Page 82 of Star Champion

“With rods and sticks, things from the trash, but never a real sens-sword.” The girl was so nervous talking to her that her hands shook.

“There’ll be tryouts soon. Add yourself to the list. Do you think ya can come?”

“Aye,” the girl breathed. “What do I do? What do I wear?”

“Come just as ya are. Bring your big heart and the hunger to learn.”

“Thank you, Sea Kestrel. Thank you.” She gave Klark a fleeting nervous glance then scampered off into the night.

Jemm exchanged an incredulous glance with Klark. “Did ya hear that? She said I helped her believe in her dreams.” It felt as if the world had shifted beneath her boots that night. Instinct told her that everything from that moment forward would be different. “Winning the Galactic Cup for Team Eireya is my goal. But, this is my calling. Inspiring people to dream, the way my Da inspired me.”

As they walked, he wrapped her in one arm and reached for her wrist, her great-grandfather’s timepiece. “Remember…the unexpected brings opportunity.” He tapped the watch with his finger, indicating the engraving that said the same. “Everything that’s happened with us has been unexpected. It’s brought us opportunity. Whether or not we prevail against the league.”

Nagged again by an odd sensation of being watched, Jemm glanced over her shoulder.

“What is it?” Klark’s entire body went taut. “Brigands?”

“Not sure. I keep sensing someone following me. I thought I saw the gangster that beat up Nico that day. Migel Arran’s man. He has a red beard.”

“I told Arran to back off, or I’d see his clubs shuttered,” Klark growled.

“Nico says they coexist. Arran hasn’t interfered since.”

“It could change. You put Barésh on the map, Jemm. Now you’re back, and causing an upsurge of business for your brother. Arran can’t compete.”

“But I don’t intend to stay here. I want back in pro bajha. I want to finish the season.”

“Arran didn’t get where he is by being meek,” Klark argued. “If he feels threatened, no matter how temporary your stay is here, he could start trouble all over again.”

Jemm hoped not. But hoping that something did not happen was not enough. Baréshtis were born to fight. If Arran tried anything, she would make sure he regretted it.

Klark drew her close again, but they kept to the main streets and away from the alleys where pirates lurked. By the time they got home, the feeling of unease had faded, but she could not help thinking there was something more to it.

CHAPTER25

Jemm grabbedhold of Klark’s hand outside the closed door to her apartment. He was still catching his breath after seventeen flights of stairs in the thin Baréshti atmosphere. “Are you ready?” Her golden-green eyes were full of anticipation.

Klark laughed. “I am.”

Jemm pushed open the door and pulled him inside. Unlike the somewhat foul odors permeating the stairwells, a montage of pleasant scents filled the small space. This apartment where four people lived, slept, ate, and bathed, was not much larger than his closet at the palace, but the sense of love in the small space was strong. He saw it in the smallest details, from handcrafted items to the pieces of many times repaired furniture.

“Ma, look who surprised me tonight. Klark! He’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

“I hope he’s hungry. I made stew.”

Klark’s stomach growled at the mere suggestion.

Jemm’s mother, Marin Aves, was a tiny, pretty, and feminine version of Nico. She greeted him with delight, “Jemm’sVash, at long last.” Then she insisted he call her “Ma”.

A shriek of “Mum-mum!” startled him as a little girl launched herself into Jemm’s arms. She wrapped her skinny legs and arms around Jemm, her head burrowing in the crook of her neck. Suddenly, his star bajha player who had brought previously unbeatable galactic champions to their proverbial knees had transformed into a maternal figure, cuddling a little child.

Mum-mum. A name for mother. Was Button Jemm’s daughter? Klark realized they had never talked of Button outside of Jemm’s worries for the girl. He had assumed the child was a younger sister, but this girl was in fact very young. Young enough to be a daughter. Shame on him for not knowing such details about her life. That changed tonight.

“My niece, Button,” Jemm said, grinning as Button hid her face shyly, taking curious peeks at him.

A cataclysm of unexpected feelings hit, relief chief amongst them. Relief that this child was a niece, that Jemm had not borne another man’s child and all that went with it, and that if they were to have a baby together, the experience would be the first for both of them. All these thoughts were from a man who had never seriously considered marriage, or children, or any of that.

Until that moment.

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