Bound to the Stars

Chapter 9

Our living quarters are empty when we arrive. The other women must still be in the assembly hall, because the room is completely silent except for the familiar hum of the overhead lights. Thirty-two narrow beds stretch across the space in neat rows; each covered with the same thin gray blanket.

I've complained about this room almost every day since arriving here. The lack of privacy. The uncomfortable mattresses. The lights that never seem to turn off completely. The way every sound echoes against the walls. And yet, standing in the doorway, I feel a strange reluctance to step inside. I hate this place. I have hated it since the moment they brought me here. But it's also the only place I've known for six months.

Nadine seems to be having a similar reaction. She stands beside me for several seconds before slowly walking toward her bed. "Well," she says, looking around, "I guess we should pack."

I glance at the small storage compartment beneath my mattress. "That should take approximately four minutes."

"Five if you fold everything."

"Bold of you to assume I care about wrinkles."

She gives me a small smile before kneeling beside her bed. I follow her example, pulling open my compartment and surveying the pathetic collection of belongings inside. Three shirts. Two pairs of pants. A sweater. A hairbrush with several missing bristles. The shoes I'm currently wearing. And a photograph.

I reach for it before anything else. The edges have softened from being handled so often, and there's a crease near one corner that wasn't there when I first arrived. I smooth my thumb over it, studying the familiar faces. For a moment, the room around me fades. I remember the day the picture was taken. I remember laughing about something that seemed important at the time but that I can no longer recall. I remember being annoyed because I didn't like how my hair looked. Such a stupid thing to worry about. I would give almost anything to go back to that day.

To stand in that moment again, surrounded by people I loved, completely unaware that the world was about to change.

"Anna?" Nadine's voice pulls me back. I blink and look up. She's sitting on the edge of her bed, watching me. "You okay?" I glance down at the photograph.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

She doesn't ask about what. She knows. We've had enough conversations about our families to recognize when the other person doesn't want to talk.

I carefully tuck the photograph into my pocket before gathering the rest of my belongings. It's unsettling how little there is. Before the invasion, I had an entire house filled with things I barely used. Clothes hanging in my closet with the tags still attached. Books stacked beside my bed. Coffee mugs that somehow multiplied every time I went shopping. Now everything I own can be carried in my arms. I sit back on my heels and stare at the small pile. Six months. That's how long it took for my entire life to be reduced to a handful of clothing and a photograph.

Across the room, Nadine is folding her sweater with unnecessary precision.

"Do you ever think about what happened to all our stuff?" I ask. She looks up. "Sometimes."

"I wonder if someone lives in my house now." Her hands go still. "I try not to think about that."

"Yeah." I pick at a loose thread on my pants.

The truth is that I don't even know whether my house is still standing. I don't know what's happened to my neighborhood, my city, or any of the people I used to see every day.

The Valerathyins tell us very little about the world outside these walls. They say humanity has been brought under a unified government. They say the transition was necessary. They say people are safer now.

I have a difficult time believing any of it.

Nadine breaks the silence by holding up a shirt. "Do you think we'll get real clothes?"

I looked at the shapeless gray fabric. "God, I hope so. If I have to spend another six months dressed like a depressed potato, I'm going to lose it."

She laughs, shaking her head. "I miss jeans."

"I miss underwear that wasn't apparently designed by someone who hates women."

"Anna!"

"What? You know I'm right."

She's laughing harder now, and I find myself smiling despite everything. Maybe that's how we'll survive whatever comes next. One terrible joke at a time. We discovered the luggage problem approximately ten minutes later. Neither of us has a bag. Of course, we don't. Why would prisoners need luggage? It's not as though we've been planning any weekend getaways.

I gather my clothes into a pile and look toward the guard stationed near the doorway. "Excuse me?" He turns his head. "Yes?"

"Are we supposed to carry everything like this, or is there some sort of royal moving service?"

The guard looks at the clothing in my arms, then toward Nadine, who is attempting to balance her belongings against her chest. For a moment, he seemed genuinely uncertain how to respond.

"I will inquire," he finally says.

"Appreciate it."

He steps into the hallway and speaks quietly into a device attached to his wrist. Nadine watched him go. "You could have just asked for bags."

"I did ask for bags."

"You asked about a royal moving service."

"Same thing."

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling.

A few minutes later, an attendant arrives with two dark bags made from a material I don't recognize. They're surprisingly lightweight, with smooth handles and no visible zippers.

I spend an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out how to open mine before Nadine discovers a small panel along the side. The top separates with a soft click.

"Well, that's unnecessarily fancy," I mutter.

We pack our belongings, which takes even less time than I expected. When we're finished, Nadine stands beside me, holding her bag against her hip. Neither of us moves toward the door. I look around the room one last time. There are things I'll remember about this place. The sound of Nadine laughing into her pillow after lights-out. The whispered conversations between women who were too afraid to speak during the day. The way everyone went quiet whenever footsteps approached the door. I'll remember Leah's empty bed. I look toward it now.

