Page 33 of Only Hard Problems

Asterin snorted, although it sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. At least I was amusing someone tonight.

“Well, I need a drink to deal with your supposedcharms,” Leandra sniped.

“I assure you, my offer is quite genuine. I could use someone like you in the Arrows.”

Leandra laughed again, then shook her head and walked away. Tivona shot me another angry glower and followed her, leaving me alone with Asterin.

I looked her over the same way I had done with Beatrice and Wendell earlier. Someone, most likely Rigel, must have given her a skinbond, because the reddish bruise on the side of her head had vanished, as had the cuts, scrapes, and other minor injuries that had dotted her skin.

Asterin crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want, Zane? It’s been a long night. I want to go to my hotel, soak in a warm bath, and go to bed.”

She wasn’t the only one who was exhausted, but I still had one final duty to perform, so I reached into my coat pocket and drew out the lunarium jewelry box I’d been carrying around for hours.

Asterin froze. Something that looked a lot like panic flickered across her face, although the emotion vanished in an instant. “What isthat?” she asked in a sharp, suspicious voice.

I turned the box around in my hands. The Techwave cannon blast had melted the delicate silver filigree, transforming the once-elegant ribbons into jagged bumps of metal. Most of the pale lunarium still sparkled with color, although the edges were as charred and blackened as my ruined tailcoat. “It was a solstice gift for you, although I’m afraid it got damaged when Silas blasted me in the chest.”

Asterin’s eyebrows shot up. “That box saved you from the Techwaver’s cannon?”

“More or less.”

I dug my fingers into the silver seams, which had fused together. It took me several tries, along with a fair bit of telekinesis, but I finally managed to pry the box open.

The lunarium might have saved my life, but the entire box had overheated and melted the necklace inside. The silver choker studded with blue opals was now a lumpy mass of metal and jewels that looked like it had been fused together without any true purpose, beauty, or design.

I grimaced. “I’m sorry. I was hoping the necklace might have survived the cannon blast. I could have it repaired . . .” My voice trailed off. We could both see there was no saving the necklace.

“There’s no need for that. It’s the thought that counts, right?” Asterin gave me a tired smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes.

“I suppose so,” I replied, matching her forced politeness. “Perhaps I can give you a proper gift the next time we meet.”

Asterin shook her head. “That’s not necessary.” Her lips twisted. “Besides, I’ve just received an urgent message. My mother and stepfather would like me to return home for a while, given what happened here tonight.”

I slowly closed the box and dropped it to my side. “I see.”

Asterin going back to her home planet of Sygnustern meant that we wouldn’t be getting engaged anytime soon. In fact, Asterin’s departure might just spell the end of my grandmother’s marriage scheme once and for all. I should be happy, ecstatic, thrilled, even. But instead, I felt . . . unsettled. Then again, I always felt better when I could keep an eye on my enemies—and Asterinwasan enemy.

Oh, she might not try to murder me outright or be actively plotting the downfall of the Imperium like the Techwave was, but it was clear that Asterin Armas had her own agenda. I had enough problems of my own to solve. I didn’t need to get entangled in anyone else’s complications, but I had the strangest sense that I was going to get dragged into Asterin’s mysterious troubles sooner rather than later.

“Thank you for coming after me when the Black Scarab dragged me into the woods,” Asterin said in a stiff voice, as if it physically pained her to say the words.

I wouldn’t have wanted to thank me either, and it would have greatly annoyed me to have to say the words to her if our roles had been reversed. I had never enjoyed having to make nice with an adversary, even when we were briefly on the same side.

Asterin cleared her throat. “You didn’t have to do that,” she finished.

“Yes, I did.”

I would have helped Asterin no matter what kind of danger she was in, because that was my job as an Arrow. It might not be much, but it was the only bit of honor I had. Besides, Asterin was the most intriguing person I had met in a long time. Intriguing people might make life difficult, but they also made it interesting. I’d much rather triumph in a hard-fought battle over a worthy opponent than steamroll over a weak enemy, and Asterin Armas was definitelynotweak.

Asterin hesitated, and when she spoke again, her voice was pitched much lower and softer than before. “I hope you find the answers you’re looking for, especially about Vesper and the rest of your family.”

My chest tightened, but I forced myself to smile as though her words didn’t bother me at all. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat, remembering what she had revealed to me on the dance floor. “And good luck with your family as well.”

She smiled back at me, her expression as tight and tense as mine. “Good-bye, Zane.”

“Good-bye, Asterin.”

She studied me a second longer, then spun around and strode away.

---