading a nervous look with Deke, like the one from the other day. “See, they were on House Libra the past week, so when the Marad made its threat, I kind of told them to stay there—because I was evacuating with Deke to Gryphon.”

“Nish!”

“I know it’s wrong, but I don’t want to put them in danger,” she says quickly, avoiding my gaze. “And I want to fight.”

“What about your Tracker? Won’t it give you away?” I stare pointedly at the flint device around her wrist designed to ping out her location wherever she goes, so loved ones can find her.

“Hysan taught me how to disable it,” she mutters under her breath, pouring each of us a glass of water.

I don’t know what to say. I want to yell at Nishi about family being too important to gamble with, and how this isn’t fair to her parents, and they’ll feel so awful if anything happens to her. But Nishi’s the smartest person in this room. She already knows everything I’m not saying, and she still made this decision.

My best friend is making sacrifices for this war, and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t understand why. I put my arm around her as she sits down beside me. “It must be hard lying to them.”

“It is,” she admits, her eyes downcast beneath her heavy black bangs. “But it makes it easier, knowing they’re safe. And anyway, with them gone, we were able to bring everyone together.” She looks up, her voice regaining its usual cheeriness. “So we can all be in one place.”

“You mean us and Hysan?”

“No, she means
everyone
,” says Deke. “Everyone willing to fight—whom we’ve been able to reach—is crashing the zillions of rooms here.”

Nishi nods. “Now you can address us all together, and we can train as a unit for whatever the Marad has planned.”

An uneasy feeling prickles my stomach, the start of a panic far worse than the kind I felt inside the cannon. I look from Nishi’s eager face to Deke’s determined one, and I flash back to the moment Rubidum nominated me to lead the armada. I came to Sagittarius to help—but Nishi and Deke asked me here to lead.

Before I can say anything, the swooshing sound of doors opening fills the air, and soon about fifty Acolytes are crowding the bright space. A flurry of dark faces and long-cut, wide eyes blur before me as I trade touches with each one. Like Nova on the flight over, they all ask questions after introducing themselves.

“Hi, I’m Mina. Do you still believe in Ophiuchus?”

“I do.”

“Thanks for coming. My name is Wynn. Do you think Ophius is involved with the Marad?”

“Yes.”

“Chan; nice to meet you. Do you know how we’re going to defeat the Marad in just three days?”

“Not yet, but I came to help figure it out together.”

“I’m Gyzer,” says a guy with soulful eyes, a mournful voice, and coal-black skin. It’s early morning on Sagittarius, and while most of the students are still in their bed clothes, he’s one of the few who is already in his lavender uniform. “If you consider only what was within your control, where did you go wrong last time?”

“Accepting leadership,” I say without hesitation. I knew nothing of governance or war or politics. I wasn’t ready then—and I’m still not.

“Did you come here to help us or to get revenge?” asks the youngest in the group. She looks to be about fifteen. “I’m Ezra,” she adds, tossing back her hair, which is in hundreds of tiny braids.

After a beat, I admit, “Both.”

Once I’ve met everyone, they all take a seat while Nishi stays standing. “Okay, now that Rho is here, let’s launch into our progress report so we can bring her up to date.”

“What about the Libran? Has he returned?” asks Ezra.

“Not yet,” Nishi tells her. “And, guys, please hold on to all your questions for later. Updates first. Deke, you start.”

Deke springs to his feet and Waves a blue holographic diagram of the Capital into the air. “So far, the Marad has targeted the richest and most powerful parts of each House it’s attacked: Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Given that, and the fact that it’s threatened to leave Sagittarius with Guardian Brynda’s head, we can expect it to strike somewhere within this radius, right here in the Capital.” He enlarges the diagram
so that we’re seeing only the sector most likely to be in danger.

Nishi’s Tracker beams out a red holographic overlay that lines up with Deke’s and adds a new layer to his diagram. Now there are concentrations of red dots dispersed throughout the city. “This is the latest Stargazer defensive formation, sent to us by our contact in the Royal Guard,” says Nishi. “The Sagittarian government can’t legally endorse our participation in military actions, Rho, but unofficially they’re feeding us details.”

“Most of us aren’t combat fighters, nor do we have access to or experience with weapons,” says Deke. “Which is why violence is not our primary objective.” Gyzer and a few other guys grow disgruntled when they hear this, but they don’t argue, so it’s clear this subject has already been settled.

“We’re going to be using invisibility Veils that will conceal us from others but are networked so we’ll be able to see each other.” Nishi holds up one of the collars Hysan gave her back on Gemini. “Once the fighting starts, we will back up the Stargazers, supplying weapons reloads, transporting the wounded, and bringing back reconnaissance updates on the Marad’s positions.
That’s all.
”

Deke shuts off his hologram. “Today and tomorrow, we will continue training in combat and weapons so that if the worst should happen, we can defend ourselves.”

“There are vials of Abyssthe available for anyone who wants to do readings,” offers Nishi.

“What happens if they attack us with Dark Matter?” asks Ezra, her elaborate braids practically swallowing her small face. “How will we defend ourselves then?”

Until now, the Marad has been attacking with brute force and advanced weaponry—not Psynergy. There’s been no evidence of any Dark Matter assaults since the armada, and with Charon back in power and still spreading his fabrications about cosmic rays from the Sufianic Clouds, most question the existence of the Psy weapon altogether. Despite the evidence Lord
Neith and Ambassador Sirna presented to the Plenum on Aries, no one wants to believe in a superweapon . . . just as they don’t want to believe in a supervillain.

“The city will be shielded.”

My heart recognizes the voice before my ears do, and a torrent of blood floods my face.

“And this time, I can assure you the shields will work, because I built them all myself.”

