Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
I groaned at the “travel outfit” Lunastra had packed for me.
For all intents and purposes, it was comfortable for hours of sitting strapped into the cockpit of a cruiser.
But the black dress had a high thigh slit, and though it was long-sleeved, the neckline plunged well below my sternum.
The hood, however, was large enough to cover my eyes and opaque on the inside so as to not obstruct my vision.
Whoever looked at me would be unable to see the top half of my face, as if I was the inverse of Asher with his respirator.
I’d kept my hair free, allowing it to tumble over my shoulders and breasts, the red it in shining against the black. With it down I felt a little less naked, even if my upper thigh and hip flashed with every step I took down the corridor to the hangar.
Zoleka had shown up early to help me. Though I hadn’t needed any help, for some reason I hadn’t had the heart to turn her away.
So I’d let her repack the small black case full of clothes now floating behind me while she reminded me of the different social cues I’d need to recognize on Louxuria.
She’d even adjusted the hood of the gown until only my lips were exposed and tucked a few cosmetics into the case.
My mouth was now a red so deep it was almost black and she had promised it wouldn’t smudge for twelve hours.
When the doors to the hangars opened, I was greeted by the wide stares of Greabes, Hudzon, Rys, and Kal.
The last only paused for a second before a loud laugh boomed through the walls and Kal clapped his hands together.
I couldn’t hear exactly what he said, but it sounded something like “so fucked.”
Rhiaon had left a few days prior to assume their position within Phyenix Listra’s household. Without their grounding presence, Rys and Kal had bounced off each other until yesterday Hudzon had placed the former into a headlock, growling threats low in his ear until the male blanched.
I raised my brows at Kal’s laughter. He smoothed a hand over his face and shook his head. Greabes, however, rolled his eyes. “At this rate my hearts will give out before this job is over,” he grunted, tapping his vest until he found what he was searching for.
He met me halfway to the jumper, weighing a short black dagger in his hand. After a moment, I realized it was a quara blade like the one Asher had, only smaller. Straps dangled from either side of the hilt as he handed it to me.
“Here, strap this to your leg.” The tone was gruff but after a quarter cycle I knew him well enough to hear the affection in it.
The blade was surprisingly light. After inspecting the straps, I attached them to the thigh of my exposed leg. He grunted and, when I looked up, his eyes were fixed resolutely to the ceiling. “You’ll need to switch to the other before you land.”
I leaned down to switch it to my other side. “Thank you.”
Greabes blinked, his throat bobbing with a swallow. “Uh, yeah. Well. Don’t lose it or Hudzon will skin you alive.”
Over his shoulder, Hudzon gave a nod, packing their own weapons deep into different pockets of their uniform.
“We’ll be close,” Kal offered while I made my way toward the ramp. “Ash is already on board and prepping the engines.”
Nerves crawled up my stomach, wrapping around my throat until I struggled to swallow.
This would be different than our other encounters—Asher and I would have to pretend our dynamic was not merely the antagonistic awkwardness we had on board the ship.
I gave Kal a short bob of my head while he squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.
The jumper was quiet, save for the revving of the hidra-boosters coming online. I directed my hovering case over to one of the walls, strapping it in so it wouldn’t go flying, and made my way into the cockpit.
Asher’s hair was tied back into a knot on the back of his head, the top half of his mask sitting on the control panel in front of him.
At the sound of my approach, he turned, silver eyes widening.
I could have sworn they turned molten as they dragged from the tips of my boots, up the curve of my exposed knee and thigh, over my chest, before lingering on the lower half of my face.
Was this truly his reaction or was he merely preparing for the charade we had to play?
All at once the heat was gone, replaced by an impassive nod before he turned back to the controls and gestured at the seat beside his. I hesitated a moment before I took it, fastening myself in and throwing the fabric of my skirt over my exposed leg.
“You look…nice.”
I almost laughed, teeth digging into my lower lip as I fixed my attention resolutely on the display before us.
