Brightly Burning(53)

“No problem,” I said.

“You have a message. It just arrived.”

I thanked Rori and hurried to the bridge. Maybe it was from Jon. I had to warn him—?and George—?that Mason was reading our messages. But how could I do that without Mason seeing the warning, too? It would put them both in a dangerous position.

I pulled up the message, but it wasn’t from Jon, or George. It was from a ghost from my past.


Dear Stella,

I hope this message finds you well. I was surprised to find, when I inquired with the Stalwart to pass on my message to you in person, that you’d transferred to another ship. I’m afraid you’ll have to read my sad news.

My mother is very ill, and the doctors believe she will be gone within a fortnight. She has been asking for you more and more as she slips further into delirium. I cannot take her shouting, so I thought it best to summon you to the Empire to see her, as is her wish.

If you choose to come, please hurry.

Your cousin,

Charlotte


Chapter Eighteen


I went from creeping on the stairs to stalking outside Hugo’s study. Pressing my ear to yet another door, I heard a clink of ice against glass. He was inside, but was he alone?

“I need to leave,” I whispered, practicing the phrase. I dreaded saying it, though I knew I had to. Leaving would be practice, too.

I knocked lightly, until a muffled grunt granted me entry. The door slid open, and I propelled myself forward with a great big breath, for courage.

“Hello, Stella,” Hugo said, low and cautious. He probably thought I’d come to ask more questions about Mason’s visit. Luckily for him, my new circumstances had put my curiosity on hold.

My feet carried me to my old chair without a second thought. He had been standing, but Hugo followed my lead, sitting in the chair opposite. I took another deep breath, stretching my lungs until they almost hurt. “I need to leave.” I pushed it out before I could second-guess myself.

He stared, dumbfounded. “Where are you going?”

“To the Empire,” I said. “My aunt is dying, and she asked for me.”

“You have to go?”

“I would regret it if I didn’t.”

A loaded pause, and then: “Fine. Then when do you leave?” He refused to look at me, instead focusing on the rug on the floor, exquisite and impractical as it was. I willed him to look at me, to say what he was feeling. Sometimes I could swear he knew what I was thinking, but just as quickly, he could turn so cold. Distant. Hugo was a planet far from reach, a brightly burning star too distant to fathom.

“Tomorrow night. Xiao already called the shuttle,” I said, tamping down my own feelings in favor of facts.

Hugo kept his resolute stare leveled at the floor and began to tap his fingers aggressively against the arm of his chair. “And when will you return?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

Finally, he looked at me straight on, eyes locking to mine. “But you will come back?”

“Yes.” My reply came fast and fierce, my heart declaring itself before my head could catch up. “Unless you don’t need me here anymore.” I thought of Hugo and his impending marriage to Bianca.

“Of course we’ll need you here,” Hugo said, but it did nothing to reassure me. He might believe that, but I remembered my promise to myself. I would leave when Bianca and Hugo were married. And shortly, I would leave to go make amends with a woman who hated me.

“I need an advance on my salary. I’ll be fine to get to the Empire, but I need a bit more than I’ve earned for the return.”

“You can charge anything you need back to the Rochester.” Hugo waved me off.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’d rather take care of this myself.”

Hugo kept tapping those fingers, though this time it was clearly in calculated thought. Finally he ceased his maddening motion, jumping up to retrieve his personal tab. He spent a moment jabbing and swiping at it, then turned it so I could see. “You’ve been here nearly three months, which means I owe you six hundred, but you’ll need more to hail a shuttle both ways. I’ve given you a thousand. Just in case.”

“That’s far too generous, I couldn’t possibly take it—” I tried to protest, but he cut me off.

“You asked for an advance. Consider it a promise to come back.”

“You needn’t bribe me for that.”

“It’s not a bribe,” Hugo insisted, though we both knew that it kind of was. A guarantee of my return.

And maybe I was lying, just a little bit. Everything I’d seen and heard aboard the Rochester was starting to wear on me. It would be easier to run away. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t leave the people behind. I couldn’t leave him. Not yet.

He was looking at me now, pulling me into his orbit with those eyes that spoke volumes without saying a word. But they were mystery volumes; I could never tell if Hugo wanted to kiss me or throw me out into space.

“If you’re leaving tomorrow, that means I can have you tonight,” he said, lips curling into a wicked smile. I choked on nothing more than my own saliva at the shock of it, but then Hugo went on. “A little birdie tells me you’ve learned to play poker below decks. I insist we play.”

“My abilities have been overstated. You don’t want me at your table. And I have nothing to wager.”