Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Captain Ruciyah held the upper half of his helmet in one gloved hand, the other extended toward me.
I didn’t take it, only lifted my skirts so they didn’t catch on the lip of the ramp and moving past him.
His hand closed into a fist before dropping to his side.
By the time I’d settled in my seat, ignoring the looks from Crux and Greabes, who were apparently joining us on this trip—Crux outfitted in a similar style he’d worn on Keva Um’plem with half his face covered—the captain’s helmet was firmly in place and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Nice,” Crux commented dryly.
“Shut it,” Captain Ruciyah snapped, the thwack on the back of Crux’s head echoing through the cockpit.
I ignored them, buckling into the seat and staring straight ahead. I’d twisted my hair up with a comb I’d found in the bottom of my bag, but now I had the urge to tug it out and hide behind whatever I could.
“Hey!” Crux started. “I—”
“I’d love one uneventful day,” Greabes interrupted, priming the fuel. “One day of silence.”
Crux’s indignant scoff was drowned out by the engines coming online, rumbling off the walls of the hanger and directed back at us.
Another few heartbeats later and the expanse of space lay before us.
In the distance a ship waited that was obviously our destination, from the lavish chrome panels and glittering orbs that had to be impractical for most atmospheric entries.
Which meant the ship in front of us almost never docked planetside and was kept running by expensive space station maintenance.
“Leave the talking to me,” Captain Ruciyah warned as Greabes maneuvered us into docking position.
“You’re wasting your breath,” Crux sneered, tugging the bottom of his cowl up a little higher to better cover his nose and mouth.
The captain swiveled in his chair as the cruiser lurched and Lesephous’ docking gear drew us into the main hold. “I wasn’t talking to her. I was talking to you.”
Crux spluttered, a few curses mingling with his irritation.
“The answer you’re looking for,” Greabes started as he flicked a few buttons on the controls, “is ‘yes, Captain.’”
Whatever his response was, I didn’t hear it.
Not when we landed in one of the most lavish hangars I’d ever seen, complete with a mosaic depicting the starburst of the Galactic Federation.
It was the same symbol branded on my skin, covered by the fine fabric and glittering stones.
We sat in silence as the engines powered down and stared.
“Bastards,” Crux muttered, punctuating the curse with the release of his belts.
Greabes hummed his agreement. I waited for the three of them to rise before I followed, my tongue suddenly thick at the sight of Captain Ruciyah waiting for me.
Again, his hand was outstretched as if he thought I’d take it, but his attention stayed fixed on the ramp lowering, coolant misting out around it to obscure the hangar from view.
I skirted around him, smoothing the front of the gown and rolling my shoulders. But he was there at my side in another breath, too close for comfort with his wide hand pressing against my lower back.
“Yeskas walk behind their masters.”
He froze, and all three of them turned to me at my rasp.
My reflection stared back at me in the shine of his helmet, the blank expression of my face a mask just as his was, hiding the hatred seething through my veins.
Strange to stand beside someone and know you would kill them without pause.
I’d never killed anyone and yet I knew I would not lose a wink of sleep over his death.
Not when I’d already lost so much because of him.
“Then it’s good I’m not your master,” Captain Ruciyah drawled before pressing his gloved palm firmly on my back and guiding me forward, past Greabes and Crux, who waited on either side of the cruiser. “Crux, stay with the ship.”
A portly Louxurian male waited for us, bright orange robes swirling around him and casting a warm glow onto his translucent skin.
“Captain Ruciyah, I am Beiste Lesephous. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” the male all but purred, lavender eyes gleaming just like the dainty gems in his pearlescent moustache.
“The pleasure is mine,” Captain Ruciyah greeted him in the same smooth voice I’d heard him use on the Daskquah.
But Lesephous did not extend his hand palm down the way most within the Federation did; instead he left it palm up.
It surprised me when the captain’s free hand cupped it and he leaned down to press the top of his helmet to the male’s palm.
The action was repeated but in reverse, Lesephous lingering just a touch too long against Captain Ruciyah’s gloved palm before he drew back.
Though his lavender eyes slid to me, he did not greet me, only perused my face and body as if I were a meal he was deciding if he wanted to eat.
I swallowed down the acid rising in my throat, setting the mask I had to wear firmly in place with the slight upturn of the corners of my mouth.
It was an expression I’d practiced for months in the mirror that allowed clients to see what they wanted to in my expression.
“Ah, and this must be your new plaything. I admit my Lyrace was so disappointed to hear you’ve taken such a shine to her.” The male gave a mock pout, gaze lingering on the small swell of my breasts visible on either side of the vee in the gown. “Do you share your toys?”
The hand on my back slid higher until gloved fingers wrapped around my nape. My stomach swooped at the territorial hold, even as nausea wrapped around my ribs. Captain Ruciyah stepped closer until he was practically in front of me.
“I’m afraid I’m much too possessive of my…things.” The last word came out as more of a growl and though I couldn’t see his face, I could practically taste his disgust on the air.
Lesephous nodded in a way that made it clear he didn’t think much of the captain’s statement and turned away, waving us forward imperiously. “Come, I’ve had my man prepare tea for us in the parlor.”
Captain Ruciyah did not release me as we walked through the halls, so lavish they bordered on overwhelming with every wall crammed with art and jewels. Each time I tried to shuffle away, his fingers only tightened, a small tremor rippling through his glove and into my skin.
The parlor we entered had a similar look to the rest of the ship, though magnified by a hundred.
It was difficult to navigate with its numerous poufs, pillows, and chairs.
Right in the center, two couches were arranged around a low table, an ornate carafe steaming in the center with two cups of honed crystal.
With another wave of his hand to the opposite couch, Lesephous fell onto his own with a heavy sigh.
Immediately another Louxurian male skittered forward to pour the thick golden liquid into the cups while Captain Ruciyah lowered onto the seat.
But when I stayed standing behind his couch as most did, his hand tightened again on my neck, though it gentled as he guided me down beside him.
I would have thought it protective if I hadn’t known him better.