by Robyn Bachar
“Yes sir,” Bryn said. The captain left, and Commander Soth snickered as he followed. Continuing to ignore Jace, Bryn smiled reassuringly at Malcolm. “Are you okay? Are they treating you well?”
“I’m fine, yes, though…” He trailed off and eyed Jace warily.
Bryn peered up at him. “Can you give us a moment?”
Jace’s eyes narrowed. “I thought your professional cock-sucking days were over.”
She flinched as though he’d punched her in the gut, but then squared her shoulders and stared him down. “They are. I want to talk to him, not give him a freebie. If you need an activity, you can bring Sabine dinner.”
Jace had enough sense to look chagrined, and then stalked out of the room. Malcolm winced, pulled his specs off and started fidgeting with them.
“Sorry, Bryn. Didn’t mean to cause trouble with your mate.”
“Don’t worry about it. The phase makes males extra territorial. I’ll kick his ass and make him apologize later. What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t do very well on my own. Alexi took care of the business end of things. He took care of a lot of things, and…I’m not sure I’m supposed to be helping the resistance. Not just for free, though I owe them for rescuing me. It’s more than that.”
“You’re afraid that the other indexers will be upset with you?” she guessed. The indexers worked together in a kind of network, so it would make sense that they would disapprove if they thought one of theirs had gone rogue.
“Yes. No. Well, I’m afraid my master wouldn’t like it.”
Bryn frowned in confusion, and Malcolm tugged down the high collar of his shirt to reveal a slave mark tattooed on his throat. She’d heard that there were human slaves in the Syndicate systems, but she’d never seen one. It explained why he’d never gotten naked above the waist during his visits to the brothel. Like any slave, he was probably ashamed of his mark, though marks of this sort were a Cy’ren tradition, not a human one.
“Cyprena is an independent world,” she said. “Your master can’t touch you there. I’m sure the Cy’ren will offer you asylum.”
“If I agree to work for them.” Malcolm sighed and shook his head.
“It’s for a good cause.”
“Alexi said good causes never pay well.”
Bryn laughed. “True enough. But they help you sleep better at night. You might want to talk to the captain about this. Her mate is Lord Degalen’s sister. She could probably set you up with a nice, comfy job with the Sunsingers. And I’ll let Jace know. His father is a ruling lord.”
Malcolm nodded and put his spectacles back on. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fully clothed. It’s an improvement.” She smiled dryly, and he blinked up at her.
“You looked good naked.” Malcolm winced. “That’s not what I meant. Well, it is what I meant, just not—”
Bryn patted him on the arm. “It’s all right, I get it. I don’t mind. If you want me to help you get set up on Cyprena, or arrange asylum, I will.”
Malcolm smiled. “Thanks, Bryn.”
“I’ll walk you back to your quarters. You could probably use some rest after all that decrypting.”
Sabine had no purpose aboard the ship other than to indulge in the phase with her mate. With both Jace and Bryn gone, she had nothing to occupy herself with, and waited impatiently for their return. As a slave, Sabine was no stranger to empty hours. Some of her former masters tended to forget about their slaves when they were out of sight, as unconcerned about the slaves’ welfare as they would be about the whereabouts of an old pair of boots. Once the phase was over she assumed she would be able to leave Jace’s quarters and visit other areas of the ship—like the galley, to find food that didn’t look and taste like mud—but for now, she was stuck.
The periods of clarity that had finally come with the long-awaited progress in Sabine’s phase were a double-edged sword. She was grateful to be able to think without the constant press of lust clouding her mind, but when the hunger lifted it left her filled with a different desire. Sabine’s skin itched and her hands shook until she balled them into fists, tangled in the bed sheets. She wanted the sweet high of the uppers and the numb oblivion they brought like a child desperately craving a sweet when there were none to be had.
Her heart leapt when the door opened and Jace returned to the room. He was scowling but appeared unharmed.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right? Is Bryn?” Sabine chased after him as he stalked toward his locker to shed his coat.
