Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
CYAN
Cyan stared at the ceiling, getting lost in the soft sound of Elaina's breathing beside him. His mind kept circling back to what had happened in the decom dock. The way the air itself had seemed to fight against them coming together.
He realized later, in bed as she slept and he mulled, that the sensation had been familiar—an amplified version of an instinct he’d been friends with for a long, long time.
And yet they'd broken through it. The memory of systems failing around them as they’d defied that pressure brought a mix of satisfaction and unease. He’d spent his life letting that instinct guide him. But with Elaina… Something about her made him want to fight against that pull. What if it was a mistake?
Elaina had wanted to investigate the ship right after, already trying to make sense of it all. But he'd insisted on waiting until morning.
“The ship can wait,” Cyan had said. “I want to enjoy you now.”
In truth, he just didn’t want to face that again… Not just yet .
He glanced over. Her hair was splayed across the pillow, a contented smile lingering on her lips even in sleep. She trusted him. Too much. More than he had earned.
She stirred slightly as Cyan slid out of bed, pulling the sheet up over her before grabbing the sword and stepping outside. He left Priad behind to guard her.
The early hour had the station mostly quiet. Cyan navigated the empty corridors, his mind too restless to appreciate the stillness. He grabbed two plates of eggs and river snake rolls, then frowned, remembering himself.
Right. Vegetarian .
He replaced the meat on one plate with some kind of Earendel grain mush.
When he returned Elaina was up, and the way the little frown between her brows disappeared when she saw him induced a pang of guilt.
She’d thought he might not come back, like last time.
“Breakfast in bed?” Elaina teased as she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “How romantic.”
Cyan sat the plates down on the small table, smirking. “Of course.”
She looked way more excited about the pile of vegetable mush than anyone had any reason to be as Cyan sat beside her and tossed a few slabs of meat to Priad from his own plate.
They ate together in comfortable silence. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she finished her breakfast and began talking about the ship again—about how excited she was to get started on exploring the tech. He nodded, not really listening. Mostly he was just… absorbing.
Was this what it was supposed to feel like?
When she leaned over to kiss his cheek, so casual, so sure, he couldn’t pretend anymore. Cyan dropped his fork and for a split second he didn’t know whether he wanted to fuck her or get the hell out of there. Cyan pulled her onto his lap in one fluid motion.
“Oh, so we’re skipping the rest of breakfast?” Elaina teased.
She’d grown braver since getting fucked. Cyan smirked and shut her up with his mouth. She responded immediately, her body pressing into his like it was always meant to be there, and all he had to do was invite her to take it.
He laid her on the bed and traversed the length of her lithe body with hungry lips, tugging aside the sheet around her inch by inch, until she was bare. The sight and feel of her stilled his mind. He honed in, thinking only about the taste of her skin as he trailed his tongue down her belly, the way she tensed as he nudged her thighs open, how her fingers tangled in his hair as he found her clit, and how she moaned his name when she came, writhing, on his tongue.
By the time the station's chronometer marked afternoon, they were spent. They lay tangled in the sheets, Elaina’s head on his chest. Cyan ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying her breath washing over his skin.
A soft ping sounded, and Elaina groaned.
“I should check that, in case…”
“I know,” Cyan said, stroking her temple.
She rolled over and reached over to the tiny table to grab her dataslate. Her face brightened as she read the message. “My replacement’s here!”
She turned to him, excitement palpable. “I just have to hand over and then I’m officially off duty. Which means we can check out the ship together.”
He forced a smile, though the knot in his chest cinched. “Yeah. ”
“I’ll find you after the handover and we’ll go down there?”
But Cyan sat up, glancing around for his clothing. “I need to get some things sorted first,” he said as he pulled on his underwear. “Make sure we know what we’re getting ourselves into.”
“All right…” she acquiesced. “I can find out what happened with the tampered transport logs as well in the meantime. Probably a good idea. And then we go back.”
Her enthusiasm was dangerously contagious.
“Then we go back.” He smiled.
They both dressed quickly. Elaina chattered about the possibilities—the origin they could deduce, the technology they might find. Cyan found himself drawn into her excitement, itching to get back to the craft. That was where the sword had led him. The answer to whatever he had to do and whatever was going on.
“Ready?” he asked, grabbing Priad and heading for the door.
“Yup!”
He kissed her lightly one last time outside their cabin.
“Let me know what you find,” Elaina murmured as they parted ways.
Cyan nodded. “I’ll ping you later.”