She had to get out of this cell. It was just another space in the bowels of the ship, nothing special. It was ridiculous to be drawn to a space that didn’t contain the object of her desire. And as far as the desire went, that was the stupidest thing of all. She had to survive the trip to Hiargus.
She should return to her quarters to take another shower and get some rest. Yet, there was still a ton of work to do before they would be ready to take off. Working with the students had been rewarding but inefficient. There would be no more time to fantasize if they wanted to take off on time. Cyra probably wouldn’t care, but it would embarrass Blaize to miss a deadline. So, a few hours of sleep, and then she would get back to the most important thing in her life, The Treasure. Maybe Cifer would find something to keep him on station, and they wouldn’t even have to go to Hiargus.
Blaize slunk back to her quarters, making sure to check around corners before taking any turn. It wouldn’t do to run into Cifer with soaked panties from a wet dream about him. Not that he would know the dream was about him, but she would.
Fortune was with her, and she made it to the peaceful isolation of her bare cabin. She did a quick wash, where she had to resist the temptation to finger herself to the image of Cifer between her legs. She was hopeless. In bed, she recited the power equations she’d learned in school, hoping sleep would finally take her away.
Just as she was about to drift off, she heard voices in the corridor. He was there. Her heart raced. Cifer was on the ship, and he was reclaiming the room next to hers.
Blaize did her best to tiptoe through the corridors on her way to the galley. The dread at the thought of seeing him was quickly replaced by disappointment when she reached the empty room. Blaize chastised herself for caring and opened the cabinet that contained the protein bars. She grabbed three, prepared to spend the entire cycle rerunning the checklists.
“Hi, Blaize.”
The soft voice startled her, and she fumbled with the bars. “Veda. Where is everyone? I expected to be late for the meal again, but it seems like I’m either way too late or possibly early. That never happens.”
Veda smiled. “You didn’t miss anything. Dez didn’t cook because Rhysa stayed with Gareth to keep negotiating our fuel rate. And Bodi had errands to run before we leave. Dez and Cyra have been locked away in their quarters since very early, when Cifer left.”
“Cifer was here?” She’d known that, but maybe playing ignorant would yield some info.
“He met with the captain and Dez last night. I’m not sure of the details, but it seems like there was some problem he needed to take care of before he can travel.”
Blaize bit back a variety of uncharitable answers. They would only make Veda uncomfortable. “Right. Well, I’ll be in the engine room if anyone needs me.” Blaize took a few steps to the door and paused. “Also, I’m sending a load to the laundry service—coveralls, sheets, and towels—if you have anything.”
“Oh, yes. It takes so long to process the big stuff with our onboard machines.”
“Leave the pile by the bay door. I’ll make the arrangements. If you see anyone else, let them know.”
“Thank you, Blaize.”
Veda’s warm approval stayed with Blaize for several hours, until she realized that she’d completed reviewing the checklists. The girls had done an admirable job. She’d stripped the cell bedding and her own and arranged for the service pickup, and still Cifer was gone. She shouldn’t notice that. Rather than stare at the cold, empty cell for a moment longer, she went to find the captain. To tell her about the laundry run. Nothing else. Not a word about Cifer.
But as she turned the corner, Dez rushed forward, and Blaize had to sidestep quickly to avoid being run over.
“What’s wrong?”
Dez kept moving without a word.
Cyra emerged from her quarters. “Cifer is in trouble.”
“What?”
Cyra moved past Blaize toward the bridge. Dez raced for the exit.
Bodi was at the communication station. Cyra curled around behind her to stare at the screen. “Do you see Dez?”
Bodi pointed at the screen where a dot moved along a map of the station. “Here.”
“Good. Don’t lose him.”
Blaize stomped her foot and bellowed, “What is going on?”
Cyra stood and blinked at Blaize. Her gills flapped. “Cifer made us promise that if he wasn’t back by a specific time, we should contact the authorities. But we did that, and they don’t seem to care. So Dez is going after him.”
“How are you going to find him among the millions of beings on the station? He could be anywhere.” Blaize tried to breathe, but her heart was beating so hard, her lungs couldn’t make room for air in her chest.
Cyra held out a data pad. “We put a tracker on his pad, but it stopped moving, and then it went dead. Dez is going to the last place it pinged.”
“Dez went by himself?”
