Page 13 of Willow and the Wraith

“Is the old male awake?” he asked coolly.

“Yes, Malacar is awake.”

She caught a flash of amusement at her correction, but he only nodded.

“Good.”

“Sooni, why don’t you go keep your grandfather company for a bit? You can tell him all about the ship.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly as she hopped down from her seat and scampered away. Willow hesitated for a moment then entered the cockpit. His eyes flicked towards her briefly before returning to the controls but he didn’t say anything. She settled into the seat Sooni had vacated, her breath catching as she took in the view.

Stars stretched out before them, countless pinpricks of light against the vast darkness of space. It was beautiful, awe-inspiring… and terrifying. The enormity of it all suddenly hit her. She was light-years from Earth, from her students, from everything she knew.

“It’s so overwhelming,” she whispered, more to herself than to Wraith.

He didn’t respond immediately, his hands moving over the controls with practiced ease. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and matter-of-fact.

“You get used to it.”

She turned to study his profile, the sharp angles of his face illuminated by the soft glow of the console. The subtle colors in his skin seemed to shimmer, as if he might suddenly disappear.

“Do you? Get used to it, I mean?”

His expression remained impassive, but something flickered in his eyes.

“I spend a lot of time in space.”

“Why?” she asked. “What do you do?”

She half-expected him to ignore the question, but he shrugged slightly.

“I hunt down criminals and retrieve stolen property.”

“You mean you’re a bounty hunter.” She considered that for a moment. “What do you do with the… what did you call them? The criminals?”

His lip twitched slightly, the tiniest hint of a smile.

“Mostly I turn them over to the proper authorities.”

Mostly? She wanted to ask what he meant, but something about his expression stopped her.

“Who hires you?” she asked instead.

He was silent for so long that she thought he might not answer, but then he shrugged again.

“Anyone who needs help finding something, or someone. Usually wealthy collectors. Sometimes law enforcement. Sometimes private citizens. Whoever can afford me.”

“Do you ever help people for free?”

“No.”

“Then why are you helping us?”

CHAPTER FIVE

Although Wraith had already locked in their course, he kept his eyes on the control panel as he tried to come up with an answer to her question. He wasn’t even sure he knew why. It had been an impulse, a no-doubt foolish impulse, and he wasn’t a male given to such actions. He finally just shrugged.

Even though he wasn’t looking at her, he was aware that her eyes were on his face. He braced himself for more questions, his jaw tightening, but her next question caught him off guard.

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