Thea

“Babe, you sure this is everything?” I pulled the pack up over my shoulder, letting Bryce leave the observation room first before I followed her out. “Once we get down there, Softie isn’t going to want to bring the ship back unless it’s an emergency.”

“I haven’t really had a chance to build up a real collection of components. So, yeah, this is it,” she called back over her shoulder, but then slowed to a stop as Ithnaa appeared a few meters in front of us with Leila. “That was worryingly fast. Were you able to meet with Suhali?”

“Yes, but you’re right to be concerned.” Ithnaa marched up to us with a scowl, and I took a step towards Bryce just in case. “Mother is already here. She arrived yesterday morning.”

“Shit. That’s probably not good,” I astutely pointed out. “This changes things, right? What’s the new plan?”

“Yeah, this changes things.” Bryce started chewing on her lower lip as she paused to think. It was adorable. “But maybe not as much as you think. Can we trust Suhali?”

“I’m honestly not sure,” Leila sorta answered. “On one hand, she clearly wants Mother dead, but at the same time, she’s not going to risk herself or her people to do it. Emphasis on her people. Ithnaa implied that Mother might take one of her ‘wards’ if she were unhappy when she left. That seemed to be more than enough motivation for now, but I got the general feeling that her mood could change depending on who’s threatening her.”

“So, we just have her trigger the trap and then make sure she leaves happy. Is that it?” I looked to Bryce for an answer, but she just shrugged.

“We could do that, or we could try making her angry enough that she doesn’t care about Suhali.”

Leila looked nearly as worried as I felt, but Ithnaa was the one who pointed out the obvious problem. “Bryce, when Mother gets angry, things get violent, and she’s never been very good at directing that violence at the ones who deserve it. Innocent people are going to die.”

“Which is why we direct her as far away from innocent people as possible. Can you take me to Suhali?”

“Yeah, no, fuck that. You’re not going anywhere without me.” I stepped forward to put myself between Bryce and Ithnaa. “This is getting way too dangerous. I was all for fighting Mother when we thought she was just a regular wimpy old djinn.” I ignored Ithnaa’s annoyed look as I continued. “Bryce, she ‘accidentally’ killed a god, and we both almost died talking to one. Making her more angry isn’t the plan. You said any of us could call it off, and I’m doing it now. Think of something else or we’re leaving.”

“Alright, veto accepted.” She lifted her hands in the air to placate me, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Seriously, Thea, if you think it’s too dangerous, then I’ll figure out something else.”

I let out a breath and nodded slowly. “Good, and I’m sorry. I don’t want to seem super controlling, but babe, I got a bad feeling about this, and I don’t think it’s just me being paranoid. Sami said she’s worried, too.”

“Come here.” Bryce pulled me into a tight hug and buried her nose in my hair as she kissed the top of my head. “You’re not being paranoid. This situation is about as dangerous as it gets. We literally can not be too careful here and any input, or concern, is more than welcome. Besides, if Samira is worried about it, then you know it must be bad.”

I scoffed at her joke and looked up to give her a kiss. “You know, Sami is only worried all the time because we do stupid shit all the time.”

“Wait, is this one of those mythical moments where Thea self-reflects?” Bryce faked a gasp and I rolled my eyes as I playfully pushed her away.

“Oh, please. I’m so vain you couldn’t stop me from self-reflecting. Why do you think I want to install a mirror above the bed so badly?” I bounced my eyebrows at her, which must’ve been enough for Leila, because she finally interrupted us.

“And that’s way more than I ever wanted to know about my little sister’s love life. Bryce, if we’re not planning on pissing Mother off, then what’s the play here?”

“I need to talk to Suhali. Ithnaa, can you teleport me and Thea to her?”

“No. I can’t take two people at once, and one at a time would make escape complicated in an emergency.”

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I chuckled, but Bryce just ignored the hilarious phrasing. “In that case, return to Suhali’s estate and wait until you can bring her here without Mother noticing.”

“Sure, I can handle that much. Do you have somewhere you want me to take her?”

“The observation room. I’ll keep it clear for you.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours, then.” Ithnaa teleported away, and I turned back to Bryce with a coy smile.

“You know we can do a lot in a few hours.”

