Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay
28
After taking a warm shower, Onnika dressed in one of her new outfits—she’d thought of Aidan as she put it on—a delicate, flowy dress with straps that tied at each shoulder. The contrast against her skin made it appear to glow. Onnika found everyone except Caryn in the ship’s rec room. Caryn was in the galley and had been since they’d departed. Cooking always centered her. When Lear tried to follow her in on the pretense of offering help, she’d shooed him away.
As usual, Vin was attached to his handheld, watching event replays. He, Priya, and Lear sat at the table in the corner while Aidan, Zeek, and Asher lounged on the sofa. Zeek and Asher were jovially engaged in the AVFS, their VR visors covering their faces, occasionally elbowing each other in the ribs to disrupt the other’s concentration.
With one arm resting on the back of the couch, Aidan idly watched their two large-wheeled terrain vehicles streaming over a moon-like surface on the large viewscreen.
Her heart fluttered when Aidan smiled over at her and opened his arms for her to join him. She skipped to his side and then settled onto his lap. “Hi.”
“Hello. You’re looking beautiful as ever.”
She beamed, pleased that he felt comfortable enough to openly acknowledge their relationship, as obscure as it was, in front of his crew. No one seemed shocked by their newfound affection for one another.
He playfully tugged at one of the of the strappy knots at her shoulder, and she halfheartedly slapped his hand away.
“I’m assuming Onnika just arrived,” Zeek said, the visor still restricting his view. “Otherwise I think Aidan’s coming on to me.”
“Dream on,” Aidan replied.
“You know you want to hit this.” Zeek jokingly pursed his lips.
“Yeah, in the face.”
“We all want that,” Asher agreed, then shoved Zeek with his shoulder, nearly toppling him off the couch.
Righting himself, Zeek shoved him back, but the force of it barely unsettled Asher’s big frame. “Admit it. You’re all just jealous of my dapper good looks.”
“Yes, and we also envy gargoyles and miter ticks.”
“What’s a miter tick?” Onnika asked.
The tips of Aidan’s fingers scurried up her arm. “Grotesque-looking bugs that burrow under your skin and lay eggs.”
“Ew. Zeek, ignore them. I think you’re very handsome.”
Zeek briefly lifted his visor to wink at her.
Aidan turned churlish. “Don’t encourage him.”
“Do encourage him,” Zeek replied, as he nearly overtook Asher in their final lap.
Asher’s hand shot out to mess with Zeek’s controller, and Zeek’s vehicle spun out while his own sped across the finish line. Asher hooted in triumph. “Ha! I beat you again.”
“That’s because you cheated. Play fair.”
“Try playing well. See if that helps.”
They immediately started a new game. Onnika rested her head on Aidan’s shoulder, listening to the pleasurable sounds of camaraderie around her and feeling more at ease than she had in a long time. She could fall asleep right here and know that she’d be perfectly secure with this group. Once more, she imagined what it would be like if she and Caryn could stay with them indefinitely. Countless evenings of easy conversation followed by nights with Aidan. Safety for Caryn. It was a beautiful dream, but perhaps the edges of it were a little less blurry than before.
“Have you all always traveled together?” she asked no one in particular.
“We used to mercenary together,” Vin replied, not taking his eyes from his handheld. “Long ago. But eventually we went our separate ways.”
“Why?”
“Different reasons,” Aidan replied. “Priya and Vin had some…things to work out.”
“Which we only did because you called us all back together,” Vin pointed out.
“I left because I was needed back home,” Asher supplied, but did not elaborate.
Zeek put in, “And Aidan ran off to work for some demons.”
“I am new to this group,” Lear inserted. “I only require their assistance for the sake of this race.”
That wasn’t the first time Lear had said something similar. “Lear, does this mean you’re only in it for the win?”
“Aye.”
“Don’t be like that,” Zeek pouted. “You know you wuuuv us.”
“I tolerate you.”
Onnika smiled as she absently ran her nails through the hair at Aidan’s nape. His eyelids lowered slightly as if he found the caress pleasurable, so she kept doing it. To Lear, she said, “What’s so important about winning this race?”
“Honor for my people.”
“That’s all?”
“It is enough.”
“And the rest of you?” Her curiosity was piqued. “Why enter such a dangerous competition?”
Zeek answered first. “Boredom.”
“Adventure,” Vin said.
Priya squared her shoulders. “To test my skills, and because Aidan asked for my help.”
“Same here,” Asher replied, pushing his virtual vehicle up a steep incline. “And I just like to win.”
Aidan hesitated before answering her question. “I never wanted to run this race again. Doing it the first time was the worst decision of my life.”
