I peered over his shoulder as the monitor settled on what looked like an ordinary online auction. I couldn’t read the descriptions, but I could see the pictures, although most of the objects were unsurprisingly alien to me.
Each time Navan hovered over an item, the speakers crackled, and a barrage of abuse echoed back at us. We weren’t even involved in the auction, but we could hear the bidders hurling trash talk at one another, a mixture of unusual voices clamoring for attention as they tried to win the item through sheer intimidation.
As Navan hovered across a golden object, which looked like some sort of elaborate candelabra, voices boomed out of the speakers.
“Yeah, yeah, we all know what you’re going to do with a twelve-foot-long, two-foot-wide ceremonial staff, Zeddar22!” one voice barked, cackling.
“Says you, Tinbo441. I want to smelt it down, so what in the name of Arras are you bidding on it for?”
The first voice scoffed. “Sounds like you can shove it up your Arras, Zeddar22!”
“Hey, let’s not bring religion into this!”
“How about all you junkyard waggleflappers focus on the auction, instead of mouthing off like stupid-ass geggers!” a third voice chimed in. “If you don’t have the dough, get out of the bakery, dudes!”
I looked at Navan as he moved away from the object. “What’s a waggleflapper?” I asked, smirking.
A startled gasp made me whirl around, and I found Kaido standing on the staircase. He’d evidently come down to pick up the last of his vials and the rest of his canister. The look of horror on his face was so comical I almost lost it.
“Riley, never speak that word aloud again!” he cried. “Navan, you should not permit a lady to hear such terrible things. What if she got confused and decided to repeat a word like that to someone like the queen, thinking it was some sort of compliment?”
“Sorry, Kaido. You weren’t supposed to hear that.” Navan chuckled.
“Yes, well, I did, and now I shall have to struggle to forget it!” Tutting loudly, he picked up the last of his things and returned upstairs, leaving us to the perils of the darkstar market and its vulgar language.
“So, what does waggleflapper mean?”
Navan grinned. “You don’t want to know. Just don’t repeat it to anyone you like.”
“Noted!”
“Ooh, this looks promising,” he said, pausing on an object that looked like an enormous Gatling gun.
“What is it?”
He peered closer. “It seems to be a cellular ray. It makes things bigger and smaller.”
I raised a doubtful eyebrow. “Do we really want to make the Titans any bigger than they already are?”
“Good point,” he agreed. “How about this?” He pointed to a panel that contained several pieces of armor, painted in bold colors and made from a leathery material. It didn’t seem too offensive, but I was starting to understand that most things on the darkstar market had slightly unusual origins.
“Is it some kind of special armor?”
“Yup. Looks like it’s made from the patchworked skin of a thousand enemies. Each color is a different species. It was stolen from the exhumed corpse of Arko the Twelfth, otherwise known as the Conqueror of Worlds.”
I made a face. “Not hard to guess what he was famous for. Would they like that kind of thing?”
“I think they’d love this kind of thing. They have a museum of war trophies, and I’m sure they’d be eager to add this to their collection.”
“Is it expensive?”
He nodded. “It’s pretty pricey, but we’ve got all that money on the pay device you and Ronad found. There’s more than enough on there.”
A particular auction panel caught my attention. It contained a chained-up mermaid on a video clip running on a loop, showing her thrashing around in a tiny tank, trying to get out. There was another image next to it of three cuffed creatures—they were small and fluffy looking, with cream-colored fur and cute black eyes peering out.
“They sell people on here?” I gasped.
“You can get anything on the darkstar market.” Navan grimaced. “Slaves, organs, weapons, pets, drugs… There’s a seller for everything, no matter how dark and debauched it might be.”
“What are they?” I asked, pointing to the furry creatures.
