Chapter 22
Banjo
Why did humans get so sad about going to space?
Heck, why had I been so sad about having to go to space?
Space was great. Sure, I probably think that because I’d spent the last several weeks doing all of my favorite things.
Mostly Tavryn. He’s one hundred percent, hands down, my absolute favorite thing to do.
And I had been doing him, or, more accurately, he’d been doing me. A lot.
By this point, there isn’t a single inch of my body that Tavryn hasn’t licked, touched, or kissed, and I’d mostly done the same to him.
Well, except his back. He’s kind of particular about me not seeing or touching his back, which doesn’t bother me.
Nothing bothers me nowadays, not when I’m having amazing sex every day.
When I’m not busy fooling around with Tavryn, I’m playing music—writing it, actually.
I still keep up with the daily chores, but besides laundry and cooking, there honestly isn’t a ton to do.
It’s nice to finally have real free time with no responsibilities nipping at my heels.
If this is what the rest of my life looks like, I definitely won’t complain.
Unfortunately, it isn’t. In a few more weeks, we’ll be at Dhamoirs rescuing Remington. After that, it’s back to Earth for us humans. Earth. Where I’ll be stuck for the rest of my life, thousands of miles away from Tavryn.
At first, today seems like it’s going to be just like all the others, but while Tavryn and I are cuddled up on the couch watching some kind of weird otherworlder soap opera, Stells interrupts us.
“Captain, there’s an unidentified UFO ship moving quickly in our direction,” she says, her voice muting the TV.
Tavryn lets out one of his signature heavy sighs and presses a kiss to my temple before untangling from me. I beam up at him, the tiny show of affection heating me all the way down to my core. “Duty calls. You can keep watching without me. I’ve seen this episode.”
“Nah, I’m good,” I tell him, and the TV flickers off. “I might start lunch. You hungry?”
“Hold off until I find out what’s going on,” Tavryn says over his shoulder as he walks to the cockpit. “I don’t want you handling anything hot or sharp if we need to make a quick getaway.”
I hang over the back of the couch to watch him, enjoying the way his tail swishes back and forth with each step. I never thought I’d be a tail man, but Tavryn has for sure turned me into one.
I still appreciate his butt too, of course.
Tavryn grabs his hat and coat, which are hanging on pegs near the door to the cockpit.
He’s only recently started not wearing them, probably because he got tired of having to keep dressing and undressing.
I watch as he shrugs on the coat before smushing the hat down between his horns.
He’s not wearing his corset vest, yet he’s still the absolute hottest thing in the world.
In the galaxy. In…whatever is bigger than a galaxy.
“Ooh, is this gon’ turn into some kinda high-speed spaceship chase?
” I ask, vaulting over the back of the couch to trail after him.
Tavryn has shown me a few otherworlder movies that involve those.
Apparently, Fast & Furious style movies are as popular everywhere else as they are on Earth. “I gotta see that.”
Tavryn is already in his captain’s chair by the time I squeeze into the cockpit.
I haven’t been in here much. It’s built for only one, and the number of buttons, screens, and flashing lights is a little distracting.
I’m always afraid I’m going to accidentally hit something with my elbow and cause some kind of disaster.
Tavryn, because he’s very smart, ignores me to do his actual job. “Stells, do you have more information on the vessel yet?” His words sound crisp and very matter-of-fact. It makes my dick chub up a little, and I desperately try to ignore it. It’s not my fault that everything Tavryn does is sexy.
“The vessel is the Vanquishing,” Stells replies, her tone also crisp. It’s not normal for her, and I get the vibe she’s kind of teasing Tavryn for acting so serious. That’s good. If she’s making fun of him, whatever’s happening can’t be that big of a deal.
I can see only the back of Tavryn’s head from where I’m standing, but I can imagine he’s got one of those deep frowns on his face by the sound of his voice. “The Vanquishing?” he repeats. “Have they followed us from Qauvela?”
Tavryn pulls up what I assume are a few different kinds of maps. I can barely get a glimpse of them with his giant hat in the way. I nearly sneeze when one of the hat’s feathers tickles my nose.
“I’m unsure, as I haven’t been tracking the flight path of the Vanquishing,” Stells replies. “But my calculations suggest this is not a coincidence.”
There’s a short pause while Stells searches through all the information available to her.
At least, I figure that’s what she’s doing when she doesn’t answer right away.
