Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Kolt
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled at the definitive sound of the door closing. We’d escaped one cell and run right into another one. I shook off the feeling and sat down, grateful not to have to bend my neck in the low space.
It was only when we were closed in that I fully took in the hidden room.
And it was a room, not a cubby or a crawl space, which was something.
I might not be able to stand without hunching, but Skye could.
It must have been part of the dressing room that had been enclosed to make a secret space, which made me wonder how many others had hidden in here before.
Despite the slightly stale air, it wasn’t as stark as one might imagine.
A bed huddled against one wall, pillows and blankets rumpled as if the last inhabitant had left in a rush.
There were no chairs, but a few stuffed ottomans with deep impressions in the center had clearly served the same purpose.
The only light in the place came from a single, naked light tube, which was anchored unevenly to the ceiling with a dingy string dangling beside it, and the wood-paneled walls were bare.
At least there weren’t marks counting off days etched into them like in the prison cell.
“This isn’t so bad,” Skye said, her voice unnaturally bright.
I grunted but had to agree. “It is better than the cell.”
She rubbed her arms, even though the room was warm. “It’s odd to be back in a contained space, though.” She took a few steps to the bed and sank onto it. “You don’t think she was lying to us, do you?”
I studied the human’s pinched brow and jiggling leg. She wasn’t completely pleased with our new accommodations, even though she attempted to smile.
I took her question to heart, deciding that there was no sense in lying to her. “I did not sense deception in the female. If she wanted to lead the Zagrath to us, she could have done that.”
Skye released a breath, and her leg stopped jiggling. “I think she was being honest too, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I wanted to believe her so badly.”
I thought back to the woman’s face when she’d told us about the Empire taking over the planet and enforcing restrictions and censorship.
“She is no loyal subject of the Zagrath. I might not remember much about my past, but my instincts still work. Mine tell me that she wants to help us and that she enjoys the idea of fooling the enemy.”
Skye let out a small laugh. “I guess that’s good enough for me.” She swiveled her head to take in the entire space. “I wonder how many other people have hidden in here.”
I wondered how many had safely evaded the Imperial troops and if any had been found in the hideout, but if the Zagrath knew of the hidden space, the female who called herself Athena would not have offered it to us, would she?
Outside the sliding door, came the sound of pounding boots and raised voices, all muffled by the door and the rack of clothing.
I held up a hand to warn Skye, but she was already silent and wide-eyed.
Deep, male voices were met by higher female ones, and finally the authoritative chirp of a voice I was almost certain was the orange-haired stage manager.
I held my breath, expecting to hear the rack dragged aside and see the door fly open, but after a few more rumbling words, the footsteps faded and the voices disappeared. When I was sure they were gone, I released my breath.
“It worked,” Skye whispered. “They came into the dressing room but didn’t find us.”
“It would seem that Athena saved us.”
Skye nodded, slumping back onto the bed. “This has been a very weird day.”
I looked down at the odd clothing covering me and the blood that had dried on my hands.
It seemed ages ago that we’d staged the scene in the cell and taken out the guard.
Now that we weren’t running through the city and adrenaline wasn’t coursing through my veins, my leg pulsed with pain that had dulled into a distant throb.
I put a hand to the fabric covering the self-inflicted gash, grateful that there was no blood seeping through. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a worry though.
I frowned at the snug costume that covered most of my skin, itching to take it off. But since I’d left my battle kilt where I’d changed, I had nothing else to wear.
“How’s your leg?”
I snapped my head up, startled by her question.
“You’re touching it and grimacing,” she said, explaining what I hadn’t even asked.
“It is fine,” I said, although something told me it wasn’t.
She sat up. “You cut yourself with the end of a spoon that wasn’t sterilized. It might have stopped bleeding, but it should be cleaned properly.”
I grunted, flicking my gaze around the room. “With what?”
Her lips thinned for a beat. “When Athena comes back, I’ll ask her for some water and a cloth. Maybe some bandages. This is a theatre. I’m sure they have all sorts of supplies.”
“I hope they have food,” I muttered as my stomach groaned.
Skye flopped back onto the bed. “Don’t think about it. The more you think about being hungry, the hungrier you’ll be.”
I moved myself to one of the saggy ottomans, the puff deflating considerably from my weight. “Does that work for you? Trying not to think about something?”
She blew out a breath loudly. “No. Earlier you told me not to think about the heat, and you were right. Now being hungry is all I can think about. Even that awful Zagrath soup doesn’t seem so bad.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I am not that hungry.”
She laughed, rolling her head to one side to look at me. “I don’t know much about Vandar food. What’s it like?” Then, as if she just remembered that I couldn’t remember, she sucked in a quick breath. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It is fine,” I said, as scents and tastes flashed back to me. “I think I remember some foods—spicy stew and soft bread.”
A soft moan slipped from her lips. “I would kill for some bread right now. Jasmine’s bakery made the most delicious bread. It was a recipe passed down from her parents.” She closed her eyes and dragged in a deep breath. “I can almost smell the yeast if I think about it hard enough.”
I closed my eyes as well, concentrating on the vague memories of soft bread and reaching for the memories that danced just out of reach like wisps of smoke.
“This isn’t helping, is it?”
I opened my eyes and found Skye watching me. “No, it isn’t.”
Her expression slid from amusement to something more tender. “I’m sorry about your memories. It must be pretty scary not to remember who you are.”
Somewhere deep inside, I bristled at the idea of being scared. “I am still me, even if I don’t recall every detail of my past. My Vandar instincts are still there.”
“That’s true. You fight like a badass even if you don’t remember how you know how to do the things you do.”
It was hard to explain that I remembered the feeling of being Vandar—the power, the courage, the determination—even if I didn’t know how I did.
It was muscle memory that responded when I was in a fight, but there was a deeper awareness that remained at my core.
And at my core, I knew that Vandar were brave and honorable, and the Zagrath were my enemy. For now, that was enough.
“It doesn’t help that we’re far away from anything familiar,” Skye said, turning her head so she faced the ceiling. “Nothing around here strikes me as very Vandar.”
I thought of the heat of the city, the extravagant stage sets, and the scent of dust and grime that had clung to the alleys. None of it felt familiar.
Correction. One thing felt familiar. My gaze lingered on the female stretched across the bed.
Of all the things in the strange city, she felt safe.
She felt like a piece of the puzzle that fit perfectly.
It didn’t matter that she insisted we hadn’t been lovers.
It didn’t matter that the thought of humans in general made me uneasy.
It didn’t even matter that she claimed I hadn’t liked her.
There was one advantage to having memories stripped away. It left only instincts and feelings—and my instincts told me that Skye was mine. Even if she didn’t know it yet, I did.