Page 26 of Rescued

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CAIMBRIE

“Caimbrie, is it? It’s nice to formally meet you,” Nikathy said, offering me a hand.

I didn’t like the devilish look in his eyes, or his crooked smirk. And I really didn’t like the agitated frown on Herod’s face, standing just behind and to the left of Nikathy.

“Herod didn’t tell me we’d be having guests,” I noted dryly.

Nikathy’s expression faltered, but he didn’t pull his eyes away from me, nor did he retract his extended hand. Reluctantly I took it and shook daintily so that he would drop his arm, but I hardly felt like we were any closer to being friendly.

“I promise I’ll be out of your way in no time. I didn’t mean to encroach on your honeymoon!”

He flung the words at me in a challenge, testing me to see if I would protest. Herod’s face had drawn down into a dark scowl, but he did not speak up. All he did was shoot me a look from under the ridge of his brows and shake his head.

Whether he knew how much power his words would have or not, Nikathy’s insinuation left me speechless. I was suddenly awash in feelings of self-doubt, ashamed that I had been so undisciplined the night before. I remembered in stark detail throwing myself at Herod, begging him to fuck me. I didn’t even know Adreax and Tayla, but I was already wondering what they would think of me for acting so unbecoming at a time like this.

My mind reeled, and the tension between Herod and Nikathy was totally lost on me. The sting of Nikathy’s words still lingered. Honeymoon. As if this was some kind of serious endeavor. And how would he know anyway? Oh my god. Did Herod tell him?

My shame and embarrassment was replaced by indignation and fury in a flash. I imagined myself sleeping in the back of the ship while these two men shared stories of their sexual conquests. I would kill him. I would kill him dead if I found out he was telling tall tales about our encounter.

“Well, shall we be on our way?” Nikathy spoke up, breaking the iciness that had grown up around me, shrouding me from my logic and emotions.

I blinked several times, looking to Herod for some sort of explanation. What was this? Had he betrayed me so quickly to score points with his friend?

“Give me a moment,” Herod said sharply, pushing Nikathy aside and whisking past me into the back of the ship. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me with him, and I felt caught in an impossibly complex web. On the one hand, his touch was just as electrifying today as it had been last night. My heart raced at his touch and I wanted him to stop and press me up against the wall, kissing me deeply. And the rest of me wanted to plant my feet and demand an explanation from him, refuse to go anywhere he was trying to lead me until he came clean.

“Ooh, a lover’s quarrel already! Spicy!” Nikathy laughed heartily and then waved us away.

I glared daggers back at him over my shoulder, but Herod was tugging me away urgently.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about him. He’s a bit of a handful, but we go back a long way.”

“What does this have to do with me?” I asked shortly, placing my hands on my hips and jutting my chin out so I could look down my nose at Herod.

“That’s the thing. He just likes to pry. The man likes to sniff out trouble, and when he can’t find any, he starts creating some of his own. The best thing to do is keep your distance until we get to Divoron. Then we can be rid of him.”

“Well, we still need to fix the leak, so perhaps you can grab some tools and we can get this over with,” I snapped.

He squeezed my arm gently and kissed my cheek, but then he left me standing at the back of the ship as he went back to the cockpit. I sat on the edge of the bunk, lips pursed and thoughts rumbling through my head as he rummaged around in search of tools.

Sure, we would be rid of Nikathy when we reached Divoron, but he would also be rid of me. Perhaps Herod had invited Nikathy aboard as an excuse to avoid me for the next few days. Of all the possibilities before me, this one was the most discomforting. If it was true, it meant that Herod was feeling regret this morning, and I didn’t think I could stand the idea that he regretted being with me for one night. That he would do anything to avoid having to see me again.

I had to stop myself before my emotions ran away with my sanity. Acting desperate and needy was not going to do me any favors. I needed to stay calm, and I needed to keep to myself until I had a better idea of what was on his mind.

He came back with a bag of tools and handed them to me.

“Will this work?”

I peered inside, grimacing at the greasy pile of disorganized tools. Hadn’t he ever learned to clean up after himself? Ugh.

“This’ll be fine,” I said. “I just need you to hold the light for me while I work.”

I stepped back and waited for him to pull the floor panel up. With all the lights on, I could see the pool of cloudy fuel in the cavity, and instantly spotted the problem. Unfortunately, there was no way I could manage a permanent fix without the proper parts. For now, I would have to settle for a temporary solution until we could get to safety.

I went to work, instructing Herod whenever I needed him to adjust the lighting for me to see. Within a few minutes, I had the leak mostly sealed up, and hoped it would be good enough to get us through. I pulled back out of the cavity and swiped some loose hair out of my face.

“It’s not fixed, but it’ll be good enough. Just remember when we get to Divoron, you’re going to have to replace that seal.”

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