The veiled despair hiding behind his eyes tore at her heart. She placed her free hand on his cheek in an attempt to offer what comfort she could. Their eyes locked for a moment, and he offered a thin smile.
“So then why do it again?” she asked.
“I entered under duress. You see, some very good friends of mine needed the aid of Lear’s army to regain control of their home world. If I didn’t agree to run this race, Lear and his family would have refused to help.”
Onnika shot a glance at Lear. “That’s deplorable.”
Zeek agreed. “She’s right, Lear, pretty despicable for people who covet honor above all things.”
“Oh, come off it,” said Lear. “We would have helped them even if Aidan had refused us. They were our allies long before he even knew of their existence.”
Aidan stiffened. “You would have helped either way?”
Lear gave a careless shrug, but there was something smug in the angles of his brows.
Aidan shook his head. “Now he tells me.”
“I apologize for the deception,” Lear said, not sounding the least bit sorry, “but it was my father’s idea, a great man who gave his life to that battle, I might add. He only wanted to mend fences between our clans. Surely you can understand that, Aidan.”
“I doubt this will fix anything, even if we do win.”
Lear inclined his head. “I fear you may be right.”
“Your people don’t get along?” Onnika wondered how a race could bring feuding clans together.
“Our history is long, but vague,” Aidan informed her. “We believe we all lived on the same planet at one time, Legura, evolving together, but ages ago my people branched off, taking over a habitable planet that shares the same sun. For the most part we leave each other alone, but there has been some strife. And as the technology on each world advances, there is a growing fear of war.”
Lear nodded. “It was my father’s belief that if Aidan and I won this race together, it would ease tensions and open the doors to diplomacy.”
“Which was ridiculous,” Aidan said dismissively, “since my people banished me.”
Onnika blinked at him. “Why would they do that?”
He hesitated for a moment. “Something bad happened to some people I loved, and I refused to let it go.”
She got the sense that she shouldn’t press him on that, so she returned to her original inquiry. “So once the race is over, will you all go your separate ways again?”
They all went quiet, perhaps considering the prospect for the first time.
“I got nothing going on after this,” Zeek blithely replied.
“There’s a shocker,” Asher teased.
Zeek countered, “Like you have a lot of prospects.”
Asher made a grunt of acquiescence. “I’m not sure what I will do. Return home, I suppose.”
No one else answered her question, so she asked another of Aidan. “Was it really a big deal that I flew with you today? Would Lear’s people really think it dishonorable?”
“Yes. Because his people are all uptight socialites.”
“Hardly,” Lear objected. “We are a great warrior clan, but my people, and even some of Aidan’s, find the idea of ferrying another around on their backs degrading.”
“I don’t see it that way,” Aidan coolly stated, but his eyes had returned to the screen where Zeek and Asher were still engaged in their game.
“Nor I,” Lear said. “But it is best not to be seen doing it if one can help it. Generally, only spouses or one’s children are given the honor.”
She glanced at Aidan, but he still seemed lost in thought.
Zeek laughed. “Be proud, Onnika. You single-handedly outraged two entire nations. Not an easy feat.”
“For me it is,” she sheepishly parried.
“What about me?” Priya joined in, smiling. “I did the same. In fact, I rode a dragon prince, which I would assume is even more outrageous.”
“And I’m sure I will never hear the end of it when I return home,” Lear muttered sardonically. “Such an act, when involving non-family members, can also be viewed as…uh…intimate.”
“You see how good I am at not getting jealous?” Vin said pointedly, glancing up from his handheld to eye Priya.
“Maybe you should be,” she replied with a smile.
He balled a fist in the air. “You want me to hit him?”
She tapped her finger on her chin, as though seriously considering.
“To hell with all of you.” Lear stood and headed for the hatch. “There’s better company elsewhere.”
Asher ripped off his visor and tracked Lear’s exit with narrowed eyes.
“Hey!” Zeek complained. “You just crashed. You never crash.”
“I have something to attend to.” With that, Asher lurched off the couch and followed Lear out.
“Aww, man. Right when I was gaining on him. I’m claiming this as a win. You’re all witnesses.”
To Aidan, Onnika said, “You think we should go after them?” She knew exactly where they were headed: to find Caryn and keep the other from being alone with her.
Aidan shook his head. “They need to work this out for themselves.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” She paused, deciding to see if Aidan might be honest with her about what Ash and Lear were really up to. “It’s strange, don’t you think, that both of them seem suddenly besotted by Caryn. Especially Ash.”
Aidan only shrugged, not meeting her gaze.
“You don’t suppose they have an agenda?”
Aidan’s muscles stiffened slightly. “Caryn is an attractive girl. I’m sure there’s nothing more to it.”