Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay

17

Aidan joined the others in the mess hall. They were finishing off Caryn’s leftovers. He had to admit, the girl’s cooking was delicious.

The sandstorm still raged below, but had diminished from a monstrous ten to a manageable six on the scale. Sadly, it was still too extreme to return to the surface, so no more vouchers could be won this round. Still, they’d managed to acquire enough to knock off five hours from their time here, which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough. Several racers had managed to get more vouchers and had already been allowed to start the next phase of the race. Aidan hated lagging behind.

Asher sat to Aidan’s left, his plate already cleared; Lear to his right, going in for seconds. Zeek and Priya both seemed lost in thought as they nibbled their food. Vin chewed loudly as he watched highlights from the race thus far on his handheld.

The silence between him and his crew had never been so thick with tension. They were divided for the first time in ages. The line of demarcation? Aidan on one side, two strange girls on the other—they’d commandeered one of the spare rooms and were currently holed up there.

Zeek and Lear sided with the girls, wanting to keep them around. Vin claimed to be undecided, but he did seem to be leaning their way. “Onnika managed to win us a voucher,” he’d reasoned.

Priya, who’d been on Aidan’s side before, now appeared conflicted, but didn’t speak up. Asher was still firmly in favor of getting rid of them, though he did suggest letting the little one cook again before she departed.

Slowly and surely, he was losing the confidence and devotion of his crew. Worse, Aidan was tempted to cross the line himself. That last parting look from Onnika had filled him with regret over his brash allegation. And after Priya, the securities expert, had laughed at him for it, he felt ridiculous as well.

“The gods themselves couldn’t hack the commissioner’s maps,” she’d informed him. “Let alone two petty thieves.”

But he still didn’t believe Onnika’s story about her lost home world. He could locate Pakovin right now with no trouble at all. Anyone could. They traded openly with others and welcomed outsiders. What other reason could she have to lie to him? A new theory was knocking around in his head.

“Oh shit,” Vin sputtered through a large bite of food that almost jumped out of his gaping mouth. “Did you guys see this replay? It’s brutal.”

They all turned to the large screen on the wall as Vin dialed in the feed for everyone to watch. A replay popped into view of all the ships lined up just as the race began. Aidan had witnessed evidence of a slaughter when they’d finally managed to leave Armina’s hangar, but he hadn’t thought much of it. There were always skirmishes at the start of every Phase Nine. However, this carnage was unprecedented. Ships viciously targeted each other the instant the race began, two and three against one, as if alliances had been arranged beforehand. Hulls were ripped open, shrapnel and metal rocketing in all directions. Chunks were gouged from ships, leaving huge, gaping wounds that bled fuel, supplies, and people. A few lucky ones got away entirely unscathed, evading the battle entirely in favor of a gaining a jumpstart on the race. Others were eviscerated.

The whole thing was quick and dirty; only a few minutes of carnage had elapsed before the lure of the race took the victors away, but at least thirty ships had been incapacitated or destroyed, several others hobbled. If the replay had kept going, it might have shown Dragoon flying though that field moments later.

Vin turned off the feed and they all shared a look. Aidan knew what everyone was thinking: It was lucky they hadn’t been on that starting line after all.

Movement by the hatch caught their attention. Caryn shrank back shyly under their gazes, hugging the hatchway.

Lear leaned forward in his seat. “Hey, is everything all right?”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You’re not interrupting anything.” Aidan experienced an odd current of disappointment to see that Onnika wasn’t with her, but at least it provided him with an opportunity to pry information from her without Onnika present…and to test out his new theory. “Come. Have a seat.”

Caryn twisted a lock of tawny hair around her finger. “I don’t want to bother you. I was just wondering if it was possible if maybe it would be all right—if you don’t mind, that is—if I could take some food back to my bunk with me?”

“You can eat here with us,” Lear suggested.

Her gaze darted between him and Aidan, then briefly to Asher and back. “That’s okay. It’s not for me, anyway. I know Oni hasn’t eaten in a while, and her stomach is growling, so I thought I’d bring her something…if that’s all right.”