“They’re Sonorans—a peaceful race of forest-dwellers with a knack for sending people off to sleep,” he explained. “They’re the most trafficked species in the universe because their blood makes people feel relaxed and goofy. It’s used as a drug all over the place. The Feds have tried to protect them, but the traffickers always find a way around it. They’ve set up lunar farms to breed Sonorans in secret, and all sorts of crazy stuff like that.”
“And that’s really a mermaid?”
He nodded. “She must come from one of the water planets.”
“Do you think this is where Orion is getting his weapons from?” I wondered, looking at a row of nasty-looking guns and swords.
“Most likely. He’ll probably have a pickup location somewhere in your galaxy, where he’s arranged to collect his weapons. He won’t want any of the sellers discovering Earth, so he probably has another planet as his black-market depot.”
A prickle of anger rose in my chest. People bought and sold such awful things and thought nothing of it. If this was what joining the rest of the universe meant, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted Earth to catch up. Humans were bad enough to one another within the confines of a single planet—they didn’t need a universal playground to do even worse things.
As Navan typed something into a dialogue box connected to the patchwork armor, a torrent of abuse flooded the speakers. The other bidders were not happy that someone was moving in on their turf, though it didn’t sound like they had the money to win. Navan kept silent, refusing to join in with the trash talk. A timer counted down on the right-hand side of the auction panel. Five minutes, and a whole load of new expletives later, a star popped up on the screen, announcing him as the winner of the auction.
“You undercutting scumnugget!” one voice bellowed.
“You gonna prance around in it, wearing nothing but the nethers you were born with?” another taunted.
“I bet this dude’s a Rexombra—uppity waggleflapper! I hope it gives you the same virus that ended old Arko!” a third chimed in. “I hope it eats away at your—”
An audio call cut through the noise. Navan pressed the answer button, and a voice echoed out into the kitchen, though there was no video stream to show us what the seller looked like.
“You MorticiaAddams01?” a gruff voice asked. I stifled a giggle at hearing Mort’s choice of username said so seriously.
“I am,” Navan replied, glancing at me and lifting a finger to his lips.
“Where d’you want the item dropped off? Planet and location?”
“I’m in Southern Vysanthe. If you could drop it off by the small boathouse on the far side of Trossach Pond, that would be great.”
The seller grunted. “Yer item’s gonna take some time. I’d say three days, and I can get it to ya.”
That clashed with the day of the wedding. Navan glanced at me, a worried look on his face. Evidently, he didn’t think he could get away from Gianne and the threat of her alchemy lab so soon after the wedding itself. She’d be watching him like a hawk.
“That’s no good. I need the item sooner than that,” Navan insisted.
“Three days, or I’ll sell it to someone with less backchat,” he said. “Next bidder down’ll get your suit o’ armor. I don’t care, so long as there’re credits in me pocket.”
Navan grimaced. “Fine, then change the location to the groundskeeper’s hut beside the Decorum Churchyard, in Vysanthe.”
“Right y’are, mate. Glad you could see sense,” the seller replied, sounding pleased with himself. “Yer goods’ll be with you in three days, or I get nothin’. That’s the darkstar guarantee.” He chuckled, and the audio abruptly ended.
Na
van looked solemn again as he logged out of the darkstar market and pushed the black box back into the middle of the table.
“As if that day isn’t going to be stressful enough,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “If worst comes to worst, Ronad and I can go pick it up.”
He shook his head. “You never know what kind of sellers these guys will be. It’s too dangerous. He might try and run off with the pay device and take the armor with him. I don’t want to be worrying about you any more than I already am.”
I smiled, looping my arms around his neck. “Ronad and I will be fine. We’ll take whatever weapons Sarrask has, make the exchange, and be back in time for the throwing of the bouquet.”
“We don’t do that here,” he said, a small smile on his lips.
“Well then, you don’t know what you’re missing out on,” I joked. “Honestly, I can handle myself, and I’ll make sure to protect Ronad from any baddies that might come along.”