I’ve tried asking her to explain how she works a couple of times since I found out she’s a computer. It always goes right over my head.
This pause goes on longer than I’ve ever heard, to the point where I’m kind of concerned that something might have happened to her. Tavryn seems to feel the same.
“Stells?” he asks, drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair. “What is it?”
Stells clears her throat. It’s like she doesn’t want to say what she’s about to say. “Ba’elentat is on leave. A new captain took over six weeks ago.”
“Ah, too bad,” Tavryn mutters, almost to himself. His sigh is comfortingly normal. “Who is it, then? I’m familiar with a few others. Though I don’t have as much on any of them, I’m sure the Despot wouldn’t mind me calling in a favor for some information.”
“It’s Rourverace, Tavryn. The new captain of the Vanquishing is Rourverace.”
The entire ship goes dead quiet. Tavryn’s as stiff as a board. Even his tail is sticking out, straight and still. I’ve never seen him this way before. It’s almost like he’s…scared? That can’t be right. Tavryn isn’t afraid of anyone or anything. He’s the most confident being I’ve ever met.
“That…That’s impossible.” Tavryn doesn’t move. He just stares straight in front of him. I stand on my tip toes to finally get a look over his shoulder, noticing the flashing red light moving closer and closer to us.
“Uh, Tav, babe?” I ask, gently touching his shoulder in an attempt to pull him out of wherever he is.
He immediately jerks away, head whipping around to look up at me.
“Should we be worried that whoever-it-is is gettin’ close?
Like real close?” Tavryn blinks up at me, a bit of the glassiness clearing from his eyes.
“Preparing for a light jump, Captain,” Stells tells us. “I would recommend Banjo strapping down in the emergency seat.” Tavryn nods, his tail flicking out to push a button on the wall. A panel drops down like Mamaw’s old ironing board, turning into a seat with straps and everything.
I get buckled in, a hundred different questions on the tip of my tongue. There’s one that’s most important. “Tav? What’s a light jump?” It sounds exciting. Like in those sci-fi movies when they blast off super fast into space.
“Captain, the Vanquishing is gaining on us. You must make a decision,” Stells says, her voice more urgent. The smile on my face quickly fades, especially when I notice that Tavryn still seems to be in some sort of shock. I glance around worriedly.
“Banjo.” My head jerks in the direction of the sound when Stells says my name. “Pull the red tab to tighten your restraints. You’ll need them for the light jump since your body is unfamiliar with the sensation.”
Suddenly, a light jump doesn’t sound so exciting. I hurriedly yank on the tab, letting out an “oof” when the restraints quickly tighten around my chest and shoulders.
“Tavryn!” Stells yells his name, finally jolting him into action. He shakes his head, glancing at the screen before looking out through the windshield. When I follow his gaze, I see a ship about three times the size of ours coming towards us. Fast. Fast enough to make me gulp.
“Initiate the light jump!” Tavryn barks, jerking his own restraints over his shoulders while he pulls levers and pushes buttons with his tail. The dash lights up like a Christmas tree before the room goes dark.
“Tav?” I squeak, gripping tightly at the restraints as my eyes adjust to the dim starlight coming from outside.
I can barely make out the outline of Tavryn’s hat in the darkness.
“Uh, is that what’s supposed to happen?” Before Tavryn can answer, the ship roars back to life louder than I’ve ever heard it.
“Light jump activated.” Stells’s voice is loud enough to hear over the thrumming engines.
“Countdown in three…two…” My knuckles go white from how hard I’m holding onto the restraints, and I brace myself as she reaches one.
In the moment before it happens, a streak of white light hurtles towards us.
We start to speed forward, but whatever it is connects with the ship moments before we blink out of existence, and everything goes dark. Including me.
I groan as something taps my cheek. My head is pounding like I drank way too much, even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t have anything to drink at all.
My memory’s a little hazy though, so maybe it hasn’t come back to me yet.
Hopefully when it does, there’s nothing I regret. I get a little sloppy when I’m drunk.
“Urgh, I’m never drinkin’ again,” I mutter, letting my head loll forward.
“What?” The voice sounds strangely familiar. Irritated, but in a way that makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. “Banjo! Banjo, darling, open your eyes.”
My eyes flutter open at the command, and I see the most gorgeous being kneeling in front of me. He looks so concerned. There’s a line between his eyes from how deep his brows are furrowed. It draws a slurred little giggle from me.