Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay

35

Aidan couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his gut. Since Tag had left, he’d grown more anxious by the minute, their cryptic conversation lurking in his mind.

“Something ain’t right with that feller,” said the old man after paying his bill. Before he left the taproom, he kindly wished them luck with the rest of the race.

“He’s right,” Asher said as soon as they were alone. “Never wanted to brainpan someone more in my life.”

Aidan concurred. The entire interaction felt like being goaded by a lifelong nemesis.

“He’s a grifter,” Priya said crisply. “Just like Onnika and Caryn. They all deserve each other.” She was sour over Onnika’s betrayal, as they all were, but Aidan suspected she’d grown fonder of the two than she wanted to admit, even to herself.

Lear came to Caryn’s defense. “Caryn is no grifter. She can barely lie properly.”

“Aye,” Asher agreed. “She avoids giving an answer rather than tell an outright lie. Onnika’s the one with that talent, which is why she’s always the one talking.”

Talented indeed, Aidan thought bitterly. She nearly had me fooled. Who was he kidding? She’d had him totally fooled. He’d fallen headlong for her. Like a trained pup salivating for a treat, she’d managed him masterfully at every step. Even knowing this, his heart ached for her. His fingers itched to touch her. Her cries of pleasure would haunt him. If he returned now, he’d have her in his bed within the hour. And just as he knew she wouldn’t hesitate take advantage of his weakness, he knew he would let her, because, as Tag had said, he was a fool. A fool in love.

His body tensed. Love? Ridiculous. I can’t be.

“You can’t be what?” Vin asked, and Aidan realized he’d murmured aloud. Instead of replying, he simply scowled and sipped his ale. Fortunately, Vin let it go, leaving Aidan to his thoughts.

Had he really allowed himself to fall in love with a woman who’d intentionally manipulated his feelings to get what she wanted? A thief with no morals? What exactly had she wanted from him? From them? To destroy their chances at winning? Why then, in a move that seemed wholly unnecessary, would she risk her own life to get vouchers for them? More than once. Especially when it seemed her reason for diverting them from the wormhole was to give Tag a chance to jump ahead. The dichotomy formed a ridged rift in his mind.

Now that his anger was cooling, he realized that nothing was making sense.

If she was working with Tag, why would Tag shoot at them and risk killing Onnika? Was he that heartless? Or did she mean so little to him in the grand scheme?

“It makes no sense!” Vin exclaimed, mirroring Aidan’s thoughts. “If Onnika was going to sabotage us from the start, why was she working so hard to help us advance? She must have gotten just as many vouchers as any of us.”

“Waiting for the right time?” Priya offered acidly.

“What was that list all about?” Vin asked. “The one you found in her room?”

Aidan had almost forgotten. He still had it on him. Retrieving the crumpled page from his pocket, he planted it on the table. “It’s a record of our supplies. For what reason, I don’t know.”

Priya snatched it up for closer inspection.

Vin’s mouth twisted in thought. “You think she was making a list of things to steal? Stuff she could sell off later?”

“There’s nothing all that valuable on here,” Priya remarked. “She noted our fifty-pound bag of grain. Cost us all of what? A fraction of a chip? And look, she also marked down items we’re running low on. Mostly perishables. And she’s highlighted things we’ve run out of. I think…well, I think this is just an inventory, so we know what to replenish.”

Aidan reclaimed the sheet, this time really looking at it. In his fury, he’d seen only sinister intent. Now confusion wrestled with his anger and resentment. “But why would she do that?”

Sounding just as baffled, Priya wondered aloud, “To be helpful?” Shaking her head, she added, “I don’t understand any of this. There’s only two reasons that guy would bait you like that. Either they’re working together and he simply wanted to gloat, or she was telling the truth about him. But something doesn’t feel right. With her sabotaging our chances, everything should be clear. Why isn’t it?”

Asher turned his dark expression toward them. All evening he’d been morose and taciturn, until now. “Because we don’t want to believe it. We’ve been suckers with a capital suck. I knew this would happen from the start. I warned you all, did I not?” His words were harsh and fast, resentful, but he couldn’t squash the hurt in his tone.

“I just have a bad feeling,” Priya replied. “Like something else is going on. I feel like we don’t have all the facts. Maybe we should question Onnika and Caryn again. Perhaps if I—”

A replay suddenly popped up on a nearby holo-screen that demanded their immediate attention. A camera seemed to have been trained on the wormhole, waiting for contestants’ arrival. The picture zoomed in on their battle, showing Dragoon racing for the wormhole as a following ship fired at them. The name of the attacking ship flashed on the screen: Vaga. Tag’s ship, just as he’d suspected. And Vaga was closely trailed by another ship that Aidan didn’t even bother noting the name of.

It was strange watching such a replay while mentally reliving the experience.

Dragoonhad been so close to clearing the wormhole, then suddenly veered off course—when Onnika nailed me in the snout, Aidan thought darkly—allowing Vaga and the other ship to slip right through—

Aidan blinked. “Did you see that?”

“Yeah,” Vin replied. “Vaga tried to alter their course at the last second. They tried to follow us, but were too close to the wormhole to avoid going in.”

Lear remarked, “I doona understand. Why would they do that?”

The image on screen shifted to what Aidan soon realized was the wormhole’s exit point, and his jaw dropped.

Two warships were there waiting to pounce on whatever vessel appeared. The two ships were promptly bombarded by munitions. The blasts were so fierce and bright, the camera was blinded for several seconds during the frenzy. Aidan could hardly imagine the confusion of such an unexpected attack. It would be like fish jumping from one pond to the next, only to meet the teeth of a predator.

Shock gave way to panic as both ships scrambled to ward off the attack and get away at the same time. Vaga just barely managed to escape with several ruptures to the hull and appeared to be hemorrhaging fuel. The attack ceased as quickly as it had begun as both ships hobbled away. It seemed the commissioners were behind this little stunt, all in the name of entertainment. What appeared to be an advantage or a shortcut was really a trap. Sure, the two ships that made it through the wormhole had gained a great deal of ground, but if they couldn’t repair their ships in a timely manner, they risked falling farther behind than they were before.

“It was an ambush,” Vin muttered, facing Aidan. “Do you think…well, Onnika couldn’t have figured that out when she attacked you, could she?”

It certainly seemed she’d had some kind of sixth sense about the looming danger. Had there been an obscure signal the rest of them had missed that the wormhole was a trap? Or could Onnika have inside information on the race? If she’d seduced one of the commissioners as easily as she had him, it was possible. She could loosen any man’s lips with her irresistible sensuality.

The bottle that he’d been gripping so hard shattered. With a vile expletive, he swiped the remains away with his forearm. The others went quiet with wary concern.

“It wasn’t Onnika who first sounded the alarm,” Lear revealed. “It was Caryn, remember? Onnika merely took action.”

“Why not just say something?” Priya asked.

“It’s no’ like we had time to hear them out,” Lear replied. “Besides, would we have listened?”

They all nodded, conceding the point.

Aidan pushed out of his seat. “We’ll not get answers here. I don’t care if I have to rip that hatch off its hinges with my bare hands, those girls are coming out of there now.”