The Celestial Code

Chapter Nine

 For some, seeing the vast emptiness of space sent them into a mental spiral, for others it gave them a deep sense of dread. But to Dessa, all she felt when she looked out at the darkness was complete and utter relief. Free. She was free of Avere at last. It wasn't in the way she had thought she would be, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was off planet and on her way home. Even if it meant being stuck in a ship with the Celest prince for a week.

She watched Zaire push a few buttons and then unstrap himself from his seat, giving her a side-long look. "Autopilot will take us to where we need to go now," he said, leaning back and running a hand through his silvery hair.

Dessa narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you get from the priestesses? We're going straight to Tarra, right?"

Zaire said nothing for a long moment, making it obvious they were not, in fact, heading straight to Tarra. "We have to make one more stop before we can get there."

Dessa scowled, jerking to her feet. "That isn't what I signed up for."

"What you signed up for," Zaire said slowly, his voice deliberate, "is freedom from Olvander and his stadistic love for torture. You wanted out so I got you out."

"I wanted to go home too. I didn't sign up to go on some top secret side quest with you. What is all of this even about?" Dessa shouted, waving her hands.

She just wanted to go home. After everything she had endured, she just wanted to hug her dad and Telechus and make sure Elio and Vega were alive. That was it. Was that too much to ask for? The priestesses words rang in her ears once more. What if this side quest was what made it impossible for Dessa to return home? What if Zaire got her killed before he could get her back to Tarra?

Zaire sighed and folded his hands behind his head, his body becoming relaxed. An annoyingly amused smile filled his lips as he peered up at her, silver eyes shining like he found her anger funny. "Relax. We'll be in and out. It'll only take us an extra day."

"An extra day?" Dessa snapped. "Do you not understand that my father could drop another H-bomb on your planet? That the war could escalate in that one extra day?"

Gone was the stoic mask of a hardened soldier. Dessa understood that now. He had been wearing a mask from the minute she'd met him. That hadn't been the real Zaire. The Zaire sitting before her had a cocky look in his eyes and a careless way about him. It was infuriating. He would make a terrible king if he wasn't even taking the war on his own planet seriously.

"One day is not going to escalate the war. People are already dying on both sides. It is what it is."

Anger flared through her. "You have to be kidding me. You really don't care?"

He shrugged, blowing a loose strand of hair out of his face. "Of course I care, but this is important. Going where we're going will sway the war and help with negotiations."

Dessa scrutinized him, hands gripping her hips. "And where is it that we're going?"

He gestured at the consol. A set of coordinates blinked on the screen in front of him. Dessa shrugged, giving him a questioning look. "Am I supposed to know where that is? I'm not a pilot."

Zaire smirked. "We're going to a secret laboratory my father had set up on the edge of the Malgrove system."

She racked her brain, trying to remember if she'd heard of the Malgrove system. Vega may have said something about it... Dessa frowned. Something about an asteroid field. Her eyes widened. "You mean the Malgrove fields?"

Zaire pointed at her. "That's the one."

"As in an asteroid field? Your ship can get through that?"

"All Celest ships can, yes. We'll be fine."