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He should have been sleeping, but the night had been long, and slumber had eluded him. Instead, he’d just lain in bed, his mind racing with all that had happened since he began this mission and all that still stood in the way of completing it successfully.
He’d tossed and turned and finally used his comm light to explore the cell in the hopes of finding some way to escape. He hated that Cora was out there alone, trying desperately to help him. He’d figured if he could find his own way out of the cell, he might be able to save her from running into trouble.
Jorvla was a dangerous place, and if Cora was found, she’d be thrown right into that cell with him. Or worse—she’d be taken somewhere else completely and neither of them would find each other before meeting the fates that the Jorvlens had in store for each of them.
But that thought—fate—had given him hope. They’d found each other for a reason, and it wasn’t just to be torn apart again, he was sure of it. Still, his comm had turned up nothing. At least nothing that would help him escape.
Instead, Levi had found the small rubber ball stashed between his mattress and the wall, no doubt left behind by some previous prisoner. It at least gave him something to do other than lying in bed awake and driving himself crazy with worry.
Thadunk!
As Levi whiled away his time, he thought of how much he and Cora had been through already. It seemed almost absurd that in the short time they’d known each other they’d become so close, but somehow it also felt right. That was fate again, he guessed.
Thadunk!
They were two beings from different sides of the galaxy thrown together through nothing more than pure chance, yet it almost seemed like the gods had orchestrated their meeting. How else could it be explained? They fit so perfectly together—their ideas, their values, their determination. And also their senses of humor, their banter, not to mention their bodies.
Thadunk!
He might even say they were meant for each other. In fact, he had already, that’s how transparently good things with Cora were.
Thadunk!
But she’d been gone all night, and as Levi threw and caught the ball over and over again, the gray of dawn began to leak through the grates in the basement window. With the light came a fresh wave of concern.
Now that morning was breaking, he feared even more for Cora’s safety. She was smart of course, and he had no doubt she’d take care to conceal herself. But she was also alone on a planet swarming with Jorvlens that would soon be bathed in daylight. Even he, with his military training, would struggle to remain hidden under those circumstances.
The sudden clank of the basement cell’s metal lock pulled Levi out of his reverie. He managed to catch the rubber ball and stuff it behind his mattress just as the door swung open.
“…so he tells her he doesn’t want any sausage and they leave it at that!” came the brash voice of a Jorvlen guard, his face still turned to the other.
The two of them burst into peals of ugly laughter as they entered the cell, one of them brandishing a tray of what should have been food but looked more like hard, gray animal droppings. Levi made a face. The Jorvlen had evidently seen him, and the laughter dissipated almost immediately.
“Eat up!” snarled the Jorvlen carrying the tray. His mirth had run out, replaced by a thick layer of disdain.
Levi pretended not to notice, and he instead peered at the tray, which the Jorvlen shoved onto the end of his mattress. He preferred not to look at the repulsive gruel longer than he had to and instead shifted his gaze to the Jorvlen guards.
“What do you want with me anyway?” he asked, trying his best to affect an air of innocent naiveté. “Surely this is a bit much. I was only in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.”
The Jorvlen who had given him the food snorted while the one behind him contorted his face into what might have been a sardonic smile if his protruding bottom teeth hadn’t made him look so horrifying.
“Nice try,” said the first one, “but we know who you are.”
Levi’s blood ran cold. His anonymity had been his greatest protection until now, but if the Jorvlens had figured him out, that not only meant trouble for him but for his home planet. And for Cora. Had they already told the king they’d taken him into custody? Did his brothers know?
Levi let out an involuntary groan at the thought of it, and the Jorvlens chuckled.
“You had us fooled for a little while,” said the other Jorvlen, stepping forward and looking down at Levi with that same nightmarish grin. “But we figured you out, Levi, son of King Vrondo. By the way, you make a better bargaining chip than investigator.”
The two of them evidently found this thought hilarious and burst into another round of cackling. Levi just scowled.
“You can make faces all you want,” said the first guard, still laughing. “But the fact is, you got yourself into this one. I guess we owe you our thanks. You’re just what we need to get your father to roll over and deliver Lorr right into our hands. Well done.”
The guards laughed again, and Levi felt his blood go from icy to boiling. Their taunting was exactly the opposite of what he needed, and he longed to unleash his rage onto them, but he knew that would only make things worse.
Instead, he bit his tongue and waited for the guards to grow tired of their mockery.
“What’s the matter?” said one. “Scared of what daddy might say?”
