Avalon

Jeth stopped that thought before it could go any further. He couldn’t bear the idea of what a couple of years might bring, and what it might not.

“We stick to the plan,” he said. “We find Lizzie and let her hack it from the inside.”

“Right.” Sierra pressed her hands together in a silent clap. “Let’s go.”

Jeth put on his space suit as quickly as he could, then headed for the Citation’s small top hatch. Sierra was the only one there so far. He stood across from her, a wave of anxiety washing over him at finding himself truly alone with her for the first time since she’d stolen his ship. His feelings about her were a jumbled mess inside him. He’d been doing his best to ignore them.

Still, Jeth couldn’t help a quick glance at her face. He saw at once that she was more nervous than he was. She looked physically ill, although still as pretty as ever.

He frowned. “You all right?” She nodded, but Jeth wasn’t convinced. He searched for something to say. “I, uh, suppose I ought to thank you for rescuing Cora like you did.”

Sierra blinked in surprise. “You’re . . . um . . . welcome.” She sighed. “And I suppose I ought to say I’m sorry for stealing Avalon.”

Jeth gritted his teeth, the memory somehow more painful now that he was about to lose Avalon for good. “Yeah, you probably should.”

Sierra said nothing.

Jeth folded his arms and leaned against the hatch wall, wanting to keep as much distance as possible between them. “So, why did you, anyway?”

“I thought you intended to betray us. I overheard you telling Milton you would call Renford instead of Hammer.”

Jeth frowned. “I didn’t say that exactly. I mean, there was more to it than that. And I didn’t know who Cora was. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Sierra swallowed, her expression guilty. “I didn’t trust you. Not at first. I had no reason to. You were just a thief hired to bring in the biggest bounty.”

Face flushed, Jeth scowled. “Maybe so, but I’m her brother. Her family.”

Sierra shook her head. “That doesn’t mean anything. Not to me. Blood and family is just a meaningless ideal. Only actions matter.”

“You’re wrong,” Jeth said. “Family does matter. More than anything.”

“I . . .” Sierra’s voice trailed off, and she looked away from him. “I’d planned on telling you the truth about her. That same night, in fact. I thought I’d gotten to know you well enough that it would safe for you to learn the truth. But then I overheard you and Milton. And later I saw you sneak over to the Donerail, and I knew you were searching for the data cell.” Jeth started to protest, but Sierra cut him off. “I understand now what you were doing. Milton explained it to me, and Vince certainly thought I was being a little rash. But if you could have seen it from my point of view, you would understand my reaction.”

“How so?” Jeth said.

“Because Renford . . . he’s my guardian.” She glared. “And I would rather die than be handed over to him again.”

Shock froze Jeth in place. Renford was her guardian? The man who’d abused her so much that when she saw Cora being abused she had to act? His gaze dropped automatically to her hands. He couldn’t see her misshapen fingers through the space suit gloves she was wearing, but he remembered them well. He looked up. “That’s how you know so much, isn’t it? About Renford being a rogue agent and the Northern Dancer?”

Sierra’s expression turned grim. “I lived on that ship for four years up until I took the Aether Project internship. Renford had a part in getting me recruited. He wanted me on the project so I could steal information for him. His home planet is Rosmoor, and he’s been trying for years to bring down the ITA over what they did there with the embargo and the way his people have suffered.”

“Wait,” Jeth said, cutting her off. “Renford is from Rosmoor?”

“Yes,” Sierra said, “although he’s done a good job hiding that from the ITA. He joined long before the embargo, but even then you had to be from a Confederated planet, so he lied on his application.”

“So, does that make him some sort of freedom fighter?” Jeth asked, disliking the notion. It was far too noble a motivation for someone like Renford.

A glower darkened Sierra’s face, and Jeth was glad to see it. “No, he’s nothing but a mercenary. Oh, he acts like his intentions are good and justified, and they might have been at one point for all I know. But he only cares about the money he stands to gain through the Aether Project, and even more about the power.”

“Yeah, I understand the type.”

Sierra exhaled. “You have no idea. I went into the job on the Aether Project fully planning on handing it over to him. Obeying him was what I’d been raised to do, conditioned to do. But Cora and your mother changed all that. Watching them suffer forced me to break free of my own suffering. It was hard. Defying Renford was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. Then the moment I heard you say his name, I lost all sense. I hate him so much.” She stopped speaking and drew a shaky breath.

Jeth stared at her, horrified by the confession and how close to tears she sounded. “If you don’t want to go over there, I understand.”

Sierra cleared her throat. “I have to. I can’t let him win. I’ve come too far. And Cora needs me.”

Jeth frowned. “She needs you?”