Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(89)

I nodded then immediately shook my head. “It’s the regeneration gel,” I said. It had been a decade or so since I’d needed to use it, but the side effects remained burned in my memory. True to its name, regeneration gel healed even major wounds quickly. But in return, it was hell while active.

“Shit, I should’ve brought extra anesthetic,” he said. He led me to the bedroom and helped me lie down. “I forgot how some people react to the gel. You probably know this, but you’re about to be in for a bad time.”

He stood and went to the intercom. “Rhys, I’m going to need you to pilot. Veronica, can you get me some anesthetic, both local and general?”

“Sure thing,” Rhys said. “Veronica’s on her way down to the medbay. Everything okay?”

“Ada’s regeneration gel is kicking in. She’s feverish.”

“Good luck, friend. Let me know if you need anything. I’ve got the ship.”

I closed my eyes as a wave of nausea rolled over me. I’d like to think that Loch was overreacting, but based on how I felt right now, he might be underreacting. My arm burned like liquid fire.

Time stretched. I focused on breathing through each second without screaming. The doorbell broke my concentration, and I whimpered.

“Hold on,” Loch said. “Veronica’s here with the painkillers.”

Loch disappeared and returned with Veronica. She frowned at me. “You should’ve told us you were in pain earlier,” she said.

“It wasn’t this bad,” I gritted out.

Loch injected me with something that took the fire from an inferno to a smolder. My arm still ached, but now I could think around the pain.

“Remind me not to get shot again anytime soon, okay?” I said. My stomach dropped as the FTL drive kicked in. We would be on Rhys’s planet soon. “Any idea how long it’ll take until I’m healed enough for my arm to stop feeling like it’s burning off?”

“With a small wound like that, probably half a day,” Loch said.

The fact that a missing chunk of my arm was something Loch considered a “small wound” was telling. “Any reason I shouldn’t move around?”

“You’re not feeling it, but you’re still feverish. Your body will be weaker than you expect. And you’ll be loopy from the anesthetic. So long as you don’t try anything crazy while feeling invincible, you should be okay.”

“Does that sound like something I would do?”

“Yes,” Loch and Veronica replied at the same time.

“Ada, if you’re awake, I’m going to land us in one of my hangars,” Rhys said over the intercom. “It’s more secure than a public spaceport and you know Richard is going to look here.”

“Thank you,” I said. “How long until we’re on the ground?”

“Looks like about forty minutes,” he said. “I’ll give you a heads-up before we enter the atmosphere, but it should be a smooth ride—this ship is fantastic.” I beamed like a proud parent. I may’ve stolen Polaris from Richard, but the ship was mine now.

I sat up. My arm burned, but it was a distant pain. The painkillers had worked their magic. I stood up and my pain didn’t increase, but I was a little shaky.

I opened the closet and got a nice surprise—my extra clothes were still inside. Hopefully that meant my com, necklace, and cuff were safe. I’d hidden them in a concealed drawer in the top of the closet. I’d only found it on accident while looking for a hiding place, then it had taken me five minutes to figure out how to open it.

“Could one of you help me?” I asked. “There’s a hidden drawer, but it requires two hands to open. There’s a button in the far back corner that you can barely feel. You have to press it and pull on the front at the same time.”

Loch popped the drawer open then handed me the contents. I put on the cuff and necklace, though I didn’t bother arming them; I’d wait until I was alone.

I’d locked the com before I stored it, which meant it needed my real identity chip to activate—the chip in my left arm. I made it through the series of hand motions required to activate it with barely an additional twinge of pain. Whatever painkiller Loch had given me was good.

I held the com to my identity chip then went through the verification process. I immediately sent my sister a quick update. I hadn’t been lying to Richard about the consequences of failing to contact her.

It was only after I’d sent the update that I checked the news.

House Rockhurst had declared war on House von Hasenberg. Father had responded in kind. House Yamado remained neutral for now, but the various lower houses were already choosing sides.

“We’re at war,” I said, as if voicing the words would make them feel real. The last full-scale war between High Houses spanned two decades, claimed nearly ten million lives, and resulted in one less High House in the Consortium. Since then, we’d been at peace for more than five generations.

“Who declared?” Veronica asked.

“Rockhurst, against us, yesterday,” I said. I shook my head. I had been planning to send Polaris to Father through an intermediary after we negotiated terms. That plan was dead. I would have to return home as soon as possible.

I met Veronica’s eyes. “I need you to think very seriously about your future. I can still try to take you with me as a Cabinet member, but only if that is what you want. Houses at war are not the safest places. I will likely be sent to the front lines. If you don’t travel with me, my protection will be limited.”