“Yes, we’re both fine. She’s speaking with the indexer.” Jace growled under his breath as he tugged the garment off.
“Is that bad?”
“No.”
“Then why are you angry?” Curious, she peered at him more closely.
“I’m not angry,” he snapped.
With a sharp gasp, Sabine immediately stepped out of arm’s reach. Though he didn’t seem the sort to strike others during a fit of temper, she had been wrong before. Sometimes otherwise amiable people were the most violent when angered.
Jace looked up at her movement and then froze in mid-motion, his shirt half-unfastened. “I apologize. I would never hurt you.”
She eyed him warily, unsure of what to do. Deciding to give him space to cool down, she backed toward the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. Sabine watched in silence as he finished stripping, her lust simmering to a boil as more of his dark skin was revealed. Then he stood and paused again, eyeing her with predatory desire but taking a calming breath.
“Are you hungry? Bryn suggested I bring you dinner, but it slipped my mind.”
“No, thank you.”
“How are you feeling?” His gaze drifted to her hands, and she realized that she was clenching the sheets again to stop their shaking.
Sabine squared her shoulders. “Dr. Morgan said withdrawal was normal. She can’t do anything to help it.”
“I’m sorry.” Jace slowly crossed to her and knelt before her, taking her hands into his. Sabine’s pulse leapt as he massaged his thumbs over her knuckles, and then his hands traced a slow trail up her forearms before moving to rest at her waist. “I wish I could help you.”
“You are, in a way. You’re helping with the phase, but…” She trailed off.
“But?” he prompted.
“But this isn’t freedom,” Sabine blurted. She winced at her honesty, but forged ahead. “Bryn and I used to talk about what we’d do when we were free. I’ve never been able to do what I wanted. I’ve always been at the mercy of a master. Being with Bryn was the first time I did something because I wanted to, not because I was ordered to, or it was expected of me. I love her.”
She swallowed hard past the sudden lump in her throat as she brushed a lock of hair out of his face. Her fingers tingled as she caressed his cheek—Jace radiated desire, burning with passion and deep sincerity, but there was a different hunger as well. Jace was so alone…rejected by his family, his crew, and now, he feared, even his mates. He longed for affection like a starving man hungered for a scrap of food.
“I know you want us to be able to do what we want, but that’s something I’ve never had,” Sabine said. “I never had a choice in where I went or what I would be in life. Everything I am, who I’ve been, has always been decided for me. I want to be able to decide for myself.”
Jace nodded slowly. “What would you like to do?”
“I don’t know yet. But I want the chance to learn what my options are.” If she had any options left to her, other than being his mate. Sabine sighed, and Jace leaned close and nuzzled her throat, just above her new mate marks.
“Well when you do know, tell me. I’ll do everything I can to see that it happens.”
She quirked a brow. “Even if I want to fly starships and fight slavers?”
“Only if you promise not to shoot me,” he re
plied gravely, and she giggled. “Perhaps after you’ve met with Andee and done some aleithir training, you’ll have a better idea of what you wish to do.”
They both turned at the sound of the door opening, and Bryn entered. Sabine rose and tackled her lover in a fierce hug. “Where were you?”
Bryn held her tight and kissed the top of her head. “On the bridge. Then I was on the Adamant. I’m sorry I couldn’t get word to you. Of course then I had to take time out to suck the indexer off for the hell of it. I’m rather tired now.”
Sabine frowned up at Bryn, who was busy glaring at Jace. That explained the source of his temper. Jace snarled and cursed—one of the few words in Cy’reni that Sabine understood—and stepped toward them. Bryn immediately shoved Sabine behind her, putting herself in the line of fire. The reflex was so depressingly normal for them that Sabine’s heart sank.
“Get over it, Second Son,” Bryn ordered. “We’ve had a lot of clients. Being jealous is a waste of all our time.”
Bryn and Jace stood toe-to-toe, anger snapping and popping like a wood-fire, and Sabine shrank back.
