Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Every day we met in the viewing room to practice.
Sometimes it meant Asher pulling me from my reading in the supply closet, while at other times I would already be in the room watching the planets go by, curled up in a small nest of cushions and blankets that had appeared beside the window after the second time I’d set up there.
Planets with hundreds of thousands of beings passed us by—beings with lives, with people they loved, with purpose.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like for those on planets we passed, like Quili: Class One planets that had never been swarmed by mercenaries and pirates.
Planets where their inhabitants never worried about food shortages, or atmospheric breakdowns, or being dragged away from their homes by their hair.
Since that first day, Asher hadn’t tried to touch me again.
I’d thought we would have at least practiced being comfortable with each other’s proximity outside of dancing, though I was the first to admit so many of the Federation’s dances involved us getting close.
But whatever had come over him then seemed to have been nothing more than a passing moment.
He was as cold and short with me as he had been before my run-in with Maxtalen.
Today he’d arrived in his full mask and I found my reflection within the black metal unnerving.
He had also donned his cowl and cloak, as he had every day since he’d first brought me here, claiming he would wear something similar at the gala.
But part of me wondered if it felt more like armor for him, if he somehow knew the war I fought with myself in his hold.
His touch turned my stomach in strange ways and there were times, especially after a few days of learning the dances, where I struggled to decide if I wanted him to pull me closer or push me away.
Those thoughts were always followed by guilt and the reminder he was a venomous flower—his beauty drew me in. Just as it had done for all those I’d seen him charm before. I would not allow myself to fall victim to it next.
He held me just a bit too roughly now in the dance of the melunceur and I bit my cheek to stifle the noise of surprise I made when he turned me beneath his arm before drawing me back with a swiftness that was close to violence.
The room was silent, save for the humming of the engines, as it always was.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like dancing to music, if it would feel the way it had when I’d been on the silks.
As time progressed and we moved from the slow melunceur into the slightly more energetic besmagnat, the air was so thick with tension I found myself looking anywhere but at the reflection in his mask.
It was a relief when the door hissed open and Zoleka floated in with a large box in her arms, followed by a grimacing Kal.
Asher dropped his arms and I moved a few paces back.
The Haptium female raised a silver brow, looking between us, and I almost grimaced at how our skittering away from one another must have looked.
“A courier dropped something off for you and I admit I was far too curious to just leave this at your door.” She lowered her ear to the box and shook it a little, a twinkle in her eye.
From the mutinous look on Kal’s face, I assumed he’d tried to stop her from bringing it in. Until he reached out to take the box, his scowl deepening. “It needs to be inspected—”
Zoleka swung it away from him. “Maker, what has gotten into you all of a sudden? You’ve gone from either ignoring or needling Juniper to shadowing her every move and hovering over her like a mother akdoura.”
I had to admit she was right. From the flush of his skin and the black scars across his face and throat, he did greatly resemble the large, furry creature from her home planet. Before I could grab the package, Asher was there, staring down at the pearlescent box as if he could see through it.
Given his helmet, he probably could.
After another second he passed it to me, not even looking in my direction. I made my way to one of the tables in the corner, setting it down before tugging off the lid. Kal was already beside me, peering over my shoulder and taking the top before I could figure out where to put it.
“Maker’s tits,” he cursed. “That’s a lot of ozindanu.”
I didn’t argue with him. The box appeared to be full of the glittering dark stones.
I grabbed one at random, but when I pulled it closer, the rest of the stones followed.
It appeared to be a shawl of sorts—I’d grabbed it from what looked to be the neckline.
When worn, it would spill across my throat and shoulders as if I’d just emerged from a night-black sea.
Carefully, I placed it to the side on the table and picked up the silken black dress beneath.
“Gorgeous,” Zoleka breathed. The stones were similar to the dress of hers I’d worn to meet Lesephous. “Oh, Juniper, you’ll look incredible in this. Who sent it?”
I rolled my lips together and eyed the small holographic card clinging to one of the sides of the box.
Dearest,
You didn’t think I’d let you go to this gala not dressed your best, did you? You know I will always take care of everything you need.
The message bore no signature, but Lunastra didn’t need one. And the subtle reminder was clear: remember who you belong to.
Kal read over my shoulder and cursed quietly while Zoleka looked between us curiously. But I didn’t answer her question, only slipped the card back in the box and tried to distract myself with its contents.
Beneath the extravagant gown were a few other outfits: a slightly more casual gown I assumed was for Lesephous’ event tomorrow night, along with what looked to be a travel outfit, and a few frothy scraps that I’d seen other yeskas wear within the pleasure dens.
Lingerie.
I shoved those back in the box, biting the inside of my cheek and hoping the heat creeping across my cheekbones and bridge of my nose wasn’t visible. But Kal was inspecting the stone top while Zoleka ran her fingers over the black gown, none the wiser as to what I’d grabbed.
Asher, however, had turned toward me, and I swore I felt his gaze fall from me to the box and back again. In another moment, he strode halfway across the room and to the door. “We leave tomorrow morning. I expect you to be packed and ready.”
The hiss of the door closing behind him, though soft, felt more like a slam.
The three of us stared at each other. Zoleka’s mouth twisted into a grin.
Kal only rolled his eyes before taking the dress from her, folding it neater than I would have and placing it back in the box, followed by the stones.
“I see you and the captain are getting along,” Zoleka murmured, handing him the lid of the box. “The gala will either be a bloodbath or an awakening.”
“Or both,” Kal added with a huff.