“I don’t fear you,” I said softly. “I just thought you wanted to touch me to see … how I differed from you.”
Big. Fat. Lie.
“Oh,” Kol said, a light tint of purple staining his sculpted cheeks. “Well, yes, I wanted to see your differences, but I cannot find any other than size, skin and eye colour. You’re very small, a lot smaller than Maji females. Weaker.”
I bristled at the insult. “I’m not weak.”
Kol blinked. “I did not mean to wound your pride. I just was stating a fact that our females are naturally tall and strong. Not as tall or as strong as our males are, but compared to a human female, they are superior.”
“You’re not helping your argument at all.”
“Forgive me.” His lips twitched ever so slightly. “I meant no offence.”
“Uh-huh.”
Kol watched me for a moment then said, “Are you going to fight me on everything, Nova?”
I wanted to say no, but my pride and stubbornness wouldn’t allow me to.
“Yes.”
“Reconsider,” he urged. “Accepting your new life will be a lot easier than fighting it.”
I remained silent
“And Nova?”
I looked up at him.
“My sister informed me that I should remember my manners and apologise for … earlier.”
I waited for the apology, but it never came.
“Aren’t you going to say sorry?”
“Maji don’t apologise when they’re not sorry.”
My jaw dropped. “You aren’t sorry?”
“Bringing you to orgasm, feeling you let go …” Kol paused and licked his lips. “I will never be sorry for that gift; I will only be thankful so thank you.”
“Are you serious right now?” I asked incredulously as he backed out into the hallway. “Shipmaster!”
Just as the door closed, he winked and said, “As a heart attack.”
I hated that he used my own words against me and that he made me smile. I also hated that he gave me butterflies when the only thing I should feel when it came to the Maji shipmaster was disgust and anger. I shook my head clear and resisted the urge to punch the air as I glanced around my new room. Though I never voiced it to Kol, or anyone else, I felt beside myself at the prospect of a new home, new law and order, a new life, and a new start. I was just gutted that I couldn’t have all of that on Earth. It was the only home I had ever known.
This new sense of security I had aboard the Ebony was extremely daunting. I hadn’t felt safe since the night before my father died—so the feeling felt foreign to me. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe every little thing the Maji told me after finding out they had lied to me in the first place, but I didn’t feel as nervous around them. I felt as though Kol was being honest when he said it would be a good change for me and my people. It was so much to accept, and a lot was riding on my acceptance.
I’d just have to cross the ‘breeding with Maji’ bridge when I came to it, or maybe I’d just slip under the that particular bridge when nobody was looking.
Chapter Six
Voices woke me from a dreamless sleep. Loud voices.
“Echo,” an annoyed woman’s voice hissed. “You’re going to wake her up!”
“How the hell am I supposed to be quiet, Envi?” a second woman’s voice quipped. “They just put our beds in here and told us to be nice to her and that it was ‘the shipmaster’s orders’. Whatever that means.”
“It means they were the shipmaster’s orders. Duh.”
I opened my eyes and instantly sat upright. I stared at the two human women who were busy putting clean linen on their beds. Single beds that were only a metre or two away from mine. They weren’t here when I fell asleep, so I had no idea how they were brought in without waking me up.
That pissed me off because my instincts were normally much better than that. It took a lot for something to get past me, but these women somehow managed to move into my room without disrupting me from my sleep at all. That disturbed me greatly, it meant I was lowering my guard.
I watched the two women with caution and decided if they attacked me that I could take them both on. They were skinnier than I was, which meant they were more malnourished. I eyed them for any signs of augmentations but could see none. However, just because I couldn’t see them didn’t mean they didn’t have them.
I knew that Kol said the augs were being housed separately to originals, but he also said this room would be my private quarters, yet here I was with two strangers invading my space. The women a bit taller than I was and had the advantage of backup if they attacked, but if they backed me into a corner and left me no choice, I’d fight for my life. The last time that happened to me, I killed a person. The vision of my arrow piercing the watchman’s eye socket replayed in my mind.
I shook my head clear and looked for something I could use as a weapon, but I saw nothing on my side of the room. Both women were silently struggling with their bed linens, so I quietly slipped from my bed and stood, facing them.
“Hello,” I said, my voice gruff.
The woman with the wavy, waist-length black hair yelped and spun around to face me. The woman with straight, shoulder-length dirty blond hair mimicked her actions but held up her hands in an awkward defensive stance. Both women had scars on their faces and even had some down the length of their arms. They both had lustrous grey eyes, button noses, and round faces. They were related, that much was obvious. If I had to guess, I’d say they were sisters.
“You scared the shit out of us,” the black-haired woman said and placed her hand on her chest.
“Sorry,” I said, though I didn’t exactly mean it. Silence stretched between us until I said, “So, what’re you both doing in here?”
The black-haired woman got defensive; I could tell by her change in demeanour and the narrowing of her eyes. “What do you care?” she asked, her tone clipped.
I raised a brow. “Kol said this was my room.”
“Which Maji is that?” Blondie asked, her tone much softer.
“The shipmaster,” I said, keeping my eyes on Blackie.
She seemed to be the more threatening of the two.
“You met the shipmaster?” Blackie asked followed by Blondie saying, “And you’re allowed call him Kol?”
I shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m sure it is.”
I narrowed my eyes at Blackie. “Are we going to have a problem?”
She stepped forward. “I don’t know, are we?”
“Try me, and you’ll see,” I challenged.
Blondie moved to Blackie’s side and grabbed her hand.
“We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” she said, squeezing Blackie’s hand. “I’m Envi, and this is my sister Echo. We’re twins. Not identical … obviously. We were brought here by a Maji fellow, and he told us this was our new quarters. We didn’t ask to be moved here. I promise.”
I believed her. She wore her emotions on her sleeve for all to see. Her dark-haired sister, on the other hand, didn’t.
“I’m Nova,” I said, nodding towards her. “I apologise for the lack of welcome, but if I’m honest, I don’t trust anyone on this craft. Maji and humans … both original and augmented.”