Starfall (Starflight #2)(18)
“Permission granted. I’m on my way.”
When the Banshee reached Eturia’s planetary shield, Kane didn’t try to make contact with anyone on the ground. One look at the scorched landscape told him the Rose army was no longer in control of the security station. His mind flashed to Cassia and then to his mother as a lump of panic lodged in his throat. But he swallowed hard and poised his finger above the Launch button. He couldn’t help either of them until he’d breached the shield.
“Get ready,” he told Renny, who sat beside him in the pilot’s seat. “Whoever’s in charge down there isn’t going to like this.”
Renny tightened his grip on the wheel and gave a tight nod, peering intently through broken glasses held together at the bridge with medical tape. The scars on Renny’s face had lightened to a pale pink, but the rigid set of his jaw said he hadn’t forgotten the Daeva who’d put them there.
None of them had.
With the punch of a button, Kane launched the surge bomb Gage had made for them using an Infinium core, guaranteed to short out any electrical field. The instant the sphere drifted into contact with the shield, its waves of distortion vanished and Renny rocketed the ship into the atmosphere.
“We’re away,” Doran called from the two-man shuttle, and he and Solara detached. The pilothouse control screen lit up to indicate the shuttle veering east toward the Rose palace while the Banshee zoomed toward the Durango lands, where Cassia was probably being held. But they didn’t know for sure, so they’d agreed to cover both bases.
“Copy that,” Renny said. “Be careful and keep your tracking beacon—”
A crackle of static interrupted him, followed by a man’s voice barking through the radio speakers. “Cargo craft, model FD247, identify yourself and land your ship at the following coordinates. If you fail to comply, we will open fire.”
Kane scanned the coordinates and recognized the location as the security base outside the Rose palace. He answered the summons but waved a hand to indicate that Renny should stay on course. “This is the vessel Banshee,” Kane said. “We’re unarmed and en route to deliver cargo in the neighboring kingdom. No aggression is warranted.”
“I repeat,” the man said. “Land your ship at—” He cut off with a loud rustle, as if someone had snatched the microphone away from him. Then a new voice rang through the speakers.
“Kane!” Cassia’s familiar screech lifted Kane’s heart in tandem with his lips. “I’m fine, you idiot son of a two-assed mule! You just blew my shield to hell! I’ll have your hide for this!”
Kane and Renny turned to each other and shared a look of pure joy, right before they broke into rib-shaking laughter. It’d been so long since Kane had laughed that his muscles seemed to have forgotten the act. He didn’t mind the stomach cramps. It was the most glorious pain he’d ever felt.
“My skin’s all yours,” he told her. “You can use me like a blanket to keep you warm at night. Isn’t that the root of all your fantasies?”
She didn’t respond to his teasing, but he knew her well enough to picture her standing in the com center, her tiny body rigid with rage and her cheeks flushed crimson. The mental image thrilled him. Her combustive temper meant she was safe. That was all he needed to make his spirit soar.
His feet barely touched the ground when he and Renny descended the Banshee’s cargo ramp, never mind the squadron of armed Booters waiting for him. Kane gave them a jaunty wave and practically bounced on his heels all the way to the security station. He found Doran and Solara inside, sitting on a bench and handcuffed to each other. They must’ve heard Cassia’s voice on the radio transmission, because they glanced up at him and grinned.
“Looks like we’re in trouble with the princess,” Doran said.
Kane wanted to return their smiles, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Doran and Solara had robbed him. While they’d returned to Renny on Vega, he’d spent two groggy days in the underground compound before his memory had returned, and that was two days he could’ve used to track Cassia. He knew he’d forgive his friends eventually, but today wasn’t that day.
He gestured at Doran’s wrist. “More like your dream just came true. Now you have a legit reason for never leaving her side.”
“Hey,” Solara objected, but then the synchronized click of a dozen boots sounded from the other end of the hall, and they turned to find another squadron approaching, wearing uniforms Kane recognized as belonging to the royal guard.
The guards came to a halt in the lobby and parted to reveal Cassia, who was dressed like royalty from the waist up and a soldier from the hips down, in a red satin tunic above black leggings and knee-high boots that matched those of her men. Kane’s heart leaped at the sight of her…until he scanned her face and his insides sank to the floor.
Oh, Cassy, he mouthed.
The furious girl from his imagination was gone, replaced by a shadow version of herself with sunken cheeks, hollowed from weight loss, and weary, bloodshot eyes that told him she hadn’t slept well in days, maybe weeks.
She had survived, but at a terrible cost.
He could only imagine the things the Daeva had done to her. A fresh surge of guilt erupted within his ribs. He should’ve listened to his instincts on Vega and stayed with her instead of running away like an injured dog…and then letting another girl lick his wounds. He’d failed Cassia in the worst possible way, because he hadn’t simply been absent when she’d needed him; he’d pushed her out of his mind.