Page 31 of Claim
She wasn’t going to ask what he’d said or what was wrong.Because she already knew.If it was worse now for some reason he wasn’t sharing, there wasn’t anything she could do about that either.Not because she doubted herself but because Mag wouldn’t tell her.
She stiffened her shaking knees.“Whatever is happening here, stop it right now,” she said in her lowest voice.Which might not be as impressive as an apex’s commanding growl, but it did make Kinsley blink in surprise, and she was the problem at the moment.
As her weight shifted in surprise, Sil swung her to one side, disrupting her angry focus on Mag.“You can’t yell at my heartsong.”
“I wasn’t yelling at her,” Mag growled.“I was tellingyouand she got in the way.”
“You can’t yell at your brother either,” Kinsley said, though her grumble was only half-hearted since she was now snuggled in three of Sil’s four arms.“We’re trying to help.”
“But none of you—” With obvious difficulty, Mag silenced himself.“Just go.”
But he hadn’t looked at June again.
As Sil spun Kinsley away, he angled his antennae toward June.“You’ll stay with him?”
She had no doubt his question would carry to the irate apex, but she nodded.
When her friends stepped away, the vast core felt suddenly too small.
“You should go too.”There was no growl to Mag’s voice now.Not even a grumble or a grunt.Just the gravel of broken rock.“You know there can be nothing between us.”
“I’m not standing here because of us,” she told him.“Not for you alone, either.And definitely not for me.But there’s a ship of people—a bunch of them here right now—who can’t see you fighting with your brother and his wife-mate.Especially not when we are so close to getting what we need.”
“But we’re not.”
She hesitated.“I saw… Adeline had the opening offers for theDeepWandercargo, and with Sil’s stones…” She couldn’t keep going, not with the futility in his black eyes.
“It’s not going to be enough.”
“You can’t be sure.”She wrapped her arms around herself.
“The Dastard has declined to sanction thePratorim.And he will not offer a place to theDeepWanderwhile my debt remains.”He looked away.“I risked the debt to survive long enough to get Luster contracts, but now I can’t pursue those contracts until I pay the debt.”
She bit her lip.“We’ll find another way.We’ll get other contracts.The universe is full of rocks to crush or sing into new shapes—”
“But not for me.”
“Mag—”
“I’ll clear the debt to Illgattoa myself, and the ship will be free—”
“No!”Ignoring the stiff rejection of his body, she clutched his arm.“Mag, no.”
“There’s no other choice.Sil will become apex in my place.”
She snorted hard.“No way would he ever agree to that.So that’s why you were fighting?”
“I didn’t tell him why.Just that he needed to be strong enough to take my place.”
This time her breath was only a sigh.“Mag.Haven’t you learned anything?His strength is in his songs, in the hope he never gave up.Just like Teq’s strength is literally crushing rocks but also making sure the ship is safe.Your strength is leading your people.You’ve done that the whole time.Don’t give up—”
Before she could finish, he grabbed her arm and whirled her to one side, nearly jerking her off her feet.
Shocked—she’d never have believed he’d be so angry—she clutched at him to hold herself upright.And saw thePratorim’s captain taking a swing at them.
Shocked again—because the Sauronilan was smaller than Mag who did looksoangry—she steeled herself for a fight.
Except the other captain wasn’t lashing out with his fist or even wielding a weapon.He just brandished his datpad.“Illgattoa wants a word.”The acid snarl on his half reptile face could’ve melted plasteel.
