Page 59 of Stealing the Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lords 3)

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“Would you shut that shit off?”

Vin was sitting next to Aidan at the mess hall table watching replays of Onnika’s tournament on his handheld. Aidan couldn’t watch it. Couldn’t listen. He couldn’t relive it again. They’d been playing and replaying it over the feed nearly nonstop, sometimes in slow motion. Aidan had his own handheld, but he was just staring at images of local maps, trying to look busy. It would be a couple more hours before they could leave Latherial.

At his outburst, Vin shut down his device. “Sorry, Captain. It just gets more amazing every time—”

“Go install the shield generator or something, would you?”

He cracked his knuckles. “Already done.”

“Then go clean the galley.”

“Caryn took care of it. I think she’s a stress cleaner.”

“Where are they now?” It was clear who he meant.

“Remember, they went to the marketplace to get some extra clothes, since it looks like they’re going to be with us for a while.”

“Only until the next habitable planet,” he insisted, having decided not to leave them here on Latherial with that roughneck stranger…who Onnika had refused to talk about. “And shouldn’t they have been back by now?” Aidan had forbidden them to go alone, so Priya, Lear, and Asher had offered to go with them. He hoped Priya and the others didn’t get suckered into letting them spend too much…and that they hadn’t run into trouble.

Vin mirrored his thoughts. “I told Priya not to go haywire with the spending, but you know…women.”

“It’s fine,” he grumbled.

Just then, they heard footsteps approaching. Onnika appeared in the hatchway. The instant Aidan saw her, a knot loosened in his chest. Her hair was damp and wavy as though fresh from a shower, and she wore a lacy new dress that exposed her sleek legs and seemed to be held up by a single loose knot tied around the back of her neck.

“It’s fine,” he repeated to Vin, forgetting he’d already said that.

For once, Onnika seemed unsure, standing there looking contemplative and almost self-conscious, but it was clear she wanted to speak to him alone.

Without taking his eyes from her, he ordered, “Vin, make yourself useful and go fix something.”

“Sure thing.” As Vin passed Onnika, Aidan heard him mutter, “Sweet moves out there.” Then he was gone.

Silently she stepped to the center of the room and linked her hands together in front of her…and waited. It wasn’t clear if she was expecting an interrogation or another tongue-lashing or both. Obviously he needed more information about her situation. Sure, she was fundamentally immoral, a thief and a liar, borderline obnoxious at times, but if she was desperate enough to nearly get herself killed to stay on his ship, then he could trust that her reasons were pretty severe. But he didn’t want to push her…just yet.

“You hungry?” he asked.

Her eyes darted dubiously. “Um…maybe a little.”

He gestured to the seat across from him. “I’ll make us something.”

He kind of enjoyed her confused expression as he headed into the galley. He returned shortly after with a couple of hastily made sandwiches, a bottle of Angilius liquor, and two glasses. Still seated, she looked adorably contrite.

He set her plate in front of her and softly observed, “You’re not yourself.”

“Um, you’re notyourself.”

He smiled at that and opened the bottle. “We’ve both had a day. This should help.” He filled their glasses before reclaiming his seat and taking up his handheld again, acting as if all of this was normal.

He sensed her gaze on him for a long moment and felt a sick kind of pleasure that he’d managed to tip her off kilter, if only a little.Welcome to my world.

After she took a sip of the liquor, he asked, “How is it?”

She gasped. “Bubbly!”

He glanced down at the perfectly clear liquid, seeing no bubbles. Then he raised his glass to his lips and took a sip. Fizzy liquid coated his tongue, little bubbles forming and exploding on contact. Strange. “It was Zeek’s idea to get it. He likes to think he’s cultured, and they only make this here on Latherial. You want something different?”

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