“I don’t want you near him,” Jace said.
“Malcolm just wanted to talk.” Bryn glared at Jace. “He’s scared and he’s in mourning, and for what it’s worth, Sabine and I are the only people he knows aboard this ship. I offered to help him. In a completely vertical manner.”
“I understand. It doesn’t bother me.” Sabine turned her attention to Jace and folded her hands as she waited for him to say the same. Her hands trembled, but she hoped they didn’t notice.
“It bothers me,” he admitted.
“Why?” Sabine asked.
Jace scowled as he ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s like…when de la Cruz first said that you’d spent the night in his quarters, for a moment I wanted to tear him apart. And now, seeing you with him, all I could think of was throwing you over my shoulder, hauling you back here and fucking you senseless.”
“It’s the phase,” Sabine said. “It does that. Takes over your mind, your body, until you’re just a puppet who does its bidding.”
“Puppet or not, you owe me an apology, Second Son. I’m your mate, and I may decide to be your shathlinn, but I will not let you treat me like a whore. Not ever. Got it?” Bryn said.
“Understood. I apologize. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.”
“Good. Now I think you should both get into bed,” Sabine announced.
“Not yet, a’gra. I still have a few things to say about the family drama that Jace brought up before I left for the med bay.” Bryn tapped the Morningstar mate mark at her throat. “Sabine and I agreed to take on your problems when we got these inked, so we need to know everything. No secrets, no lies. If you want me to be your shathlinn then you and I have to be able to trust each other completely, and I can’t trust you if I think you’re holding things back.”
“I understand. I promise I will tell you everything you need to know before we reach Cyprena.”
“No, you’re going to tell us everything, period. You don’t get to decide what we need to know,” Bryn countered.
“And we will tell you everything as well,” Sabine said.
“I…” Bryn trailed off and cursed.
“It’s only fair.” Sabine peered at Bryn, concerned about her lover’s sudden change in mood. “What’s wrong?”
“Painted myself into a corner.” Bryn took a deep breath and straightened. “In the interest of full disclosure, when Dr. Morgan examined me she found that my sterilization can be reversed with surgery.”
“That’s wonderful!” Sabine threw her arms around Bryn and beamed at the thought of the three of them surrounded by their children. She had never known her parents, never had brothers or sisters, and always dreamed of being surrounded by people who loved her. “We’ll be a real family.”
“No, a’mhain, we’re a real family now,” she corrected. “Whether the second son knocks either of us up will just make us a bigger family.”
Sabine blushed, chagrined, and chuckled at Jace as he watched them with wide eyes.
Bryn cleared her throat. “I’m not saying I want the surgery, and if I do decide to pursue it, it’ll be my decision. No one else’s. We have enough to deal with at the moment. Speaking of which, now we can all get into bed.” Bryn began unbuttoning her jacket, and then lightly poked Jace in the chest. “Get to work, Morningstar.”
Chapter Twelve
There were times in the past few years when Bryn was certain she’d never live to see Cyprena again. It was a bittersweet homecoming, because she wasn’t going home. Instead they were headed for the sprawling Morningstar city, and not the smaller enclave that House Wintersend shared with three other minor houses.
All was quiet as the Talon II entered Cyprena’s atmosphere, gliding over the ruins dotting the planet’s topside. Morningstar control allowed them passage without an argument, but that didn’t stop a trickle of cold sweat from slipping down Bryn’s spine as the ship maneuvered down the tunnel connecting the Morningstar enclave to the surface. With so many guns bristling along the tunnel, one itchy trigger finger and the Talon II would go out in a blazing fireball.
Because Sabine was still in phase, after the Talon II landed at the Morningstar docks they took the ship’s shuttle directly to the lord’s manor, where she and Jace would be kept in isolation. Bryn wasn’t sure what she’d be doing in the meantime, other than watching the door to ensure that none of his brother’s minions showed up to assassinate Jace while he was mid-thrust. And occasionally riding herd on Malcolm, who watched everything with avid interest as the shuttle flew over the muted lights of the city.
