Page 33 of Claiming Sarah

“I didn’t even know there was a city like that on Halla,” she said, her eyes brimming with excitement at the thought of a new adventure. “But then, no one really likes to talk about Halla, either. It’s like talking about death, and who likes that? Uh yeah, sure, I’ll go with you. Maybe I can refill some of my supplies there—”

“Rex Terian runs the place and we’re going to see him,” I interjected.

“Nope. Not going,” Ode quickly backtracked. “Take Wave. She can patch up whatever you break until you get back to me.” She closed up her med kit bag with a snap and walked toward the exit.

Jac’s jaw dropped open in shock at her quick turnaround at the mention of Rex. “Are you kidding, Ode?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“No, but—”

“I’ll help take care of the twins while you’re gone. Safe journey,” she said as she left the infirmary.

Rarely had I ever seen Jac more surprised as he stared after Ode’s retreating form. “The hell was that?”

I shrugged as innocently as I could manage but playing dumb was not my strong suit. “Some people just don’t like the Terians.”

“Yeah, I mean, I know they’re a controversial family, but that was so unlike Ode.” He scratched at the slight stubble growingalong his jaw, looking and sounding completely baffled. “She likes to go everywhere and especially new places. That’s why she took the commission on my crew.”

“We will take Wave, like she said. It will be fine,” I lied.

CHAPTER 10

Sarah

“Eight days?” I was flabbergasted.

Leda nodded. “The walk from Faithless to here is eight days,” she confirmed.

I did not like the idea of being on foot for eight days, when the ghost conduits could attack us on that journey. Thankfully, it was not an issue. Before my imagination ran away too fast, Deacon quickly reassured me.

“Not to worry,” he said, patting the back of my hand. “That is why we are on boardAllegiantfor this trip.”

Me, Leda, Deacon, and Jac were seated in the café onAllegiant, while Deacon’s pilot Drift flew us toward Faithless. Wave was stowed away in her infirmary. I wasn’t sure where Omen was, but last I saw her, she was with Drift.

The café was small and intimate, with only a few small tables and built-in couches. It was brightly lit, like every other inch ofAllegiant, and the window gave a zippy view of the outside. We were over the forest, so most of what I saw was green.

“The conduit temple is three hours away when we take this ship, so how long will it take to get to Faithless, if it’s an eight-day hike?” I asked, trying to figure out the timeline. “I feel like this is one of those awful math equations on the SAT.”

Jac quickly explained to a confused Deacon before he asked what an SAT was. “It’s a miserable standardized test. You don’t want to know.”

“Very well,” he said, accepting Jac’s comment before glancing back at me. “It should take approximately four hours to get to Faithless.”

I frowned. “But Jac’s ship can get to Earth super-fast, so why not takeSovereign?”

Jac smiled. “That is because that trip is in space—out of atmo, eh, a planet’s atmosphere. If we traveled that fast within a planet’s atmosphere, the ship would likely fall apart. There is too much resistance within normal air. Or we would scorch the planet. Or both.Sovereignis actually slower thanAllegiant, so taking Deacon’s ship is the better plan.”

“How far is Earth from here, anyway?” I wondered curiously. “Because it seems like it only takes a couple of hours to get there onSovereign.”

“That’s because it does,” Jac said, reclining back in his chair. “Right now, we are approximately 6400 light years from Earth.”

My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe I was so far away from my sisters. “Wait, really?”

He nodded. “Yes. That trip takes just a few hours because we can use a bubble for FTL travel.”

I shook my head in confusion. “I’m sorry, FTL what?”

“Faster-than-light travel,” Deacon explained. “Do they not teach astrophysics on Earth?”

---