Page 35 of Into The Rift

“He can be insufferable, yes.”

“I can’t let him execute Lord Dominiko.”

“You called him Niko just now.”

I felt my face flame. “Maybe I did. I’ve heard his grandmother say it, and it-it seems to suit him.”

“He’s extraordinarily handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. I-I can’t let him be put to death. And he really was just doing as he was ordered. He was…kind to me onboard his ship. He offered to send Rakkur to his clinic. He wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“Baby, you barely know him.”

“I know him well enough to know that I don’t like to think of something happening to him. It’s hard to explain. But I guess I do have feelings for him. Of some kind. Maybe it’s my Tygerian genes, sparse though they may be. Maybe I imprinted on him somehow, or maybe it’s a—what do they call it in those books you read? A crush. But I need to get him out of this. I have to.”

“By stealing the striker? Davos will go after him.”

“Not if he disappears into the rift.”

“It’s far too dangerous, Jago. If Davos finds out—and he will—he’ll be so furious, he might lock you up.”

“Hear me out, please. Let me help him. It isn’t an alternate universe, like you experienced. It’s a different galaxy, and they have different ideas about things. He was following orders so he shouldn’t be punished so harshly for it. Let me send him back to the Pton planet and let him carry out this mission of his that his grandmother wanted him to. Let him kill Emperor Linnius, if he can. Then once that dictator is gone, we can all live in peace, both those on his planet and on ours. It could save countless lives, omak-ahn. Emperor Linnius is savage and without pity from what I’ve heard of him.”

“Jago, be serious. This would be horribly dangerous for you. Guards may shoot at him and you could be collateral damage. How do you know this Dominiko wouldn’t harm you? He’s a stranger to us all, and I can’t risk it. I might never see you again! No, it’s completely out of the question!”

“Omak-ahn, listen to me. I know you’re frightened for me, but I have to do what I think is right. I believe in Niko, and I think he might be able to assassinate this tyrant.”

Blake pulled away with a wounded sound, but I took his hand in mine and turned him back around to face me.

“Listen to me for just a moment. I promise I’ll be brief, and if you still won’t agree, I’ll find another way. I don’t think you know this, but my favorite quote is really old, from a book of Earthan poets that came from you. I found it in my omak’s books as a child and wrote it down to store on my communicator, so I’d never forget it. It says, ‘Like Magellan, let us find our islands to die on, far from home, from anywhere familiar. Let us risk the wildest places, lest we go down in comfort and despair.’”

“That’s a quote from a poem by Mary Oliver. I gave Anarr that book a long time ago when you were just... God, baby…do you even know who Magellan was?”

“An ancient explorer from Earth. I looked him up. He died from a poison arrow on an island far from his home and was buried there.”

“I wonder if his family ever even knew what happened to him?” He closed his eyes, and I regretted putting this pressure on him, but it was far too late now.

“It’s too much to ask of me, Jago. If I let you do this, Davos won’t forgive either me or you. He’ll be furious. No, I can’t do it.”

“I want to have adventures, like you did and like my father did and all my uncles. I want to risk the wild places and not just live in comfort—and despair. I think it would kill me not to travel among the stars and do the things I want to do. This is my chance to do something bold and adventurous—and save Niko’s life at the same time. Please, omak-ahn. You, of all people, have to help me.”

“Me of all people?”

“Yes. You did exactly what it says in the poem. And one day, a long time from now, I hope and pray, you’ll have found your island to die on, far from home. But only look at the life you’ve lived. You did exactly what you wanted to and never looked back.”

He stared at me for a long moment and just as I thought I’d failed to make my case to him, he pulled out his communicator, and I thought for one crazy moment that he might be calling the king. Instead, he brought up a screen and showed it to me—it was the access code for the striker.

“I hate this, and I can’t believe I’m doing it.” He grabbed my hand in his. “Damn it, Jago, you better be careful. I heard what you said about traveling in the stars and finding adventure. I can read between the lines here. What are you planning? Tell me you’re not crazy enough to go with this alien?”

“No, I don’t want to go with him. I just want to get him away. Then when he comes back after the assassination to save his grandmother, he’ll know who helped him. Maybe even admire my courage a little.”

“All right. This is dangerous, so give him the code and get back here. Don’t get too close. We know he’s taken hostages before, and there’s nothing to stop him from doing it again.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“And whatever you do, don’t let him talk you into going with him.”

“I won’t. I’d never do that. I promise. I only want to give him his chance. Thank you, omak-ahn. I love you so much.” I pulled him into a hard hug and then I was gone, racing through the corridors as fast as I could without attracting too much undue notice. I stopped by my quarters long enough to change clothing—my sapphire robes were far too distinctive. And I grabbed a bag that I’d hastily put together, with and some food and water I’d asked the galley staff to bring me. I had no idea if the striker had any supplies on board. I wanted only to get to Lord Dominiko as fast as I could, so afterward I hurried down to the corridor where the holding cells were, let myself in and went down to the one where I’d seen him early that morning.

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