He laughed. “Fine… You can make the pickup, but only if I can’t safely get away to come with you,” he conceded. “Just promise me that, if you have to go without me, you’ll be careful? And don’t trust anything this guy does. Be alert and be aware.”
I mock saluted before leaning in for a kiss. “Yes, sir.”
He laughed. “I’m serious!”
“You don’t sound very serious.” I grinned, catching his mouth in mine, my pulse quickening. His hands slid around my waist, running the length of my spine with a delicious shiver. His kiss was hungry as he lifted me out of my chair and placed me in his lap, my legs wrapping around him. The house was empty, and I knew Kaido wouldn’t dare come back down.
Navan seemed to have the same idea. He picked me up, running his hands through my hair. I gripped his waist with my thighs. He was about to move toward the living room when his personal comm device started ringing. He paused and fished it out of his pocket, reading the name that had popped up on the screen. Immediately, his face fell.
“Who is it?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Seraphina.” He sighed, putting me down on the ground and pressing the answer button. Her face popped up in a hologram. She looked happier than she had the previous day, her cheeks carrying a healthy glow. “What’s up?” he said, an edge of bitterness in his voice.
“I’m so sorry to call you up like this, but I’m having a bit of a nightmare,” she explained. “I was wondering if I could borrow Riley for a little bit, to help with the wedding planning? My parents are taking over everything, and if I let my mother have her way, this wedding is going to look like a carnival. I totally understand if you can’t, or you don’t want to, Riley, but I would be forever grateful!”
I didn’t dare look at Navan. “Yeah, sure. Of course I’ll come and help you,” I said quietly, wishing I could grab the words and shove them back into my mouth. I didn’t want anything to do with the wedding, let alone the planning of it, but how could I say no?
“Thank you, Riley! This means so much to me! I’ll send a ship to pick you up in an hour, if that’s good for you?”
I smiled sweetly. “Absolutely!”
“Thank you! See you soon!” She hung up, her image disappearing.
Feeling like I wanted to sit in a corner and cry, I stepped into Navan’s arms and felt them wrap around me. I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to his heart, telling myself that it only beat for me.
Chapter Thirty
An hour later, as promised, a ship arrived outside Sarrask’s cottage. Seraphina had followed up her call with a text message, asking where we were living now that the Idrax mansion had gone up in smoke. It had been reported earlier that a tragic accident had exploded the house, but that the Idrax family members were all safe. It was a good cover-up, and people seemed to believe anything that was broadcast.
A chauffeur dressed in a smart crimson uniform came to the door. Navan and I had spent the last hour walking around the lake beside Sarrask’s house, taking a moment to gather our thoughts, and we were just coming back around when we spotted the man walking up to the front door and knocking.
“Are you here for Riley?” I asked, hurrying toward him.
He looked me up and down. “Yes, Miss Seraphina has instructed me to collect her.”
“Well, that’s me!”
“I suppose you should get into the ship, then,” he muttered coldly, before walking toward the sleek silver vessel waiting on the grass beside Kaido’s grounded ship. I guessed it didn’t matter that I was Seraphina’s friend. To everyone here, I was still an underling, an inferior species to be looked down on.
Navan squeezed my hand before I could move toward the waiting vessel. From his glance toward the chauffer, I could tell he didn’t want to risk kissing me. I ran my thumb over his knuckles before letting go, wishing I didn’t have to leave. An hour was a long time to wonder what the hell you were thinking, agreeing to help a friend with her plans to marry your own boyfriend. I wanted to spend every waking second with him, until he became a married man.
“Call Seraphina, give her some excuse,” I whispered.
“Really?” he asked hopefully. “I can, if you want me to.”
“No, never mind… As much as I’d love to stay here with you, I made a promise, and I have to stick to the stupid thing,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “But I won’t be long. I’ll be back in your arms before you know it.”
He smiled. “You’d better be.”
“See if you can get in touch with the others while I’m gone—I would really love hearing their voices when I get back!”
“I’ll do what I can,” he promised. “I love you, and only you.”
