Chapter 30 In The Chaos #2
I go to ask her what that means, but Vee beats me to it, shooting me a knowing look. “It means ‘little one.’ Dev called me that once.”
He’s managed to charm a complete stranger, and Hina leaves with a warm smile for him.
Vee leads me to the car he’d come pelting out of, where Tanisira waits with narrowed eyes.
She opens the passenger door but stops me from getting in with a hand on my waist. The heat of it shouldn’t make my stomach flip, but it does.
Stupid—and exhausting—when my body’s been through so much already tonight.
“You didn’t mention that your plan included being arrested,” she hisses under her breath.
“Please don’t, Tee. Not right now.”
She gives me a prim nod and steps aside. I miss her hand on me as soon as it’s gone. As she pulls out of the parking lot, Vee immediately slots his face between the two front seats. “Where are we going now?”
Tanisira glances at me. “It’s up to you. I have a ship, so we can go there, but the whole crew is onboard and I figured you might want somewhere quiet.”
That sends a jolt through me. There’s a lot to unpack there, but later, when I don’t want to faceplant. She’d mentioned a ship earlier, but the crew? “You’ve been busy. A hotel?”
“Don’t you live here?” Vee interrupts. “Like, in a house?”
“Vee.” I shake my head.
But Tanisira laughs under her breath—a little huff of a thing—and spins the wheel, turning the car in a tight 180 on the empty streets. “He’s somewhat right. Plus, I didn’t exactly tell anyone Vee was leaving with me, so it might be best we avoid public places for now.”
It takes a full minute for my sloggy brain to process her words. “You kidnapped him again?”
When she laughs, it’s deep and infectious, and I can tell she needed it—as did I. A layer of anxiety sloughs off me.
“I snuck Vee out using the secret doorway in the dining hall before things really kicked off. Dominik was talking to the officers about going to find him when we slipped around the side of the manor.”
“I’ll let the police know he’s with me when we get to your—” I raise my eyebrows. “Mum’s house?”
She nods. “Both she and my sister live in the Solari Terraces, which is at the very edge of the Domeheart. Traffic will be picking up around now—the working day here starts earlier than you’re used to—so it’ll be around an hour’s drive. You should sleep.”
Even the prospect of seeing the Domeheart in passing can’t compete with the idea of a nap. My last remaining brain cell turns itself off. I flatten my seat and curl up on it, out within seconds.
I wake up not in the car but on a bed. After several attempts, I manage to get my eyelids to stay open.
A brief turn of my cottony head reveals a small bedroom in dim lighting, but no details beyond shadows.
Sitting up is an exercise in willpower, but I eventually get out of bed, acknowledging every single aching muscle in my body—which is most of them.
My feet, most of all, are killing me, and I have what feels like a thousand blisters from those shoes. I fumble in the dark for the switch to the blackout blinds and hiss like a vampire when they flicker open. I have to turn my back to the blinding daylight, and I take stock of where I am.
A guest bedroom, if I were to guess, by the inoffensive bedding and no-nonsense furniture.
Cream walls, powder blue rug, mirror hanging on the back of the door.
I’m still wearing my dress and leggings, inspiring fashion gurus everywhere.
And when I run a hand over my head, too afraid to actually look at my reflection, I can feel the halo of snarled curls exploding from my scalp.
I wince. Untangling that won’t be fun.
How the hell did I get into the bed? I don’t remember moving from the car, or even waking up for that matter.
I go to peer out the window and stare in wonderment at a sweeping panorama.
Suryavana’s domed skyline stretches away from me, the core of its city nestled into the vast canyon beyond.
In the distance, Red Horizon’s landing lights shimmer, drawing attention to its very on-the-nose name and not caring at all.
If this is one of the terraces Tanisira mentioned, we’re really bloody high up.
But the view is incredible; the great rift of Valles Marineris stretching endlessly into the horizon.
I can’t figure out how to open the window, so I gracelessly stick my face to the glass and peer down at the curving domes of all the rooftops.
They unfurl outwards like a network of luminous shells, reflecting the pale sun.
Transit lines snake between the domes, maglev trains leaving faint streaks of light as they glide between districts.
To the east, I catch the slow descent of a cargo freighter against the rust-coloured sky; a gradient of deep crimson fading into a violet-black abyss.
It’s stunning.
The door opens behind me, and Tanisira appears against the jamb, looking much more comfortable in cream trousers and a lilac sweater. I blink. It’s almost more disorienting to see her in lilac than it was in the dress. She notices my expression and scowls.