Part of me wanted to question why this was the first thing he chose to say.
Another wanted to point out that the look he’d given me had hinted he felt stronger than me merely looking nice.
And another, strangely smaller, part wanted to see how deep I could shove the quara blade into his chest before my hand hit bone.
Instead, I settled on: “My mistress has fine taste.”
He gave a grunt I assumed was agreement while the clatter of footsteps echoed through the hull. When a green light flashed on the deck from the cargo hold, Asher flicked the switch to release the brakes, easing us out of the hangar and into open space.
It was quiet as he maneuvered us toward the jump.
Hudzon had explained at dinner last night we would be taking a more circuitous route there.
We would wipe our logs once we reached quadrant two so it appeared we had left the Kuxatana in the quadrant next to Louxuria instead of where it really was: nestled behind one of the planet’s sister moons ready to make a quick escape.
What would have been an hour’s journey to the surface would now take close to five.
Silence stretched, punctuated only by fuel alerts and our first quadrant jump, a riot of blue and white light washing over us.
We skipped the port that waited beside the entry point of the quadrant—one where many of the Class One planets resided, including Silomen and Kiv Q’lum.
It took us more than an hour to make it through all the security checkpoints before he slowed our ship to a crawl in a clear part of space before the next jump point.
He leaned down, pulled out a compartment between us and handed me a clear mask with a thick tube connected to the panel.
“I need to shut down the ship for a few minutes to clear the log. The environmental system should hold, but in case it doesn’t… ”
If we started losing air, I would be able to breathe. My throat clicked with a swallow. It was one thing for us to lose air, but what if the seals failed? I cleared my throat, keeping my attention fixed to the tubing sliding over my lap rather than the expanse of open space before us.
“The others…” I murmured, turning the mask over in my hands.
“The others have the same below, don’t worry.” Odd how soft his voice was. Asher lifted a hand toward the mask in my lap before making a fist and moving it to the controls. He pressed the small comms button. “Engines offline in three…two…one…disengage.”
All at once everything was quiet—a quiet I’d never heard before.
My ears rang and I took a deep breath, checking to see if the air was thinning before slipping the mask over my nose and mouth.
Asher relaxed his hands off the controls, pulled his gloves tighter over his fingers and leaned back in the chair.
“Do you hear that?” he asked, an awed sort of reverence in his tone.
My brows pulled together. “I don’t hear anything.”
He frowned, turning to face me, those silver eyes roving over the black fabric obscuring my face. “Take off your hood.”
After a brief pause, I tugged it back, but it didn’t change anything. It was the same deafening silence. But he leaned a little closer, scanning my face as if he might find some answer there before he settled back in his seat.
“My people commune with the universe in a way many do not,” he began softly, his attention fixed on me. “We believe that the universe guides us on the path we walk. She is the hand that nurtures and feeds, just as she is the one that punishes and destroys.”
My pulse thrummed. This was new to me—in everything I’d read of the Quinzyr once I’d arrived on the Kuxatana, I hadn’t learned of this reverence for the universe.
Only their ancient customs and fighting techniques were documented, all else was kept a mystery.
But there was something in the corners of Asher’s eyes and the softness of his brow, as if he was looking for some understanding he’d never had before.
I wasn’t sure why he thought I would be the one to give it to him.
“So the universe speaks to you,” I said after an awkward beat.
Asher shook his head, a lock of hair falling into his face before he tucked it behind his ear. “No…she sings.”
He pressed a black button beside him, a small box rising from the center of the console. Static filled my ears, no discernable sound present within it. But Asher tilted his head to the side, eyes growing strangely glassy and distant. “Can you hear it?”
I shook my head. “No…I can’t.” And for some reason I was truly sorry I couldn’t.
Asher exhaled softly, pressed two fingers to the box and reached toward the engine switches.
They roared to life, teeth-rattling after that silence.
I thought perhaps he’d slip back into that cold shell of himself, but right before we made the jump to our final destination, I could have sworn he murmured:
“One day you will.”