Page 46 of New World

Dorane wondered if he was going to have to have someone killed. Asta said she was bored. She would probably do it for free if he asked her nicely.

“A few weeks into the journey, one of the crew members figured out that they had collected something of value,” she murmured before taking a small sip of his drink.

Dorane was entranced by the way she moved, the way she spoke—controlled but natural, guarded but open. He was also very aware that she had placed her lips directly over where he had taken a sip. The realization caused heat to flow from his head to his groin fast enough to disorient him.

I am definitely in deep, deep trouble, he mused.

“I haven’t heard anything about another pod being discovered, especially one on Cryon II.”

Mei gave him an innocent smile and ran her tongue along her bottom lip to catch a droplet of liquor. His eyes followed the movement.

“Let’s just say Grak and the pod decided to make an unplanned voyage to Turbinta. I’ve heard it is quite the vacation spot,” she said.

“Turbinta? Why would— Oh, a joke. You’re joking,” he said, once again flustered because his mind was on her tongue and lips and not on his question.

“Yes about it being a vacation spot, no about Grak and my escape pod heading there. I was told by a reliable source that the Legion would not care to search there,” she said.

“Yeah. It’s a shithole,” he agreed. “Where are you staying?”

Mei lifted a shoulder. “I have a safe place.”

That answer did not sit well with him. Her idea of safe might not be the same as his. Shields, reinforced structures, the highest level of tech… that was safe.

Dorane exhaled through his nose. “And where, exactly, is ‘a safe place’?”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Somewhere on Cryon II?”

Gods, she was dangerous.

“That narrows it down by about seventy-two levels,” he growled.

Mei smiled but didn’t respond. He wasn’t letting that go, but he let it slide—for now.

He tapped a finger against the table. “And what about fighting? I’ve seen you move, I’ve seen you kill. Who trained you?”

For the first time, Mei’s amusement dimmed. A shadow crossed her expression, something old, weary. Dorane immediately regretted the question, but she answered anyway.

“I was trained by the best teachers my planet had,” she said simply. “From the time I could walk. I think if I had been born here, you would consider me a Turbinta.”

There was no pride in her voice. No bravado. Just fact.

Dorane’s chest tightened. He had known too many people who carried that kind of weight. He had, too, until he learned to let it go.

He changed tactics.

“Where did you come from, then?”

Mei hesitated for a heartbeat before answering. “A world very far from here.”

“That’s vague.”

“It’s true.”

Dorane huffed a soft laugh. “Is everything about you going to be a mystery?”

Mei’s smile softened, her dark eyes gleaming with something unspoken.

“Would you be disappointed if it wasn’t?” she murmured, picking up his glass again and sipping it.

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