Page 8 of Swept By The Alien Pirate Prince

Iknew by the somber way that Cyburn’s jaw drooped, his eyes flickered with anguish, in the way his shoulders hung in defeat — that his guards and crew had not found Amada.

“You were right after all,” he said as he joined me in the maintenance room with Silver, the Blade's beloved AI — an AI that I had befriended for her witty personality and her sharp tongue when it came to defending what was honorable. She had a computer generated body that she used to manipulate energy to move solid objects when she need to, but usually she just liked to appear in a humanistic form when she could.

I glanced up from the robotic arm I was working on, designed to assist the pilots in the bridge with enabling devices.

We’d been traveling through the asteroid belt for the past twelve hours, trying to escape the pursuit of the Belic Imperialists. We were safe for now but afraid to leave our guards down, even for a second.

“Right about what?” I asked.

Cyburn’s posture wilted even more, and his facial features drained. The almond shape in his black eyes squeezed together as he exposed the truth and entered the room one cautious step at a time.

“Amada.” He met my gaze when he said her name. “She hasn’t been found.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. The muscles in my body froze, but my heart did an Olympic dive into my stomach.

I didn’t say anything. There was nothingtosay.

“You want to say I told you so,” Cyburn said. His voice slumped with failure.

“No.” I lifted my chin and shook my head. “I don’t want to say that.”

“Then whatdoyou want to say?” Cyburn’s eyes searched mine with a certain level of desperation. It made my heart ache for him and what he was going through.

He was sacrificing a lot for everyone on board this ship. His responsibilities were endless. I tried to offer sympathy above all else.

Silver, who was normally opinionated and a little feisty, remained uncharacteristically quiet as she worked in the corner of the room. She was listening to us, her electric eyes shifting our way every now and then.

I took another deep breath, held it a moment longer, and shrugged. “I’m sure they’re looking everywhere for her. She has to be somewhere.”

Cyburn looked at me with dismay. “You are judging me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I can feel it.”

“Why would you think that?” I stared at him.

The tension was like a heavy blanket in the room. Silver didn’t offer any of her feedback to the conversation which further tested my already frazzled nerves. I suddenly wished I was having this conversation with Cyburn in private.

I cut the AI a wary glance before focusing my attention back to Cyburn.

He wore a hopeless frown.

“I don’t know. I should have been more on top of the Amada situation.”

“You did what you had to do in the moment to keep us all safe. You moved the ship, and we all have you to thank for that — and our lives.”

The green color returned to Cyburn’s cheeks, and his almond eyes had a trace of optimism twinkling in his irises.

“We are going to find her.” His jawline hardened with resolve.

“We just have to be careful in the meantime,” I mentioned. “Keep our guard up even more than we would normally.”

“I have every post on this ship covered,” Cyburn said. “If she comes out of hiding from wherever she is, she’ll be caught immediately.”

I wanted to believe him, but somehow, I still had my doubts. Amada was sly. I didn’t trust her. Silver dropped a metal bolt. It made a clanking sound as it fell to the floor.

My stomach twisted into knots and my head felt woozy. I lifted my palm to my warm head. I didn't have time to worry about the AI, I was too concerned with Amada and what she might be doing to the ship.

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