Rebel Born (Secondborn #3)(60)

Reykin’s eyes narrow. His strong fingers tighten on me. “Is he your fiancé? I thought he was your ex-fiancé. The Fates Republic no longer exists. The betrothal contract he made with The Virtue is irrelevant.”

“You have to know that I never believed my engagement would get that far. The Gates of Dawn plans would never have allowed my marriage to Clifton, but that’s not the way things turned out, was it?”

He shakes his head.

“Does Clifton know I’m here?”

Reykin sighs in frustration. “Yeah, he knows. He has been threatening us hourly. He’s demanding that we bring you to him. We don’t know how much longer we can keep him away. Hammon’s working the problem as we speak, or else she’d be here with us by now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t aware that you thought he was dead. I was trying to give you space so you could rest before having to suffer reprisals from Salloway.”

“Reprisals?” My chin rises a notch. “You think he wants to hurt me?”

“You did try to assassinate him, Roselle,” Reykin replies with a half grin, like he approves. I don’t find it funny. Losing control of my mind and my body is harrowing. Reykin sees it on my face, and his smile slips away. “I’m sorry.”

“According to Crow, I did assassinate Clifton. Crow showed me a hologram of me cutting Clifton’s head off.”

Reykin’s eyes widen. “Do you remember killing Salloway?”

“No. I know only what Crow showed me, but it was compelling.”

“But was it real?”

“Clearly I did something to Clifton if he’s demanding reprisals.”

“He’s not exactly demanding reprisals. He’s demanding you be returned to him.”

“Returned to him? I don’t know how to take that.”

“Neither did I. You think you assassinated Clifton Salloway?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Reykin lifts one hand from me and rubs his forehead. “I wasn’t there for the battle. We didn’t make it there in time, so I don’t know all the details of what happened. I arrived afterward. The place was destroyed—bodies everywhere. So what you’re saying is that you think you killed him, but he’s not dead . . . so you think Clifton’s . . .”

“Cherno believes he’s a god. He said whoever made this ship is Cassius.”

Reykin drops his other hand from me. “Cherno also believes you’re a god.”

I chew my bottom lip. “Let’s go back to the table and find out what else the dragon-man thinks he knows.”

Reykin slides his arm around my shoulder and guides me back to the stairway. We descend together. When we reach the captain’s table, Cherno lifts his napkin from his lap and pats at his lips with the rose-embossed white linen. He sets it aside just as I take my seat next to him.

“How did you know it was Cassius’s rose?” I ask, indicating the arrangement of tables.

“My perspective’s different from you ground dwellers. Most of my former life was spent in the air. I have a natural predilection for understanding the whole instead of just the parts.”

“Roselle,” a voice says from behind me.

I look up from the table when I hear my name, and see Hammon hurrying across the dining room. My heart catches in my throat. How do I tell her the truth about Hawthorne?

She casts a wary glance over her shoulder, and her long brown braid waves in the air. She has a haggard expression when she turns back again. I lurch to my feet, and so does Reykin. There are at least two kinds of shared intimacy that bind people together. Love is one. Pain is another. But the latter is also destructive. Pain, like the loss of Hawthorne, is sometimes the knife that hacks the bond of love until it snaps.

Running the last few steps, Hammon engulfs me in a fierce hug and whispers, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep him away any longer.”

“Who?” I whisper into her ear.

“Salloway,” she replies, panting.

She must have sprinted here from the other side of the vessel, but her ferocious hug conveys pure love—complete acceptance. Fighting back tears, I squeeze her, too. I missed her so much—the way she included me in everything she did when we were soldiers, the way she’d taught me the skills she learned as a mechanic, the way she treated me like I was her sister. She’s a new mom now, and I missed all of that. I want her back. I need her.

“I missed you like crazy, Hammon.” My voice is breathless.

“I missed you, too,” she replies. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She lets me go. Her eyes are misty. Mine, too. She takes my hand in her sweaty one.

A commotion of raised voices from the entrance to the dining area draws my attention, and then the room grows quiet.

“I’ll never let him hurt you,” Hammon whispers.

Through the crowd, I can just make out Edgerton blocking a very annoyed Clifton Salloway. Beside me, Cherno emits a low, menacing growl. The sound of it makes me feel threatened and defensive.

And then comes the unmistakable sound of Clifton Salloway’s voice. “I don’t care if it isn’t safe. I’m going to speak to her, so get out of my way.”

“What if Roselle kills you this time, huh?” Edgerton challenges him. “All them assassins were sent for you. The only reason they quit lookin’ is they thought you was dead. Now you’re runnin’ in here like a ninny, riskin’ ’em findin’ out you still exist, and that doesn’t help anyone.”