Page 39 of When Eden Falls

“Dybgo.” I let out a breath. “Oh, good. I can pronounce that. Otherwise, I would’ve had to make something up.” I chuckled, sending a ripple of amusement across his face. “But saying that, up until now, you have been referred to as Captain Blue Cape.”

Frowning, he stiffened for a moment, before a smile illuminated his face. “That isn’t very imaginative.”

“Well…it’s far less insulting than some of Zamya’s suggestions.”

He laughed again, a sound I realised I could relish in. “Ah,yes, Miss Zamya. The brutishly inquisitive one.”

“That’s one way of describing her…in the nicest possible way.”

Dybgo smiled widely, exposing those pointy canines, and the sound of Rooke’s harsh, authoritative voice suddenly shot over us. I glanced over to where the voice came from, unsure of what he had said. Rooke was standing in an open doorway on the corner of the corridor. Dressed in an Akquarian tunic and pair of dark trousers, an unusual frown rippled across his forehead. “I’m not interrupting, am I?” Rooke glanced between me and Dybgo, his words laced with a hint of sarcasm.

“No,” we said in unison, only to look back at each other and smile.

Dybgo straightened, pushing his shoulders back, and walked towards Rooke. “I need a couple of minutes with Havav.”

Rooke stepped aside, allowing Dybgo to pass, only to shoot me a hard look as I approached.

“Ah, Miss Eden,” Havav drawled, spotting me in the doorway. “Come in, come in.”

Before I stepped across the threshold, Rooke caught my elbow and said into my ear, “Be careful, Eden.”

I looked back at him with a questioning expression.

“Zam told you about the males here?”

“Yes. We were only talking.”

“Just be careful.”

I nodded my head gingerly and walked into the long, elegant room. At the far end Dybgo was speaking to Havav in their own strange language. The deep rumbles and clicks almost mimicked a type of underwater song. But I picked up on a couple of coherent words that were repeated several times—red and wood, always said together, as if red-wood was a name or a place.

The conversation was brief, and once Havav barked a final order, Dybgo inclined his head, turned on his heel, and left the room without a single glance in our direction. Before the door clicked shut, Havav tapped the seat beside him. He watched me as I sat on the long chaise, keeping a decent distance between myselfand the Akquarian leader.

“Well, don’t you look exquisite, Miss Eden.” His charming smile seemed devilish.

A little shocked, I flicked my eyes to Rooke, who was now sitting in a large chair to Havav’s right. The hint of a smirk flashed across his lips. He was probably used to listening to Havav’s charm by now, but it didn’t stop the blush rising to my cheeks.

I flicked my gaze back to Havav. “It should be Yuska you thank for my appearance, not me.”

Havav eyed me with an incredulous look. “Indeed.” He leant forward, grabbing a drink from the table beside him. Offering me the glass, he said, “Welcome to my study. I do apologise for leaving you until last to interview.”

“No need.”

“I am intrigued, though.” He leant back against the chair’s rolling arm. “I’ve discovered Mr Kobe’s expertise is in physics and engineering, Miss Cora in astrogeology, and Miss Zamya in biology. So, what do you bring to your crew, other than your beauty of course?”

Rooke rolled his eyes.

Suppressing my laugh, I shrugged. “I’m just the pilot.”

“Just the pilot?”

“A damn good one, too,” Rooke said, peering at me.

“I was under the impression you flew the ship, commander?” Havav adjusted his position, only to look back at me when I said, “There’s a rota. Rooke helps me fly the ship, along with Tr…”

“Kobe.” Rooke’s voice cut across mine. Our eyes met and I sensed the exaggerated meaning within his. He hadn’t told Havav about Troy and The Orka, and clearly wanted it to remain that way.

Quickly, covering my mistake, I said, “Yes, Kobe sometimes helps. He can’t be left for too long on his own, he gets distracted.” Kobe hadn’t flown a spacecraft for years.