Aidan glowered. “If she’s hungry, she can join us here in the mess hall. We all eat meals together.”

“We do?” Zeek replied, employing a comically confused look.

“We do today…from now on.”

Caryn backpedaled. “Oh. Okay. Never mind, then. Sorry to have—”

“Wait,” Aidan called. “We need to have a little chat.” He kicked the chair across from him out from under the table. “Have a seat.”

Resting on the top bunk, Onnika sat up, suddenly worried. After dozing off and on, she looked at the time and realized Caryn had been gone for a while.

Even though Onnika had insisted she wasn’t hungry, her growling tummy had betrayed her.

She wasn’t keen on the idea of asking Aidan for anything more, and blatantly refused to do so, so Caryn had insisted on going in her stead. Now Onnika wondered if it had been a bad idea to let her go at all.

Planting her hands on the edge of the bunk, she pushed off, landing on the hard metal floor with a clank. Lear might seem like a nice enough guy, but the rest of them…who could say? Poking her head out into the narrow passageway, she glanced left, then right. Empty. From the direction of the mess hall, the soft hum of voices echoed. She eased closer until she could make out who was speaking. Aidan. Damn. She didn’t want to see him, not after the way he’d looked at her before—like she was no better than a pest.

“…and she said you were looking for your home. Is that true?” Aidan pried.

Onnika stiffened.

“She told you that?” came Caryn’s soft voice, an edge of uncertainty in it.

“You do know where the Pakovian homeworld is, don’t you?”

“The what?”

Lurching into the mess hall, Onnika snapped, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Caryn jumped in her seat, but Onnika’s anger was aimed at Aidan, who seemed entirely unconcerned by the rage-filled female bearing down on him. “You have no right to interrogate Caryn like this. Our business is none of yours.”

Aidan leaned back in his seat, looking too pleased with himself. “No one’s being interrogated. I’m simply having a conversation with a member of my crew.”

“We’re unwanted passengers, remember? Not your crew.”

“That’s not what the registry says,” he countered. “You’re not Pakovian, are you?”

Her stomach did a sickly flip.

Quickly recovering, she smiled as if that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Is that where you’re going with this? NotPakovian? What are we, then? Arcadian scatter monkeys?”

With a curious expression, Zeek leaned closer to Caryn, eyeing her ear cuff as he muttered, “Arcadian scatter monkeys hibernate this time of year.”

Onnika stepped between them as Caryn surreptitiously brushed her hair over her ears.

“Enough of this,” Onnika snapped. “Caryn, let’s go.”

Looking relieved, Caryn stood and they both turned…only to find a solid wall of silvery muscle in their way. It was a shock to the senses. One second Asher had been sitting beside Aidan, the next he was in another place entirely, glowering at them. “Captain asked a question.”

So startled was she by the sudden blockade that she didn’t think twice about reaching for her new blade and aiming it at the big man’s chest. “Back off!”

“Hey,” Zeek said in a piqued tone. “That’s mine!”

Oops. Busted.

Displaying more of that mind-boggling speed, Asher caught her wrist in one of his massive fists—the man moved like fucking lightning—and took the knife away from her with his other hand, returning it to Zeek hilt first.

“And I was starting to like you,” Zeek muttered ruefully.

“Sit,” Asher ordered, guiding her by the wrist to the chair across from Aidan.

Surrounded and seeing no other choice, she sat. Caryn did, too, trying to look innocuous.

Only then did Onnika notice the meat, bread, and what little was left of Caryn’s stir-fry spread out on the table. Her grumbling tummy whined for a taste.

Aidan raised a brow and gestured to the food. “Eat.”

She jutted her chin. “No, thank you.”

His narrowed gaze told her he didn’t like that response. With aggravated motions, he scooped food onto a plate and dropped it in front of her. “Eat something, Onnika.”

Stubbornly, she crossed her arms over her chest, earning a cold stare from him. He didn’t like being disobeyed. Well, he’d just have to get used to it.

