6. Vex
CHAPTER 6
VEX
I love you.
The words hang there in my head like a detonation countdown.
Lacey’s naked and satiated beside me. Radiant as ever. Her hair is wet, her body glistening with sweat and waterfall mist. She’s staring at me like I’m the answer to some prayer she’s been reciting since her sheltered childhood.
And—Quorr devour me—I’m frozen.
My blood pumps so hard I can taste its metallic bitterness.
“You don’t mean that,” I rasp, getting up and yanking on my clothes like there’s a blaster pointed at my ribs.
Her face crumples. “You’re really going to dismiss me again ?”
Yes. No. Vrekking hells.
“You’re confused,” I snap, ignoring her dizzying scent all over me. “This was fun. More than fun. Amazing . But it’s just…pheromones. The thrill of danger. The?—”
Her brow lowers. “Stop hiding behind your stupid pirate slogans!” She snatches her discarded camisole, her voice cracking. “You don’t get to tell me what I feel. I know my heart, Vex. It wants you. Even if you’re too much of a coward to admit yours does too.”
Coward. The word sticks like a blade in my chest.
We return to the ship in silence.
“We’ll be at the drop-off location shortly,” I say.
She stalks off to the bunk room and I go…anywhere else.
The ship’s vents hum a low, judgmental drone as I hide in the engine room, nursing the last of my Denorian rum. Faylid’s boots do reek, but the stench is a welcome distraction from the havoc in my skull.
Love. A currency I’ve never traded in.
A footstep creaks behind me.
“Go away, Berrix.”
“Am I wearing Faylid’s cologne?” The reptilian navigator leans against the bulkhead, arms crossed. Her scales flash peacock-blue—meaning she’s amused. I’m glad someone is. “Lacey’s packing her things. And soon she’ll be gone.”
I take a swig of my rum. “Good.”
She gives a derisive hiss. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?.”
“And you’re overpaid.”
“Correction: underpaid for babysitting a lovesick Kraetian-whelp.” Her tail flicks, smacking a pipe with a loud clang. “You’ve been glowering at the nav screens so hard, Nor’Veth thought you short-circuited them. But even I can’t reroute the disaster you’ve set in motion.”
“I didn’t?—”
“You did.” Af’soq’s soft voice cuts through my growl. The avian medic perches on a crate, iridescent feathers rustling. His black eyes pierce me. “You opened the door. Now you fear what walks through.”
I scoff. “Since when do you both speak in metaphor?”
“Since you drank enough to drown a Torkun.” He leans forward, luminous skin casting a faint silver light. “You think pushing her away protects you? It only starves your spirit. Let yourself feel for once, Vex. It’s time. Even if it burns.”
“Spare me the therapist act.”
“Or what? You’ll maroon me?” He smiles, much to serenely. “You could. But then who’d save you when you inevitably stick your ship’s tail in a black hole?”
“Are we still talking about relationships?”
“Hush.” Berrix snorts. “You’ve been insufferable since Opdivo-k. And not in the fun, ‘let’s rob a warlord’ way.”
“Just get out.” My fist slams the table. The bottle tips, amber liquid pooling around me like accusation. “Both of you.”
They exchange a glance. Berrix tosses a holopuck at my chest. “Coordinates from Xi. She says to ‘stop sulking and play the message.’”
My stomach lurches. What now? The holopuck burns in my palm, Xi’s sigil glowing tauntingly.
I thumb the activation chip.
The hologram flares—not Xi’s face this time, but a memory.
Ryz and I, gangly young Kraetians, huddled under a dining table in the palace cellar. Our father’s boots echo above us. Ryz is trembling, clutching a plasma scalpel he stole from the med bay. “Brothers protect each other,” he whispers. “Swear it.”
The scene shifts.
Xi, younger but just as sharp, braiding my hair with deft fingers. “Fear tastes like rust,” she says, her oracle voice layering over her childlike lilt. “But love?” She tugs my earlobe. “Sweet like syrup.”
The hologram dies.
“Vrek it all.” I chuck the puck. It ricochets off the wall—straight into Berrix’s waiting claw.
“Charming.” She tosses it back. “But unless you’re planning to redecorate with projectile guilt, maybe listen.”
Af’soq leans in, feathers shivering. “Xi showed you a path. Walk it.”
“Walk where? To Ryz? He’d flay me alive.”
“He’s your brother,” Berrix hisses. “And he’s as stubborn as you, but deep down he needs you. He’s been waiting for you to come back. Being in love has changed him.”
“Not judging by our last interaction,” I say, chuckling.
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Af’soq adds. “It will take time to forgive. On both sides.”
I grip the edge of the table, engine grease biting my nostrils.
“And Lacey?”
Af’soq tilts his head and chirps a laugh. “You already know the answer to that.”
The bunk room reeks of ion fuel and regret.
Lacey’s there, shoving a threadbare satchel Berrix gave her with the few items she’s collected here. Though once she gets to Ydris, she’ll never want for anything again. I know Ryz and Gwen will see to that.
Her shoulders stiffen when my boots clang against the ramp.
“Leave the dramatics, Vex. You don’t need to torture yourself any more.”
I scowl, chest tight. “Oh?”
She whirls, eyes blazing. “I’m done.”
My gut twists. “So this is goodbye?”
She shrugs. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
The lights flicker, painting her in jagged shadows. She’s a silhouette against the chaos—tiny, beautiful, clever, mine.
Mine.
I step closer. “What if I’m here to renegotiate?”
She hugs the satchel like a shield. “The deal’s done. You get your stuff. I get my freedom and my friends. Congrats on the successful transaction .”
The word cracks something open.
“It’s not like that.” My throat rasps. “Not with you.”
I touch her wrist, half-expecting her to vanish. I swallow, the galaxy lodged in my throat. “You called me a coward. You were right.”
“Obviously.” She huffs.
“I’ve got some issues.” I tilt her chin up. “But I want your clever tongue. Your infuriating optimism. I want…you. Forget that. I need you. If you’ll have me.”
“Really?”
I nod. “It’s time for me to stop running…and scheming.”
She freezes. “What about your ship? Your crew?”
“Berrix can have the ship. She’s been plotting a mutiny for years.”
A snort echoes from the bridge. “Accurate!”
Lacey smothers a laugh. “And your treasure ?”
I rub my thumb over her cheek. “All I need is right here.”
She swats me. “That’s the worst line yet.”
“Stick around. I’ll top it.”
Her smile fades. “What about Ryz? Xi?”
“We need to work things out. They’re my family. And if I want to start one of those with you, I’m going to need some guidance.” I smile.
Tears fill her eyes, but she’s grinning.
“Now let’s go meet up with everyone.” I take a deep breath. “But I’ll need your protection.”
She chuckles. “Of course. No one messes with my Kraetian.”
I grab her and we kiss until I’m sure she knows she’s my clever captive. Forever.