He held out his hand, and she let him guide her to standing.
“You saved me,” Cifer told him.
“I believe Blaize has to take most of the credit.”
Cifer reached for her, gliding his fingers along her face to shift her hair back. She stepped out of his reach. “Beauty,” he sighed. “Thank you.”
“I came for the kids. You just happened to be here. And after I get the kids to the orphanage and under the director’s care, I’d like to know how exactly you ended up here with Varik, with kids in cages, and why you have a freaking tail.” She recognized that her voice had taken on an unhinged tone, but she couldn’t help it. Rather than try to get control, she stomped off to deal with the one thing she could handle.
The kids.
Chapter 25
It had been over a galactic week since Cifer had been alone with Blaize. She’d been successfully avoiding him. He lingered in an alcove in the corridor, letting himself blend into the wall, hoping to catch sight of the female who had burned herself into his heart. Aside from a few meals shared with the entire crew where she had barely said two words to him, nothing. She’d ghosted him. It was a tribute to her ingenuity that she could hide so well when they were limited to the expanse of one spaceship. Granted, the ship was large, but it wasn’t a space station.
For most of his life, he’d been reacting to the fact that he’d been abducted from his home planet by pirates. And to stay alive, he’d done horrible things. His past made him a bad guy, but he didn’t feel like a horrible person. The crimes he’d committed were about survival. As soon as he could, he liberated himself from Master Corvus. Too bad it wasn’t before he’d witnessed Master kill someone. No matter how much time had passed or the fact it hadn’t been by his hand, that life would always weigh on his conscience. That life was the reason he’d worked so hard to free himself from Master’s mercies.
He spent most of his credits taking care of other kids like him so they didn’t get caught in a situation like he had. Even the jobs he took were focused on righting wrongs. Like breaking into the Kolben Mining Corporate offices to steal the orb. Or pretending to be a flesh peddler to get kids out of the market.
They would be landing soon on the planet Din’ Gale. Dez’s home. Maybe he could find a moment to be alone with Blaize. Cifer had so much he needed to say. An apology for leaving after their supernova night together was only the start of the list. And he owed her a thank-you for saving his life, because if she hadn’t saved him from Varik’s cage, he could have already been sold.
A flash of red caught his attention. Was Blaize tiptoeing through the corridor? He laughed loudly, unable to hold back, and stepped into her path. “Avoiding me, Beauty?”
She jumped a foot into the air and squealed. “You scared me.”
“And you never walk softly. What’s up?”
“Nothing.” She put her head down and tried to stomp around him, but he moved to block her.
“I want to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing you have to say that I need to hear.”
“I disagree.” Cifer shuddered out a breath, searching for the right words. This conversation was critical. “Let me explain. Apologize.”
“I have a ship to run. You’re a guest. Why don’t you go find some entertainment and relax?” She dodged around him and ran down the hall.
“This isn’t done,” he called after her. The fact that she was afraid enough to run meant her feelings were just as strong as his. If she felt nothing, she wouldn’t have to avoid him. He smiled for the first time since their night together. He could outwait her.
They were meant to be together. Apart, they were both unhappy. And the longing kept him up at night. If he believed begging had any chance of working at all, he’d be on his knees outside her door. That wouldn’t work. He was determined to figure out what would.
He headed in the opposite direction from where she’d gone. A workout might release some of his frustration. He paused on the way, picking up a washer peeking out from the seam of the passageway and tucking it into his pocket.
Cifer pressed his face to the portal as they broke through the cloud cover, and he had his first in-person look at the planet Dez had called home, Din’ Gale. It called to the place in his soul that remembered anything about his home planet. It was lush and green. There was a clearing for their pod to land and a stunning octagonal building with the spaceport controls and crew. The wood and glass structure seemed to grow from the landscape.
“It’s beautiful, is it not?” Dez’s voice broke through Cifer’s trip to the past. They were the only two not on the bridge.
“How did you ever leave?”
“Love,” Dez replied, like it was the most obvious answer.
It was. Probably the only answer, aside from being stolen away, that could’ve made any sense. Cifer didn’t know Dez’s story, but his love for the captain was obvious.
“Wait until you see the land around my family’s home. This will pale in comparison.”
Cifer nodded, unable to form words that wouldn’t betray his emotions.
As soon as the ship landed, Cifer followed Dez to the ramp out of the ship. The same ramp Cifer had used to sneak onto The Treasure on a completely different planet.