Hysan strides into the room in an inconspicuous all-black getup and casts his green gaze around the group. He stops on my face.

“My lady . . . it’s good to see you.” A strange silence follows, but Hysan seems to be the only person in the room who doesn’t hear it.

“Great to see you again, Hysan,” says Deke, dispersing the cloud of discomfort. “How do we shield the city?”

“I’ve spoken with Guardian Brynda, and we agreed that I will deliver the shields today,” answers Hysan, who still hasn’t broken eye contact with me.

Everyone murmurs, clearly impressed by his high reach. “That’s perfect,” says Nishi. “Rho, you should go with him and talk to Brynda since you’ve met her before. But first,” she says, gesturing to the rest of the room, “do you want to say anything—?”

“Well, we really should go now,” I say, as anxious about addressing the group as I am eager to be alone with Hysan. “The sooner we touch base with Guardian Brynda and find out what’s going on, the better.”

“Agreed,” says Deke, and a few others nod with him. Nishi’s the only one who looks disappointed with this plan. “Rho, you and Hysan should head out now so you can be back before dark. There’s been a curfew imposed until the threat’s over.”

Aryll looks at me like he might pull a Stanton and ask to come with us, so I head him off. “Stay and let Stanton know we got here safely? Nishi will help you get settled until I’m back. I won’t be long, I promise.”

Nishi walks over to Aryll while I join Hysan in the hall. I offer him my hand for the traditional greeting, and he kisses my skin softly. He doesn’t release my fingers as he leads me out the front door. “Wait—how are we getting there?” I ask, freezing in place for fear of his answer.

“We’re not going far—we’ll take one of the moving pathways.”

Since I don’t hear the word
cannon
, I follow him through the hedge. “What’s—?”

“This way.” Instead of stepping onto the wide pathway I walked down earlier, Hysan cuts to a small alley between Nishi’s mansion and the adjoining one, where the road is a river of polished stone. The street looks as if it’s squeezing itself through the suburb’s mismatched homes in a deliberate direction that leads toward the tall buildings on the horizon.

The moment we step onto the smooth stone, it starts to move. I grip Hysan’s hand tighter in surprise.

He grins at me. “High-powered Sagittarians who work together often also live near each other so they can install these moving pathways for a speedy commute. It appears Nishi’s parents are pretty powerful Stargazers. Does she ever talk to you about them?”

“Nishi’s better with questions than answers, especially when it comes to her family.” Since I don’t like talking about Mom either, that’s always worked out fine for us. It’s one thing Nishi and I have always agreed on—leaving the past in the past.

The day’s heavy sheet of clouds has broken up, and rays of sunlight pierce through the sky like spotlights. I don’t think Hysan likes revisiting his past much either, and I can see why. I sneak a glance up at him as we cross through a sunray, the light making his hair glimmer like gold. Meeting Miss Trii made his childhood seem less lonely, but it also made it sound less
child
like. Hysan didn’t just grow up without parents—he had to build his own.

When our silence starts to grow noticeably long, I ask, “How’s Miss Trii?”

“Same as ever. Probably a day from landing on Aeolus. She ingested a few thousand files on Risers, so when she arrives she’ll be able to advise Lord Neith.” The pathway moves us forward at a surprisingly clipped pace. I’m secretly relieved for the extra security of our interlocked hands.

I wait for Hysan to offer more, or to ask me a question back, but he seems to have finally run out of conversation. His brow is faintly furrowed, and his irises have faded, the way they do when he’s deep in thought. Today it feels like we’re both keeping secrets.

“Rho,” he says gravely.

He shifts to face me, his fingers still laced with mine. “I know you need space after everything that’s happened, and I’ve been trying to give it to you. But this distance between us is starting to feel forced.”

I nod in agreement.

“I know you have a lot on your mind, but you don’t have to endure it alone. If you want to talk—about
anything
—I promise I’ll listen. Without judgment.” Even though he doesn’t say his name, I know he’s talking about Mathias. But the mere thought of him sucks me back inside my shell, and my fingers fidget involuntarily inside Hysan’s grasp.

He must feel my reaction, because he gently releases my hand. I’m too embarrassed to meet his gaze, so I silently stare into the colorful buildings ahead that are growing larger on our approach.

“Tell me how you’re feeling,” he pleads into my ear, his voice husky and soft.

My muscles clamp with discomfort. I don’t know how to ask Hysan what even I don’t understand: How can I still be so torn between him and Mathias when Mathias is gone forever?

“I’ll take a one-word answer, if necessary.” His tone is more insistent now. “Just don’t abandon me here. Please, Rho.”

Abandon
tugs at something in my gut. It’s an action I associate with Mom, yet Hysan just used it about me. I wonder if I’ve been wrong about that word all my life.

Mom didn’t abandon us when she left home. She abandoned us long before that, by shutting us out. By never letting us get to know her.

“I’m sorry,” I say at last. Stanton already compared me to Mom once this week; that’s not a pathway I’m curious to explore.

“I do want to talk, it’s just—I don’t want to do any soul-searching right now, because it’s a mess in there. Besides, I can’t indulge in stuff like this right now, not with everything that’s going on.” As the words spill out, I hear the relief in my own voice at releasing them. “There are so many people you and I are responsible for. All I know is I have really strong feelings for you, and I’ve never met anyone like you, and I miss you when you’re not around, but I’m not over—”

Hysan presses his mouth to mine, stopping my sentence, thoughts, heartbeat.

The Abyssthe-like effect of his lips is addictive, and once we’ve started kissing I can’t even think of stopping. His hands hug my waist tightly, as if he’s afraid to lose me. The more I give myself over to the moment, the more it seems to be stripping us of our identities, removing layer after painful layer, until every obstacle standing between us has floated away.