Page 27 of Star Prince

Crat.Why hadn’t she insisted that the merchant include instructions? Her stupid error echoed every stumble she had taken so far since leaving Mistraal. First her entire escape was witnessed. Then her star-speeder was confiscated on her first stopover in the frontier—with all her possessions aboard. And her one attempt to alleviate her misery had turned into a drunken escapade that ended with her coming aboard theSun Devil—the one bright spot, she conceded, in a black hole of blunders.

She let out a long, weary breath and forced herself to face the woman in the mirror. Each one of her mistakes could have ended her dreams of freedom. But they hadn’t. Nor would her slime-hued hacked-off locks, she vowed. The way she saw it, the chances of Dar security spotting her in a search had just diminished another stress-reducing iota.

Vigorously, she towel-dried her hair and tried to scrub the spots of brown from her forehead. Her hair looked somewhat better after she combed it off her forehead, but the fuzzy ends curled as they dried. She pressed them down, but they sprang up again. Defeated, she threw down her hands and dashed to the galley.

The noise and laughter pouring from the chamber spurred memories of the bustle of the dining hall in which she had taken her meals with her family. It seemed she would not be able to stop missing them as easily as she had cut her ties. Clutching her hands together, she waited for the heaviness in her chest to pass. Then she skulked through the hatch, hoping the crew was too engrossed in their meal to notice her hair.

Ian calmly folded his napkin and stood. It was ashow of respect practiced by allVash Nadahmales when a woman entered a room, but not one she had expected from an Earth-dweller. Before she could ponder his behavior, conversation ceased. A few spoons clanked into bowls and Quin began choking. Gredda pounded him on the back.

“Her hair…” he sputtered.

Tee’ah was unable to resist the opportunity to torture the man. “I do have an extra box of hair color in my quarters. I planned to save it for a later date. However, perhaps I shall reserve it for you, my dear mechanic, should you decide to join me on the”—she winked— “wild side.’’

Red-faced, Quin wheezed something at her. Gredda and the others chuckled appreciatively.

As he pulled out her chair and seated her, Ian appeared thoroughly entertained. “Nice ‘do,’” he said.

“I’d been wanting to try something different.”

“It is that.”

Smiling, she turned her attention to her meal. His gaze was totally without censure. Perhaps it meant that she was one step closer to being accepted as a member of his crew, green hair and all.

Chapter Nine

Gann foundLara in theQuillie’scockpit. She must not have heard him drop down from the ladder, for she remained as still as a statue, her petite dancer’s body nestled in the pilot’s chair as she stared out the enormous curving viewscreen at the bow. They were traveling at many times light speed, and had been for most of the day, racing toward Padma Eight, a boisterous little planet known for its cargo operation and where, according to Lara, pilots went looking when they needed a job. Gann hoped Princess Tee’ah would be one of them.

Lara brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed.

Noticing, Gann said, “You’ve been on duty long enough, Lara.”

At the sound of his voice, she went rigid, but she did not turn around.

“It’s my turn to watch the computer fly the ship,” he added.

“My shift ain’t over,” she returned coldly.

“It’s been eight hours.”

“Aye. I’ll take eight more, then.”

“You’re a workaholic.”

“Actually,” she said, glancing at him with hollow, haunted eyes, “I’m an insomniac. You might as well go back to sleep, because I ain’t gonna be able to.”

He thought of suggesting a few mutually enjoyable activities that would certainly tire her, but he held his tongue. “So take a sleep-inducer. In eight hours I want you back here, on tracking duty, refreshed and ready to go.”

“Bah. No drugs. That’s aVashweakness.” Her tone was cold, but stopped short of overt disrespect.

“I said you’re relieved of duty, Ros. Go to bed. That’s an order.”

“Fine.” She stood with her back to him as her fingertips tapped over the navigation computer. “We’re on course, on schedule. I show atmospheric entry on Padma Eight in sixteen-point-two standard hours.” Without looking up, she pushed past him. “I’ll be back in eight.”

Gann folded his arms across his chest. He had been raised to celebrate and appreciate the differences between men and women, but Lara was unlike any female he had ever encountered. She was devoidof warmth, of softness, of anything he remotely associated with femininity.

And it roused his curiosity.

“All right, Miss Sunshine, what is it about me, or maybe men in general, that’s so blasted distasteful to you?”

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