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“Get ready to run,” he told Cora as he switched out of hyperdrive, just seconds away from the space station.
In a breakneck move, he brought the shuttle flying into the first empty docking bay he saw, just in time to avoid crashing nose-first into the landing pad. The shuttle landed instead with a heavy jolt, and the moment the transparent airlock doors closed behind them, Levi pushed open the shuttle’s doors.
A second later, he and Cora were running into the station itself, not even looking back as the enforcement patrol ship hovered outside the space station helplessly.
Now all they had to do was find a way to get to Noxxa. Levi had a feeling he knew just how.
Chapter 27
Cora’s heart raced as she and Levi ran hand in hand through the space station. It didn’t race with fear, though, but excitement. After their three days of rest in the shack on Jorvla, Cora was ready for more adventure, and the mission would be well and truly delivered.
“In here,” Cora suddenly called, catching sight of a bathroom.
Levi followed her inside, and the two took the chance to catch their breath.
The bathroom was empty except for the two of them, and Cora couldn’t help but break out into a wide smile as she gazed up into Levi’s eyes, still panting from the run.
“What?” he asked, smiling back.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m just having fun.”
Levi laughed—a hearty, good-natured laugh that made Cora fall in love with him all the more.
“You’re something else. You know that?” he asked, grinning at her.
“So, what’s the plan from here?” she asked. “Steal another ship?”
Levi shook his head.
“I might be a fugitive,” he replied, “but I’m also a Prince of Lorr, and as long as nobody knows I’m both, I can use that title to pull some strings. It has some sway, just as long as we’re not on Jorvla.”
Cora grinned.
“Well, Your Royal Highness,” she said, affecting a little curtsy just for fun. “You may want to clean up a little. Right now, you’re a little more ‘column A’ than you might prefer.”
Levi turned to look in the mirror behind him and did a double-take at what he saw.
His clothes and skin were marred with dust, his hair was matted, and a small cut on his forehead was encrusted with dry blood. He looked a lot more like a fugitive than any prince she’d ever seen.
Cora didn’t look much better, though. Her light skin had turned such a dirty, sickly gray from Jorvla’s desert dust, with smears of black soot crisscrossing her cheeks and forehead that she felt she looked half-Jorvlen. The clothes she’d stolen were filthy now, and her usually curly, shiny hair was dull, dusty, and frizzy.
In the mirror, they grinned at each other before doing their best to wash up in the bathroom’s basins.
Miraculously, no one else came in, and by the time they were done, they looked semi-presentable. Cora even had a couple of extra shirts stashed away from the pile of clothes she’d stolen—one for each of them.
“All right, Prince Levi,” she said, taking his hand. “Let’s go get a ship.”
Levi grinned at her, taking her hand and leading her out of the now mud-streaked bathroom.
It wasn’t far to the ship rental desk, but before they approached, Levi stopped her.
“I know I said we’d go back to Noxxa to get my ship, but we lost some time in the chase. What say we just get a ship and follow the Imperial Surfer from here?” he asked.
Cora smiled, happy he was consulting her. It really felt like they were a team. Even though she trusted his call implicitly, she loved that he asked her opinion.
“For sure,” she told him.
He smiled at her, squeezing her hand before leading her to the rental desk.
