LITMIR.BIZ

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there even any support still left around here? Maybe people want Adam in charge. I mean, he destroyed the Remnant and overthrew the Commander. He’s probably not anyone’s first choice, but you never know.”

      “I have no idea,” said Eren. “No one talks to me. I’m too close to Adam. And I’m married to you, remember? You’re not exactly popular with either group, either, you know.”

      He was probably referring to the fact that I’d killed the Commander and betrayed Isaiah, putting me squarely at odds with both Central Command and the Remnant. That would also account for the depressing fact that in five years, no one had bothered rescuing me, rebellion or not.

      “Can you arrange another patient transport? Say, tonight?”

      “Charlotte. We have no allies. No resources.”

      “Aren’t you the Lieutenant Commander? I seem to remember something about that from my hospital stay.”

      He gave me a long look, then turned back to fiddle with the control panel. “I was, for a little while. The position changed hands a few years ago.”

      “Yeah, yeah. I met her. Early thirties, kinda stabby, likes to play with needles? Arms like a bear trap.”

      “No. I mean, yes, she’s the real LC. But that’s a secret. Officially, on paper, it’s someone else.”

      “Anyone I know?” I scanned my brain for candidates, but Eren had stopped dinking around and sat still instead, staring at the constellation hologram. It was disconcerting. “Earth to Eren.”

      “Yeah, Char. It’s you.”

      I snorted. “Me.”

      “Lieutenant Everest,” he said, using our married name. His voice was blank, but there was a sad softness in his eyes that made me reach for his hand. He pulled away, and I whisked air. It was like falling through an unseen crack in the middle of a familiar street.

      “Eren, please. We can’t just—”

      “Lieutenant!” a voice pierced our conversation, and I forced myself not to jump.

      “Mnmm.” I glanced up sleepily. A uniformed man strode toward us, insignia blazing, and my hand wandered toward the emblems on my own uniform. His mouth concealed a sneer. It hit me that he’d probably been in the military all his life, and I, to all the world an idiot, outranked him. Adam played a dangerous game.

      He saluted, an action I did not return, and a look of disdain, or pity, crept over his face. “Inform the High Commander that the day’s operations are completed.”

      Now, how in the heck was I supposed to talk to Adam?

      I sat there, dumb as a stump, until Eren laid a hand on mine. It was warm, and for a moment, I felt secure again. “Here,” he said, his voice gentle and slow. He slid my fingers across the control panel in front of us and pressed my finger over an iridescent plate an inch wide. Fingerprint scanner, I supposed. “InterArk Comm Con to headquarters.”

      There was a pause, then a rustle, and Adam spoke.

      “Command.”

      The two men looked at me, and I used my best sleepy voice. “The day’s operations are complete. Comp-leted,” I corrected myself with a slur.

      “Dismiss the crew. Send her over, Everest,” came the reply. “Command out.”

      The man in uniform scoffed and trooped away.

      The crew filed out of the room without a second glance at me, and when the door closed behind them, Eren cleared his throat. “So.”

      “So,” I replied expectantly. “Ideas. Thinking. We need a plan.” He continued to look at me, and I felt a little trill of panic. “Quickly, please.”

      “You’re wanted at headquarters,” he said.

      I stared at him. “Yeah. That’s why the hurry, slick.” A look I couldn’t place crossed over his face, and I felt myself get angry. He still wouldn’t meet my eye. Another moment passed, and my hands went cold. I was finally free from stasis. Why was he just sitting there? “Look, Eren. I know I can’t imagine what you’ve been through in the last five years, but please. Get it together. If Adam figures out that I’m awake right now, he’ll put me under for another year. That can’t be what you really want.” I heard my voice crack, and it sounded like it belonged to someone else. “Surely.”

      “Charlotte,” he said gently. “He’s—”

      “Don’t Charlotte me. I am not going back to him. I have to… I have to get out of here.”

      Another moment went by. Was he afraid the room was bugged? I leaned in to whisper, for whatever that was worth. “Eren. I’m leaving. With or without you. And the next time I go back to Adam, it’ll be to stop him. For good.”

      He looked at me, slack-jawed, but said nothing. What was wrong with him?

      My breath came shorter. I’d have to do this without him. Well, maybe it didn’t matter. I had survived on the run before. Granted, Adam was smarter and more prepared than anyone else I’d ever run from, but I couldn’t let that scare me. I would rather die than spend another minute under his spell.

      I stood angrily, knocking my chair backwards, and stalked out of the room.

      My face burned beneath my skin. So much for Eren Everest. Adam was a threat to everything I’d ever cared about. If Eren thought I would go back to him, or if he thought for one second that I would somehow play nice until we got to Eirenea, then he never knew me at all.

       Four

      My first order of business was to get good and hidden. I jogged about halfway down the hall before the sound of footsteps jarred me back to reality, and I forced my pace to slow. If I were going to make it through this, I needed to look like a puppet.

      A pair of officers walked past, giving me ample space on the carpet lining the center of the floor. I let my gaze drift idly to the chandeliers overhead. They’d sustained a fair amount of damage during the loss of gravity following An’s torpedo, but someone had taken the time to rehang them, untangling their delicate strings of crystals. They were repaired as well as could be expected. I shifted my focus away. It wasn’t like you could replace something like that up here. There were no craftworkers in Central Command, anyway. The officers passed, and I paused, listening for more footsteps, then took off running again.

      It wasn’t until I got all the way to the door that I realized that I had nowhere to go. Subconsciously, I’d been heading for the stairwell and the cargo space beneath the main part of the ship. But it no longer existed, and whatever was left of it wasn’t pressurized. The next thought that hit me was worse: the Remnant was gone, too.

       I owe you for that one, An. I haven’t forgotten.

      I endured a crippling moment of panic before I finally understood that I had no real options. My only hope was to delay my return to Adam as long as could be believable, and hope I came up with some kind of a plan before he caught on. Which wouldn’t be long.

      A weapon would be a good start. Something I could hide in my sleeve.

      Eren seemed pretty tight with Adam. Did Adam trust him enough to let him carry a gun? I hadn’t seen one on him, so I decided to search his room. If I got caught, I could always act like I’d wandered in out of habit. After all, it was my room, too, apparently.

      The room smelled good in spite of the sterility of space and the crumpled pile of clothes near the door. Peppermint and toasted bread. I shrugged it off and got to work.

      A cursory search revealed no gun in his desk, or under the bed, or anywhere in the wardrobe. I grunted and sat back on my heels to think. I was a

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