Through the Nether by Richard Fox & Jason Anspach & Nick Cole

Author:Richard Fox & Jason Anspach & Nick Cole [Fox, Richard & Anspach, Jason & Cole, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Galaxy's Edge Press
Published: 2019-12-17T22:00:00+00:00

When Soren next saw the Cassari she slept in Zelle’s bunk, her dark hair splayed out across the pillow and the bare skin of her top arms and shoulders exposed to the ship’s air. One foot dangled off the edge. That she slept in the nude had not come as a surprise to Soren.

He stood in the doorway, feeling uncomfortable and guilty as he watched her sleep. But he kept watching all the same.

The days of transit had accomplished little in the way of gleaning information from Illuria. Every time he pressed on dark man, how he extracted her memories, or the name of the man she could never remember, she shut down. He began to believe that this was due to some mental conditioning on the part of the dark man’s interrogation method.

At least he had a better idea as to Scarpia’s smuggling network. His former network at any rate. Most of it had evaporated after the near terrorist strike on the House of Reason. The consort and the smuggler had some connection to a powerful player, but who that connection was remained just out of his reach.

Soren waited a few more moments, noting that even her faint snores were adorable, then cleared his throat loudly.

She awoke with a start and clutched the blanket against her chest.

“Oh, Mr. Soren,” she fluttered her eyes at him. “Are you here to keep me warm?” She slowly pulled the blanket lower and he turned around.

“We’re almost to Lussuria. Get dressed.”

“That’s…that’s good. My love will need his bond back.”

“Why do you call him that?” he asked, listening to the sound of her slip back into her dress, unable to hide his disgust at her words. “He rented you. Abused you. Now he’s returning you in disgrace.”

“A consort’s affections are guaranteed. My love paid the highest fee in my clan’s history when he chose me before the others. He honored me with the price. How I failed him and betrayed him after so many years of kindness…”

“But you don’t even remember what you did.” Soren turned back around as she finished putting on her shoes. “How do you know that’s actually what happened?”

“He loved me for so long, then he didn’t. It is my fault.” She looked in a grimy mirror fastened to the bulkhead and brushed her fingers through her hair. “It has to be.”

Sore decided to give it all another go. There wasn’t much time left and once she was back with her clan, he doubted he’d ever have the chance to speak with her again. “From what you do remember, it has something to do with the attack on Utopion.”

She shrugged. “For all these hours, for this to be all you are concerned with, when you can have so much more… you are a strange man.”

Soren shrugged in turn. “Maybe this is something the Republic would want to know about.”

“Now why would the Republic want that? My love knows plenty of people in the Republic; Admirals and senators and bureaucrats. Many visited and did enjoy our house on Pthalo.

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