Page 37 of The Last Hope

Court saunters closer to me. Noticing how I shield the archway.

I raise a hand. “Look, there’s no way to sugarcoat this. You three look and smell like shit.”

“No one asked you,” Franny slings back.

Desperately, I try not to smile. “You three need to wash. Fresh tunics are on your beds. Showers are in your barracks—” I cut myself off at their confusion.

They’ve never had a shower.

I have a feeling they’ll trust the showers even less than they’re trusting me. “Or you can bathe here.” I gesture to the pool. “No crew is around—”

“Why is that?” Court commands an answer more than asks, but his hand is planted on his hip. Sweat builds up on his brow. Clearly, he’s in the worst condition of the three. Mykal and Franny often turn to him, half out of respect and the other half out of worry.

I stand just as tall. “No one wants to overwhelm you three. They were ordered to stay in their barracks for yourhomecoming.”

“By who?” Court steps closer.

I cup my fingers, expecting a bottle to be in hand, but I have none at the current second. “By the fleet admirals.”

“Why can’t we see more of the ship?”

“Because you needrest.You’re emaciated. Starved.” I speak hushed but forcefully. “No one wants to add more stress on you.” I had orders tonottake them on aLucretziaWorldwide Ship Tour for this reason.

Franny pokes a finger toward the pool. “Does Earth look like this?”

I shift my weight. Opening my mouth, meaningful words are trapped violently in my lungs, and I can’t purge them.

I have orders.

A list of things that I cannot, under any circumstances, share with Court, Mykal, and Franny. Even if they’re on the brink ofdeath, I’ve been told:let them die with the history they’ve understood to be theirs.

Only when Earth is safe can I immediately tell them what I know.

The fleet admirals’ wishes:

Do not describe Earth.

Do not speak of their parentage.

Do not explain how they arrived on Saltare-3.

They let me share my name and origin because they knew it’d be impossible to keep secret once onboard theLucretzia.

There was no day, no second, where I believed I was human. I was told that I was Saltarian. I was given choices and freedom. Now I’m ordered to deny these three what I was rightfully handed—and there is no easy path around this bitter avenue.

If I mention my orders, they’ll blame the admirals for making them and then distrust the Republic of Gaia.

With every question they ask, I trek, head held high and fist in throat, through thorns and razored walls.

So that’s what I do now.

I sigh out this metaphorical sharp-edgedthingthat’s stabbing me in every direction. Raking my hair back, I laugh lightly. “New plan: forget about what Earth is or isn’t. Instead, clean under your arms, behind your ears, between your—”

“That’s the same plan,” Franny retorts.

She’s definitely cross with me. “Is it?” I tease and walk forward, causing Franny and Court to walk backward. Heels edging toward the pool. I gesture to the water. “One dip?”

Her brows spring. “You don’t even know what Earth looks like, do you? You’ve never been there, admit it.”