Someone else had been sleeping there for weeks, but I still remember the morning the guards came for her. The way she screamed. The way the rest of us stood frozen, too frightened to intervene. I wonder where she is. I wonder if she's safe. I wonder whether anyone will ever tell us what happened to the women who disappeared from this room.

Nadine follows my gaze. Her expression changes. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?" she asks quietly.

I don't answer immediately. "I hope so." It's the only honest answer I have. She nods, and together we walk toward the door. I don't look back.

Commander Vaerik is waiting in the hallway. Naturally. I am beginning to suspect the man has no hobbies. He looks at the bags in our hands before turning his attention to me. "Miss Bennett, there are several security procedures we must review before departure." I stop walking.

"Of course there are."

He either doesn't recognize the sarcasm or has decided to ignore it. I'm not sure which possibility is more impressive. "Due to your recognition by the crown prince, your personal security will now fall under the authority of the royal guard. Until your accommodations have been finalized, you will be required to remain within designated areas."

My stomach tightens. There it is. The part where they explain that I've simply traded one prison for another. "And Nadine?"

"Your friend will be permitted to accompany you under the authorization of His Highness. However, her access to certain areas may be restricted."

I glance at Nadine. She looks just as uneasy as I feel. "Restricted how?"

Vaerik hesitates. "That will depend on the location and the circumstances."

I stare at him. He has an incredible talent for speaking without actually answering questions. "Right. So we're leaving a facility where people tell us where we can go and what we can do, and we're heading somewhere where people will tell us where we can go and what we can do."

"The circumstances are considerably different."

"Are they?"

His expression hardens slightly. I know I'm pushing him, but I can't seem to stop. Because underneath the sarcasm, I'm scared. And being angry is considerably easier than admitting that.

"Miss Bennett, your safety is now a matter of royal importance."

Something about those words makes my chest tighten. Royal importance. Not human importance. Not because I deserve to be safe. Because the crown prince has decided I'm his mate. I think about the women still sitting in the assembly hall. The ones who will return to their beds tonight and wake up tomorrow to the same routine. The ones who don't have a prince willing to argue with the king on their behalf. "That's interesting," I say quietly.

Vaerik looks at me.

"Because my safety didn't seem particularly important when your people brought me here." The hallway falls silent.

His jaw tightens. "Those circumstances were beyond my authority." I let out a small laugh. Nobody ever seems responsible for anything that happens to us. I look away before I say something I'll regret. Or something I won't regret but that Nadine will have to apologize for later.

"Anna?" Kael's voice comes from farther down the hallway.

I turn. He's approaching with two guards, although he stops several feet away when he notices me watching him. He's no longer wearing the formal outer garment from the assembly hall, and without it, the dark markings along his neck are easier to see. They're glowing faintly again. I wonder whether that happens every time he gets near me. I wonder whether he can control it. I wonder why I'm even wondering. Kael's gaze moves from my face to Vaerik, and something in his expression changes. "Is there a problem?"

I open my mouth, but Vaerik answers first. "I was explaining the necessary security arrangements, Your Highness."

Kael looks back at me. "And?"

I fold my arms. "Apparently, I'm very important now."

His eyes narrowed slightly, not at me but at the commander. Vaerik straightens. "Her status requires—"

"I am aware of her status, Commander." The interruption is quiet, but there's enough authority behind it for Vaerik to fall silent immediately.

I watch them carefully. I wonder what Kael is like when he isn't standing in front of me trying to be considerate. He's the crown prince, after all. People obey him. Even his father seems to have difficulty controlling him. That kind of power doesn't come from being nice.

Kael speaks briefly to Vaerik in Valerathic before returning his attention to me. "There will be security at the residence," he explains. "But you will not be confined to your rooms, and Nadine will remain with you."

I study his face. "Your commander made it sound like we're going to be under house arrest."

"That is not my intention."

"Then maybe someone should tell him."

A faint tension appears around Kael's mouth. "I believe I just did."

I glance at Vaerik. He looks deeply unhappy. I probably shouldn't enjoy that as much as I do.

Kael continues before I can say anything else. "There are areas of the residence that are restricted for security reasons. Those restrictions apply to everyone, including members of the royal household. Anything beyond that can be discussed once you've arrived."

I don't particularly like the idea of restrictions, but at least he's explaining them rather than simply expecting me to obey. "Fine," I say, although I make a mental note to revisit the subject later. Something tells me we're going to have plenty of opportunities to disagree.

Kael looks toward the bags in our hands. "Have you collected everything you wish to bring?"

I glance down at mine. "Pretty much my entire glamorous wardrobe." His expression softens slightly, but he doesn't comment.

Does he not understand how little we have? I could bet a million bucks that he has not had to choose which belongings were important enough to carry. He looks like someone who's never had to worry about losing anything. Then again, I don't know him. And that seems to be becoming a recurring problem.