“I love you, too, and only you.”
Reluctantly, I stepped away from him, making my solemn way to the waiting vehicle. It was smaller than a Snapper, but bigger than a sky-cab, and I really didn’t want to get in it. Heaving open the door, I clambered inside and sat down on a plush seat. The ship had a dim interior and blacked-out windows, looking like the coldblood version of a limousine. A moment later, it took to the sky, zipping off at an alarming speed, presumably toward Seraphina and her dreaded wedding plans.
Half an hour later, we arrived at a very swanky neighborhood, with enormous mansions curving along cul-de-sacs like the fronds of a palm tree. They weren’t quite as large as the ones that had surrounded the Idrax house, nor were their gardens as extensive, but they were still impressive. The stone and architecture had no character, though; every single one looked identical.
The chauffeur let me out in front of one of the homogenous buildings and walked me up to the door. It appeared I couldn’t be trusted to ring the doorbell, because he did it for me, waiting for the lady of the house to answer, no doubt. She did, a minute later.
“Come in, Riley!” Seraphina insisted, taking my hand and pulling me into the house, waving thanks to the chauffeur.
My jaw dropped the moment I set foot in her home. The interior wasn’t what I’d expected, judging from the outside. Seraphina had excellent taste, and the whole house was decked out in a cozy, almost Scandinavian fashion. Unique lanterns lit up every room. There were soft, cream couches with enormous cushions, and fluffy rugs that tickled my feet, and vibrant works of art hanging from most walls. Where there was no space for a painting, the walls were covered in books, which took up every shelf and counter, interspersed with cute little pieces of pottery and quaint vases filled with fresh flowers.
On the floor in the lounge lay rolls of gauzy coral fabric, a pile of leaves, and what looked like a pot of melted wax. It was a mess, and Seraphina was too. She had bits of glue and leaf in her hair, with threads of fabric stuck to her face.
“What happened to you?” I asked, dumbfounded. “It looks like an elementary school art class just threw up all over your front room.”
She grimaced, urging me to sit. “I know, I’m a mess! I have to get all of this done, and there isn’t enough time to do it,” she mumbled. “Ca
n I get you something to drink? I know you don’t drink blood, but I got Gustav to fetch you a few things from the exotic foods store in town. I think there’s some juice and a few pieces of fruit, if you’re interested?”
My stomach grumbled in agreement. “That’d be great.”
“Wonderful! Just give me a minute, and I’ll be back with some refreshments. Please, make yourself at home. I’m so sorry for dragging you out here to help me, but I didn’t know who else to turn to,” she said, before disappearing back out into the hallway.
Don’t you have any girlfriends you could have called up? I thought bitterly, knowing that every moment I spent here was a moment away from Navan. Realizing my brain was being a bit of a bitch, I gave it a stern talking to, knowing that envy would get me nowhere. Come on, Riley, you made a promise! Woman up, and stop being so sour!
Maybe she didn’t have any girlfriends to turn to. I didn’t know how friendships worked on this planet, but the only people I’d seen who were close to each other were Navan and Ronad, and they’d been more or less brothers for years. Perhaps, just like Sarrask had said, friendships outside of work weren’t much of a thing on Vysanthe.
Seraphina blustered back in a few minutes later, carrying a glass of juice and a fruit platter. I couldn’t complain, but I was really starting to loathe the sight of fruit platters. My mind drifted back to the darkstar market, making me wonder if I could bid for some real food on there. I realized I’d probably end up with someone’s liver, or something equally disgusting.
“Here you go,” she said, handing me the refreshments. “I didn’t really know how to cut the fruit up, but I hope I did a good job!”
“I’m sure it tastes just fine,” I assured her, tucking in to some slices of a purple fruit I hadn’t seen before. It tasted like a cross between a blackberry and a mango, and I was actually pretty happy with it. For one thing, it wasn’t blue. “So, what’s with the cutting and sticking session?”