Page 128 of Star Bringer
“So, are we heading for the Wilds to rescue Milla?” she asks after I get the blanket pulled over her. She doesn’t sound scared, like so many people would be. Just curious.
“Yeah. But first I need to work out exactly how we’re going to get her out of there. The Wilds are a dangerous place, and anyone we might come across out there is not someone we want to be fucking with.”
“Like who?”
“Wilders run the gamut. Space pirates. Raiders. There’s a black market for everything if you know the right people. And it’s pretty lawless out there.”
“Is that how they get away with human trafficking?” she asks, sounding aghast.
“Probably. Growing up on Kridacus, there were stories parents would use to frighten children. Be good or we’ll send you to the Wilds.”
“I keep thinking about those people on theCaelestis. People like Beckett and Milla, experimented on and then dumped like they’re worthless. It’s unconscionable—and it has to stop.”
I don’t disagree. But I also know things have been going on like this for a very long time. Change won’t come easy, if it ever comes at all. “And who’s going to stop it?”
Kali doesn’t say anything else. It’s clear this trip is opening her eyes to what the system—and her mother—is really like. I knew she was an idealist who lived in a gilded bubble. But now that bubble has well and truly burst.
Even beyond that, though, I suspect there’s a core of steel inside her that’s being revealed. And one day, if she gets the chance, she could become a good leader—exactly what this system needs. If we don’t all burn before she gets that chance. And if we can keep her—and everyone else on this ship—alive long enough to see it through.
Fuck. I sink down into the chair, running a hand over my face. How did I ever find myself in the role of protector? That’s never been my thing.
I’m exhausted. And not a little overwhelmed. I have to keep everyone alive and find a way to rescue Milla from the asteroid belt and make sure this damn ship with a mind of its own doesn’t do anything too outrageous and Kali—
I cut myself off before I can go there. Kali and the weird feeling inside me when I think of her are going to have to wait. Because I have a shitload more important things to figure out right now than anything as nebulous as feelings.
But before I can so much as think about solutions, I have to get some sleep.
Kali reaches out and grabs my hand. She swallows, and her lower lip trembles in that way that means she’s trying to be brave but is also really scared or sad. And I’m a fucking goner. Even before she asks, “Will you stay with me?”
It’s a bad idea. No question about it.
I know it, and maybe another night I would care. But after the day we’ve both had, I don’t want to leave her here any more than she wants to be left.
So I shrug out of my jacket. Kick off my boots. Unfasten the holster at my waist.
She watches my every movement, a faint flush across her cheekbones. She wants me. I’ve always known that. Maybe because I’m something she can’t have.
Maybe I want her for the same reason.
Who the fuck knows?
But we’re both safe tonight. The painkillers have already turned her eyes glassy.
I move to the other side of the bed, where her good leg is, and lift the blanket. “Shift over, Princess.”
She scoots to the far side, and I slide in beside her, doing my best not to jostle her. But there’s not a lot of room, and I can feel the warmth of her body as I move as little as possible, trying to get comfortable. I’m never going to sleep like this.
Beside me, her breathing has already slowed. I match mine to hers. And when her slumbering body relaxes, the curve of her side melding to mine, I finally fall asleep.
Chapter 49
Rain
I sit on the edge of my bed in the cabin I usually share with Kali. And technically Beckett, though she never seems to sleep here. I’m not sure where she sleeps. Maybe she doesn’t.
It’s late, really late, but I haven’t been able to sleep.
Because Ian, Kali, and Gage nearly died today.
