I strap into my seat and start up the pod’s controls. “Where did you say the herb was again?” I say. Vihkir turns to face me from the control panel’s sister seat. His tail awkwardly dangles off its edge and onto the floor.

“We must find a moon. Any will do,” he says. “It’s digging up the wretched thing that will be a hassle.”

“Understood,” I say. Pushing the main lever forward, I listen to the sweet sound of the engine that growls as we are propelled forward, and back into our seats.

In my rear-view mirror, I spot Maxwell opening the dock’s hatch. He isn’t in a hurry. But I can’t blame him. After all, he’s not in on the real facts. And it’s not like I’m planning on letting him know, I think. If he becomes aware Vihkir lied to us with such ease, he would definitely cancel this mission.

And I can’t risk that.

I can’t risk putting Luenos’s life in even more peril than it already is.

We fly out of the main ship, and into the open, toward the nearest moon we spotted on our radars not too long ago.

As I steer us to the left, an awkward laugh leaves my lips. “Hey, Vihkir. You’ve… You’ve done this before, right?”

He chuckles. “Of course I have. Who do you take me for?”

I bring us closer to the ground. “Someone who lied and could maybe lie again,” I say.

“Oh, don’t be that way, Vance.” He scoffs. “If I hadn’t lied, I doubt you would have patiently waited for me to finish whatever it was you imagined I was doing in that mind of yours.”

“Well…” I sigh. “That may be true.”

“See!” He waves his hands with joy and pats me on the back. “What are you complaining about, then? It’s all good. We’ll simply fetch the needed ingredients, head back, and your friend will be as good as new!”

The floor vibrates beneath our feet as the pod touches the moon. I kill the engine, observing as the controls go from neon-lit to complete and utter darkness.

“Say…” I clear my throat. “Were you also lying about Luenos’s origins? To get on my brother’s good side or something? I’d rather you tell me if that’s the case.”

Vihkir’s lips purse into a thin line. “No.” He leans forward. His skin is almost fluorescent beneath the moon’s light. “I swear I would never lie about that,” he tells me. “We’ve been at war; this part is true.”

I shrug off my seatbelt, stand, and make way for the door.

Vihkir follows me from close behind. “Listen, I’m sorry,” he says, his voice low. “Maybe he’s different. But, simply put… I’ve never heard of anyone related to him being…behaving in such ways.”

I grab my helmet, slide it onto my face, and hop into the depressurization chamber. As we walk down the pod’s steps, and onto the moon, a smile takes my lips. “Well.” I think of Luenos, of his warmth when we held each other, and the many times he saved me from death. “Maybe you haven’t heard it all, then,” I say.

“I’m a prince, Vance,” Vihkir huffs. “I hear many things.”

I turn around and look him dead in the eye. “Many does not equal true,” I say before marching forward once more.

“I like you, Vance.” Vihkir joins my side. He smirks and rests a hand against my shoulder. “What a shame you already belong to Luenos,” is the last thing he mutters before pulling away and walking past my figure to take the lead.

I tilt my head, stricken by the urge to ask what exactly he meant by that. But that urge is quickly forgotten when I glance at the clock embedded in my suit. Damn it, I think. We’ve already wasted an hour getting here… I’ll just have to ask him later.