There was an elegant order to the layout of the Morningstar city that her home city had lacked. In Winter City, the buildings were clustered tightly together, every inch of the cavern occupied by citizens of the Houses Wintersend, Everwinter and Icestar. Here the city was divided into four quarters by a stylized star that glowed brighter than the surrounding lights.
“All the cities are underground?” Malcolm asked.
“Yes. The surface cities were abandoned generations ago,” Bryn replied. “Too many slaver raids by off-worlders. We decided to build something more defensible. There are a few thousand guns lining that tunnel we flew through.”
“Oh. It’s very…dark.”
Bryn chuckled. “No darker than living on a jump station. When was the last time you were planet-side?”
“I’ve never been on a planet before. Not that I can remember.” Malcolm shook his head. “I hope the depth doesn’t interfere with the signal.”
“It won’t. Unless the city goes into lockdown. Then nothing gets in or out, not even transmissions to the surface,” Jace said.
Captain Hawke and Jace piloted the shuttle, while Bryn sat with Malcolm and Sabine. Poor Sabine was trapped inside a sterile suit that kept her pheromones from escaping and driving the local male populace mad. She was fidgeting, and Bryn took her gloved hand and held it.
“It’s so strange. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live here.” Sabine’s voice was muffled by the helmet, but it still managed to hold a note of amazement.
“You’ll have plenty of room. The Morningstar enclave is the largest on Cyprena,” Jace commented.
Bryn rolled her eyes. “Yes, we’re well aware of the Morningstar preoccupation with size.”
“And we have no complaints,” Sabine added, ever the peacemaker.
True enough, Bryn thought, though in her opinion Jace didn’t need his ego stroked. He was already in full-on swaggering male mode, and had made a special point to leave obvious bite marks on her throat before they left the Talon II. It seemed to make him feel more secure that she wasn’t going to wander off and jump the first male she saw. As if she would ever betray her honor that way—she hoped tha
t once the phase ended, his jealousy would clear up as well.
The shuttle touched down, and Bryn opened the hatch first. She scanned the shuttle pad, worried that the assassins Jace feared might be lurking in the shadows. The area was mostly empty of personnel in order to keep the local males away from Sabine. Two females stood waiting for them, serene and stately, and Bryn heard Jace make a soft sound of surprise.
“Problem?” the captain asked.
“Not at all.” He smiled and bowed as the females approached. “Captain Hawke, this is my mother Sairyssa, and I believe you’ve already met my sister Andelynn. Ladies, this is Captain Carmen Hawke and indexer Malcolm de la Cruz. And these are my two new mates, Sabine and Lieutenant Brynnaren Viera.”
Bryn bowed under the sharp regard of the other females. Sairyssa was slender, wearing a gown that likely cost more than a month’s rent for the cramped apartment Bryn had lived in inside of the Wintersend enclave. The woman shared Jace’s white hair and pale blue eyes, but her skin was a deep indigo. His sister was a petite thing with long black hair, green eyes and light gray skin.
“Pleased to meet you,” Malcolm said politely.
“If Captain Hawke and Indexer de la Cruz would please come with me, I will show them to their rooms,” Andelynn offered.
Malcolm glanced at Bryn, and she gave him a reassuring nod. They had already discussed that he could send for her if he felt overwhelmed or confused. Technically as his shathlinn she shouldn’t leave Jace’s side, but he’d grudgingly given her permission to help the indexer. Jace couldn’t argue with the fact that they needed Malcolm’s help to find out what the Eppes had been up to.
His mother smiled thinly. “And I will accompany you to your quarters. I am eager to know my son’s mates better.”
That didn’t bode well. Bryn turned to the captain. “Just let me know when Malcolm needs me.” The captain frowned, confused, and Bryn smiled dryly. “He didn’t talk to you, did he?”
“Was he supposed to?” she asked.