She chuckled, and I might have deflated a little. “Sorry, Thea, but I need to go talk to Sora.”

~~~~~

The door opened, and the two of us stepped through to see a pair of annoyed looking djinn. Ithnaa had sent a message a few minutes ago to let us know that they were on their way and we rushed over from Sora’s room to meet them.

“Captain Virra, right?” Suhali asked and Bryce nodded.

“That’s right, and you must be Lord Suhali. I wish that I could say it was a pleasure, but I’d rather not start our relationship off with a lie.”

The djinn chuckled while she sized up my girlfriend. “Paradise must be getting bold if you think you can make a move against Mother. Council of kings, was it? You don’t look like royalty to me.”

“Yeah, well, the title is temporary. It’s just a convenience while I handle a few problems. Speaking of which, I need to be sure you’re not going to betray us, and I want it in writing before we discuss the details.”

“Do you?” She laughed before shaking her head. “No. That’s not how I do business. Tell me your plan, and if I like it, then we’ll talk.”

Bryce shrugged. “Too bad, but I suppose we can always kill Mother some other time. Hey, maybe if you’re the one who tells her that her meeting was canceled, then she’ll go easy on you. Ithnaa, would you mind taking her back home?”

“Sure, but do you think we can stay in the system to watch? I bet we’ll be able to see the fireworks from up here.”

“Okay, wait.” Suhali took a step back to avoid getting teleported. “Let me see the contract. I’m not going to sign anything without reading it first.”

Bryce conjured a partially see-through scroll and pushed it over to her. “Read through it, sign it, and then we’ll talk.”

We all just stood around in silence for nearly five minutes while she read through the contract. It was seriously boring and took all of my self-discipline not to start fidgeting.

“Alright, fine. If you’re hiding something in here, then I can’t find it.” She placed her hand on the scroll and it disappeared in a puff of harmless flames. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I need four hours in a room on your estate by myself. Then tomorrow morning I need you to lead Mother there and send me a message when she’s alone. That’s all.”

“That’s all? Seriously? And how is that not going to lead back to me?”

“The spell I’m preparing is subtle, and Mother will be focused on other things when I cast it. I can’t promise that there’s no chance it will lead back to you, but I am doing everything I can to limit your exposure and I don’t believe you’ll be caught in the crossfire.”

“This is why you had me sign that contract?” Suhali raised an eyebrow. “The honesty clause cuts both ways, and you needed me to trust you with almost no information.”

“Need is a strong word, but it doesn’t hurt.” Bryce smiled at her. “I have a vested interest in you trusting me, and the best way to have that happen is for me to be completely honest. I crafted this plan with that in mind.”

“In that case, could you tell me exactly what you have planned for Mother?”

“I could, but the lack of information is a feature here. The deniability works in your favor. I believe it will increase your chances of survival if something goes wrong.”

Suhali was shifting uncomfortably, like she wanted to argue, but eventually she let out a resigned sigh. “Give me twenty minutes, then have Ithnaa teleport you to my room. Take a left down the hall and my library is the fourth door on your right. Mother has been spending most of the day there anyway, so it’s really just a matter of me getting her out of there while you set up tonight, then leaving her alone tomorrow. Which I’m more than happy to do.”

“Alright, we’ll be there in twenty minutes. Ithnaa, would you mind escorting her back?” They teleported away and I let out an annoyed huff. “Thea, what’s wrong?”

“I told you that I didn’t want you down there without me.”

“Ithnaa will be there. She’ll pull me out at the first sign of danger, and I’ll be careful. Concealment spell up the entire time. I promise.”

“Fine. But if you get killed, then I’ll never forgive you.”

She chuckled as if I wasn’t being completely serious. “How about this? If I die, then I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Deal?”

“This isn’t something to joke about. You’re going to be in the same house as one of the most dangerous people we’ve ever even heard of. If she finds you, then she’s not just going to kill you right away. Sora told me some of the stories. I don’t want any of that to happen to you.”

“I know, and I’m only joking because I’m nervous. This isn’t something that I’m taking lightly.”

“You better not be.” I glared at her for a second before handing her the pack I was still carrying. “Now, start casting stuff to make sure that I don’t have to start looking for a new girlfriend. I suck at dating, and I don’t want to have to start all over with someone else.”

“As you wish.” She smiled at me and started casting. Meanwhile, I sat in the corner watching her and worrying about tomorrow.