Starflight (Starflight, #1)(69)

Cassia seemed to have stopped breathing. Kane took the necklace from her and hooked it back onto the display, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her across the street.

Solara touched Doran’s elbow and stood on tiptoe to reach his ear. “I think it’s obvious where they’re from,” she whispered. “What do you know about Eturia?”

“Nothing,” Doran said. There were more than a hundred colonies within the Solar Territories, and at least a dozen more in the fringe. He’d only studied those that mattered to the company. “Cassia was right. I’ve never heard of it.”

He peered above the crowd and saw Cassia’s face buried in Kane’s chest. An influx of shoppers thickened the street, and when Doran finally lost sight of the pair, he turned to the vendor and asked for more information about Eturia.

“It’s a small colony,” the man said. “On the most beautiful planet you’ll never see.”

“Never see?” asked Solara.

“Visitors and immigrants aren’t allowed past the atmosphere shield.” He indicated the wares spread across his table. “That’s what makes these so valuable.”

“What about the war?” Doran asked. “Do you know why they’re fighting?”

The man frowned, likely sensing this wouldn’t result in a sale. “Like I already told your friend, I don’t know anything. And even if I did—”

“It wouldn’t change your price,” Doran finished. He thanked the man and backed into the street with Solara. “So what now?” he asked her. “We could talk to the other vendors. Someone else might know more.”

“We could do that. Or we could enjoy our shore leave.” Pointing at the sky, she added, “That’s a real sun up there, not a lamp to keep us from getting transport madness, but an actual star shining above solid ground.”

“And we only have until morning to soak it in,” Doran agreed. “Point taken.”

“Come on.” She linked their arms and steered him in the other direction, where a giant harvest maze had been erected in a schoolyard. “Let’s lose ourselves in some corn.”





Doran kept his elbow linked with Solara’s and didn’t let go the entire time they wandered through the maze. Neither of them was in a hurry. They strolled aimlessly among the rows of brown cornstalks while children raced past them toward the finish line. There was no conversation between them, but it was a contented silence. The fresh breeze, the warm rays, and the music of laughter blended into an intoxicating cocktail, and they drank it up until they accidentally found the maze’s exit.

By that time, their stomachs rumbled, so they found a concession stand and loaded up on fire-roasted corn, mulled cider, meat on a stick, and enough fried funnel cake to send them into a sugar coma. They carried their feast to a flat patch of grass and gorged themselves until they lay sprawled in the sun like bloated walruses.

“I might die,” Solara groaned, rubbing her belly. “But I’ll go with a smile.”

Doran loosened his belt a notch, then reclined with an arm folded under his head. “Do me a favor and die tomorrow. That way I’ll have a partner for the barn dance tonight.”

She snorted a dry laugh. “I guess with that face, you never had to learn how to sweet-talk girls.”

“You have to remember I’m speaking Jackass.”

“Well, try it again in English.”

Doran rolled onto his side and took her hand, then pressed it to his chest. “Solara,” he crooned. “Will you do me the honor of accompanying me to a Podunk barn dance tonight? I can’t promise not to step on your feet, but I swear I won’t let you pass out naked in a churchyard.” He winked. “Unless you’re up for that. In which case, you can count on me to make it happen.”

She tried scowling at him, but her lips twitched into a grin. “It’s a good thing I like you, or you’d be dancing alone tonight.”

Her words did funny things to his stomach. “You like me?” he asked, threading their fingers together. “How much?”

“Not enough for naked churchyard shenanigans.”

“That’s a shame.”

She watched their linked hands and fell silent for a moment. “Hey, do you think you’ll ever come visit me?” she asked. “When I’m living on Vega?”

“Visit? If I can’t clear these charges, I’ll be your permanent sofa crasher.”

“I mean it. Be serious.”

Doran didn’t say so, but he was only half joking. He had a new theory about why his father had sent him to the outer realm, and if he was right, neither of them would ever be free again—at least not within the Solar Territories. He’d have to start over in the fringe. Assuming anyone would hire an eighteen-year-old business intern with no useful trade skills.

“Wait.” Solara brushed a thumb over his knuckles. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“I don’t know,” he told her. “I think I figured out what Infinium is.”

“What’s that got to do with sleeping on my sofa?”

“Remember what I told you about my job collecting new elements?”

“Yes,” she said. “For product development.”