Page 63 of Ruin

“Took you long enou- whoa!” The male stopped short and blinked at her. “What’s… oh shit, that’s a human! Where’d you find one of those?”

He scanned her from head to toe, expression intensely curious, like he’d never actually been this close to a human before. Maybe he hadn’t. Not counting the men Vargot bought to try to breed with her, she’d only seen five other humans in the seven years she could remember. Her people were rarely found in the Outer Rim.

Beside her, Hush chuckled. “I said the same damn thing.”

Ruin offered her a hand and pulled her against his side. “This is Lira. Lira, this is Thrill.”

“Hello.” She waved and offered what was hopefully a calm and not noticeably skittish smile.

He reminded her of Hush, which was fair since they were both Drifters and both had an exuberance about them, but there were just as many differences. Thrill seemed slightly younger, and there was something a little darker about him. A shadow in those sun-yellow eyes. Physically, he had fewer tattoos but more piercings, and his hair was shorter.

Thrill’s bright eyes bounced back and forth between her and Ruin as a smile grew, revealing sharp canine teeth, one of which was shiny silver. “Well now! What d’we have here? Do I smell”—he sniffed dramatically—“feelings? From Ruin, The Unruffled?”

Ruin snorted. “You’ve ruffled me numerous times.”

Thrill waved that away with a flick of his tail. “Yeah, but not in a ‘I wanna kiss you’ sorta way. Thank the fuckin’ luck moon. What I’m smellin’ here are unmistakably, very ‘I wanna kiss you’ feelings.”

Hush grinned broadly and stuck his tail out like a pointing finger. “As always,ka’ve, your nose is dead on.”

Thrill shrugged a shoulder with feigned modesty even as his gaze zeroed in on Beep and sharpened covetously. “What’s this? D’you bring me a present?”

Lira stiffened and sidestepped to block her robot. “No.”

The sound of her own voice startled her and, realizing what she’d just done, the blood drained out of her face.

Seeing her fear, Thrill’s brows tented and something that looked very much like pain flashed through his eyes. He raised both hands, tail drooping so low it almost touched the floor.

“Be at ease, little sister. No one’ll hurt you here. My oath on that.”

Exhaling shakily, she relaxed and whispered, “Thank you. I- I didn’t mean to be afraid. I just… ”

Thrill offered a sad, understanding smile. “I know, little sister.”

He did know. She could see it in his eyes. He knew what it was to fear, to brace for the lash you had no hope of evading. Not letting herself overthink it, she closed the distance between them and gave him a hesitant hug, unsure if the gesture would be welcomed or spurned.

To her surprise, he returned the embrace, albeit briefly. Stepping back, she met his gaze.

“I’m sorry that you know.”

His lips tipped in a crooked smile, and he gently flicked her on the tip of her nose. “Back at ya, little sister.”

Returning to Ruin’s side, she waved goodbye to Thrill as they left the cargo bay, feeling as if she’d just made a friend.

On the way to the Vengeance’s flight deck, they passed half a dozen other crew members. Two towering, white-furred Na’vah, a Lurian like Ruin, a Lo’yr, a Quicksilk, and a Kii’mian that had her pulse hiccuping. No humans, at least not so far.

They all greeted the guys, then gave her and Beep quizzical, scrutinizing looks. Those stares would’ve made her more nervous if Ruin and Hush hadn’t been flanking her, but they stayed close in a clear display of protection and familiarity.

She’d been worried Ruin might distance himself from her once they were among his friends, but he walked so close their bodies brushed with every step and he kept a hand curled around her shoulder. The implied intimacy in the gesture warmed her to her core.

Finally reaching the flight deck, Lira peered around in wide-eyed admiration.

She could see where they’d added upgrades, working more advanced tech into the existing stations lining the perimeter of the circular room. The ingenuity required to integrate a Nyxian-made cerebral interface with a Lo’yr A.I. navigational system was incredible. And impressive.

“An’ here I thought I was the only one that put that hungry look on your face,” Ruin whispered in her ear.

Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly covered his mouth with her fingertips. “Ruin!”

Eyes dancing, he nipped her fingers lightly before straightening.

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