Page 68 of Into Orbit
‘And he knows thatI’mhere, but –’ she took a deep breath ‘– I am stating now, for the record, and for Willow to know, that I havechosento be here, and I will not leave.’
‘Youchooseto be here?’ he repeated slowly.
‘Yes.’ Anna’s hands shook slightly; she rested them on the glass. ‘I am stating that I am here of my own free will. There. Willow knows that you are holding an intergalactic criminal –’ she gestured at Vesper, who wrinkled his nose ‘– and you arehostingme as awillingguest. Let him go home.’
‘A guest,’ the Roth repeated flatly.
‘Aguest,’ Anna insisted. ‘Anhonouredguest of the Prince.’
He stared at her for a long, tense moment, then something in him deflated. ‘I will ask the Prince.’
Anna held her chin high. ‘Good.’
He gave a sharp nod. ‘Fine.’
With that, the cell glass blacked once more; Anna staggered back. I caught her and assisted her back to the cot as she shook.
‘You didn’t really choose to be here, did you, Anna?’ I said quietly.
She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. You helped me, and now I’m helping you.’ She gave a fierce frown. ‘The Prince better pull his head from his royal backside and send you home.’
I coaxed her to lie back down and heaped the blankets around her. ‘Even if he doesn’t, thank you for trying.’
‘You’ve always got to try,’ she murmured. Her eyes fluttered closed; in moments, she was fast asleep.
‘She said that once before,’ Vesper offered, examining his hands. ‘She said that trying and failing are far braver than never trying at all.’ He glanced at the bed. ‘Humans really are curious creatures.’
An hour or so later, I woke with a start as a loud growl echoed around the cell. I looked up, blinking rapidly, to see the same Roth had returned – and he’d brought a friend.
‘Prince,’ Anna croaked from the bed. ‘I wish you wouldn’t growl at me.’
‘I was not growling at you,’ the new Roth said petulantly.
He was as tall as the other, but more slender; where the first Roth had hair of a shining black that matched his eyes and was braided back from his face, the Prince was crowned in messy waves of auburn that curled around his ears and temples, waving around the protuberance of his backwards-curling horns. I didn’t know much about Roth beauty standards, but he was handsome – albeit in a rather frightening way.
‘If you were growling at Willow, then you can turn around and march right back out,’ Anna shot back, pushing herself up on trembling arms.
The Prince stared at her, then rubbed his temples. ‘Things were easier when I could not understand you,’ he muttered.
Anna forced herself upright, her back painfully straight. ‘Did tall, dark, and looming tell you what I said?’
The Prince considered her. ‘He told me.’
‘Let Willow go, and I’ll consider giving you what you want.’
‘You will consider it over dinner.’
Anna blinked. ‘Dinner? With you?’
The Prince cocked his head. ‘Is that not an Earth custom?’
She bit her lip. ‘It’s an Earth custom.’
‘Then you will have dinner with me,’ he said decisively.
‘Withjustyou?’ she said, her eyes flicking to the first Roth.
The Prince gave a short, sharp nod.