He leaned back in his seat, mirroring her posture. For a long while neither of them spoke. Tension seemed to fritter through the air. No one moved.

Without breaking his glare, he ordered the others, “Finish your meal.”

One by one, the others picked up their utensils and resumed eating in silence.

“Nice trick,” Onnika drawled. “Do they bark on command as well?”

Asher stabbed a hunk of meat with his fork. “I do not bark.”

“No,” she conceded. “You bite.”

He inclined his head once and grunted, as though agreeing with the statement.

She suddenly wanted to rattle him. “But I wonder if you’d purr if I scratched under your chin.”

That earned her a killing look from the big guy. Aidan’s brows rose at her brazenness.

“Yes,” she added, donning a cheeky smile, “I think you would.” She knew she was pushing her luck with this crew, but she couldn’t help it. When she felt cornered, she fought back any way she could.

Asher stood and bared his teeth, appearing ready to charge over the table at her.

“Ash.” Aidan’s tone was a command. “Stow it. She’s goading you. She does that.”

“This woman courts death.” Asher dropped down into his seat and shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.

They weren’t liked here, but she could tell the crew had no intention of harming them. At least, not at the moment. Even Asher’s threats were benign, a show of masculinity which no doubt served to cow anyone he displayed it for. It would have worked on her, too, if she weren’t able to tell he wasn’t quite as serious as he projected. Still, she needed to be more careful. Not serious could become very serious in a matter of seconds if she pushed the wrong buttons.

“I do not purr. Ever,” Asher muttered through a mouthful of food.

Zeek chimed in. “Well, there was that one time when you had that Bovakian woman in your bunk. Large gal, remember?”

Asher’s hostility transferred to Zeek. “I will throttle you.”

Zeek put his hands up in surrender. “Just saying. There were noises coming from that room I’ve never heard anyone make. Sounded like she twisted you like a pretzel.”

Vin and Priya both pursed their lips in an attempt to hold back their humor. Onnika couldn’t manage the same, and a little chime of laughter bubbled out of her. She expected to garner more hostility for it, but the sound broke Vin and Priya’s tenuous hold on their mirth and their laughter flew freely as well, which soon infected Lear and then finally Caryn, who covered her mouth in a futile attempt to hide her amusement.

Aidan remained stoic, however, still staring at Onnika like he didn’t know what to make of her. Right back at you, she thought. What was his purpose here? Ply her with food and get her to admit she wasn’t Pakovian? Though he was onto them, she’d never admit it. And why should he even bother when he planned to evict them at his earliest convenience anyway?

Reminded that they’d soon be on their own with Tag on their tail cooled a bit of her pride. Who was she to turn down a good meal? It might be their last for a while. Besides, if she caved in and ended this little standoff, maybe Aidan would ease up.

To show she could be amenable, she smiled and picked up her fork, scooping a bit of food into her mouth. Aidan’s tightly crossed arms loosened a touch, but he didn’t drop them.

She haughtily informed him, “I’m eating because I want to, not because you told me to.”

In a flat tone, he replied, “That’s fantastic.”

“Besides, can’t say no to free food.”

“Who said anything about free?”

She paused mid-chew. When she swallowed, it went down as a hard, tasteless lump. “And what exactly do you expect as payment?”

“You still owe us three more vouchers.”

“And how am I to get these vouchers when the games have been canceled?”

“You’ll get them at the next stop, before we part ways.”

Grabbing a flaky roll, she tore off a large hunk. “Fine. Should be a snap,” she chirped before shoving the roll into her mouth. As she chewed, she rested a hateful glare on him.

“You think so?”

“Sure. That first voucher was so easy to win, I’ll bet I could have gotten five or six more all on my own.”

Caryn pinched the bridge of her nose.

Aidan’s eyes flashed with lofty delight. “Agreed. Six it is, then.”

“Wait, what—”

“Shouldn’t be a problem for you…if it’s so easy. Like you said, it should be a snap, right?”