“It’s my Nayya’s. My sister’s sense of style is... not for me.”
“And this is?” I grin.
Tanisira merely cocks a brow at me. “For that, you don’t get to choose your Kiran outfit. I hope you like bras that she swears are shirts, and shorts that show off approximately half your ass.”
It feels good to laugh, even if it does hurt a little. She sits on the edge of the bed, then pats the space next to her. It’s embarrassing how quickly I curl up next to her. I’m tempted to put my head in her lap, too, but considering the trouble I’ve caused her, I refrain.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
“Exhausted. Achy.”
“I bet your feet are throbbing. Mine feel like minced meat.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know how people wear those shoes all day.”
“Do you really want to talk about feet?” I peer up at her. It’s not like Tanisira to indulge in inane chatter.
She hesitates, and my stomach drops. Cursed stars, did something happen while I was asleep?
“No,” she admits. “But I don’t want to push you to talk about last night if you’re not ready. You were so tired you didn’t stir once, not even when I carried you to bed.”
My shoulders lower. “Oh. Thank you, but we really should talk.”
“Right.”
“Where’s Vee? Is he okay?”
Tanisira snorts. “Teaching my Nayya how to play video games and terrorising her dog. He’s fine.”
That brings a smile to my face. “He’s always wanted a pet, but it wouldn’t be fair to have one cooped up in our home when no one’s ever there. I bet he’s having the time of his life.”
“Luckily, Tano likes an abundance of kisses.”
“Tano? Doesn’t that mean five?”
“Yes, and when you meet him, you’ll quickly realise he only has five brain cells.”
Throwing caution to the wind, I rest my head on her shoulder.
I shouldn’t have worried because Tanisira puts her arm around my waist, tucking me into her side and melting my heart all at the same time.
She smells like lavender. Combined with the lilac sweater, it makes me wonder if that’s a stock scent she carries from her childhood.
Maybe her Nayya loves the colour and always had them around the house.
I feel like I was angry at her for something, but I can’t remember why. Right now, I just want to be close to her.
“What happened when I left the manor?”
“Left? Don’t you mean arrested?”
“You know what I mean,” I say, huffing a laugh.
She sighs. “Once the police arrived, everyone started to leave. Mae managed to slip us out in the chaos. I don’t think Gryphon even knew I was still there.
From what we could hear—although a lot of that was in passing as we made our way through the passages—Gryphon was throwing around accusations.
However, a few concerned guests thought the officers should know about the projection. ”
I open my mouth, but she intercepts. “I had already sent the video to the police earlier, but I wanted a backup plan just in case Gryphon had friends in high places, and it went unquestioned.”
I suppose with Tanisira’s history, she knows all too well how easily law enforcement can be paid off. Her quick thinking might have saved me from my own bad decisions
“What a shitshow,” I mumble into her neck.
She shivers, hard enough it ripples through my own body.
“Yes, but Gryphon has nothing to hold over your head now. I don’t think this will affect him outright—I’d be surprised if anyone in his circle is virtuous enough to care about morals—but his true colours have been revealed.
He must know there’s nothing else he can try to get you to heel.
Any attempts to paint you as an unfit mother after this will come across as suspicious. ”
To heel—like a dog, a pet. “That’s exactly how he treats us: like accessories. As soon as I can, I’m filing for full custody. I don’t want Vee around that man until he gets some psychiatric help.”
I’d rather never, but after all this, I don’t know what Vee’s feelings about Dominik are.
I need to sit down with him and have a conversation about all of this; including the ways in which I failed him.
I’ve never asked him what he wanted, and it makes me feel sick that—despite trying so hard not to—I treated him like my parents treated me.
Tanisira nods, but she looks preoccupied. I wait her out, knowing that something else is on the tip of her tongue. It’s not a hardship, sitting curled up in her arms. I inhale deeply, enjoying the soft scent of her skin, regulating my breathing, and eventually nodding off a little.
When she cracks, it startles me awake.
“I meant to say it earlier, but you do, too.”
I peer up at her, sleepy but curious about what kept her so distracted. I don’t even know how much time passed while I snoozed. Her expression is hard to read when she meets my eyes, though. I scour her face, but she won’t let me in.
“I do too, what?”
“Deserve better than this; than him.”
My heart clenches, and I don’t know what to say. I’m trying not to beat myself up for how I treated Tanisira over the past few days, but I feel terrible about it. I’m so lucky she came back for me anyway. I do deserve better than Dominik, but right now, I don’t know if I deserve her.