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Authors: Lucy Varna
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into
her.
He jerked his
eyes away from temptation and focused on the plain, gray wall to the left of
her hand. A tick later, the wiggling stopped and a grinning Ziri swiveled toward
him, filter in hand. He shook his head, hoping she’d understand, and was
unsurprised when she shrugged and began screwing off parts, checking each one
before laying it out on the floor in what appeared to his untrained eye to be a
random manner. She hummed every once in a while, like she’d found something
interesting.
Halfway in, she
paused, her mouth twisted into a thoughtful scowl. Very carefully, she shifted
her grip and held the filter aloft solely by her fingertips, tilted toward Ryn.
He peeked inside and sighed. A wriggling mass of tiny, white life forms filled
what should’ve been a tightly packed layer of carbon particles. Frinworms, a
whole kraden infestation of them. How they’d gotten there, he hadn’t a clue,
but if he didn’t eradicate them now, they’d eat through the carbon in every
filter and Tyelu would get her wish. He’d have to scrap the water system and
start all over again, just when he’d found Ziri and needed the vud for the
bride price.
He cursed under
his breath. They’d have to shut the water system down, the whole thing, which
meant cold rations and no shower for either of them until they pulled every
carbon-based filter out and irradiated them. Replacing them would be better,
but he didn’t have enough spare filters for that.
He took the
infested filter from Ziri and patted her shoulder. “Dyankyu.”
Her lips parted
and her eyes widened. “Welcome,” she said solemnly.
“You’re
welcome,” he corrected gently.
“You’re
welcome,” she repeated, slurring the unfamiliar words. A slow smile curved her
mouth upward. She pushed the disassembled filter parts toward him, picked up
the spare he’d brought along, and turned back to her work, humming as she broke
it down with quick, efficient twists of her graceful hands and inspected each
section carefully.
He pushed
himself upright and stuffed the parts for the bad filter into a spare tote,
holding the section containing the frinworms in one hand. The lot would go into
an air-tight container until he could incinerate them. In the meantime, he had
work to do, work that would go much more quickly now that Ziri’s capable hands
were helping.
Chapter Seven
The next day,
Ziri awakened surrounded by Ryn’s warm bulk. The night before, after a day
spent checking every single water filter on the entire ship, she’d been too
tired to put up her usual protest and bed down on her sleeping mat in the room
he’d given her. What good would it do anyway? Every time she laid down for the
night on the cold floor of his ship, Ryn hauled her effortlessly into his arms,
carried her to his own bedchamber, and cuddled around her like he never
intended to let her go.
She was
beginning to enjoy sleeping with him, and that wouldn’t do at all. Instead of
enjoying his company and helping him repair his ship, she should be planning an
escape or at least learning more of his language so she could insist he return
her to Tersi.
He’d thanked her
in her own language the previous day. Pleasure rippled through her and she hid
a grin in her pillow. So what if he’d mangled the word a little? At least he’d
tried. Why, she had no idea, but that was true of everything Ryn did.
Why had he
kidnapped her? Not for sex. Though he reacted to her presence often enough,
he’d never so much as placed a wrong hand on her. Not for food, either. She’d
pointed out a grove of paupau trees to him yesterday only to have him shake his
head in that way he had of telling her absolutely not without saying a
single word.
Stubborn man.
He didn’t need
her to pick up after him, didn’t need her for so many other things most men
wanted women for. He was teaching her how to fight, readily shared information
on how to operate his ship, and cared for her as if she were a
her.
He jerked his
eyes away from temptation and focused on the plain, gray wall to the left of
her hand. A tick later, the wiggling stopped and a grinning Ziri swiveled toward
him, filter in hand. He shook his head, hoping she’d understand, and was
unsurprised when she shrugged and began screwing off parts, checking each one
before laying it out on the floor in what appeared to his untrained eye to be a
random manner. She hummed every once in a while, like she’d found something
interesting.
Halfway in, she
paused, her mouth twisted into a thoughtful scowl. Very carefully, she shifted
her grip and held the filter aloft solely by her fingertips, tilted toward Ryn.
He peeked inside and sighed. A wriggling mass of tiny, white life forms filled
what should’ve been a tightly packed layer of carbon particles. Frinworms, a
whole kraden infestation of them. How they’d gotten there, he hadn’t a clue,
but if he didn’t eradicate them now, they’d eat through the carbon in every
filter and Tyelu would get her wish. He’d have to scrap the water system and
start all over again, just when he’d found Ziri and needed the vud for the
bride price.
He cursed under
his breath. They’d have to shut the water system down, the whole thing, which
meant cold rations and no shower for either of them until they pulled every
carbon-based filter out and irradiated them. Replacing them would be better,
but he didn’t have enough spare filters for that.
He took the
infested filter from Ziri and patted her shoulder. “Dyankyu.”
Her lips parted
and her eyes widened. “Welcome,” she said solemnly.
“You’re
welcome,” he corrected gently.
“You’re
welcome,” she repeated, slurring the unfamiliar words. A slow smile curved her
mouth upward. She pushed the disassembled filter parts toward him, picked up
the spare he’d brought along, and turned back to her work, humming as she broke
it down with quick, efficient twists of her graceful hands and inspected each
section carefully.
He pushed
himself upright and stuffed the parts for the bad filter into a spare tote,
holding the section containing the frinworms in one hand. The lot would go into
an air-tight container until he could incinerate them. In the meantime, he had
work to do, work that would go much more quickly now that Ziri’s capable hands
were helping.
Chapter Seven
The next day,
Ziri awakened surrounded by Ryn’s warm bulk. The night before, after a day
spent checking every single water filter on the entire ship, she’d been too
tired to put up her usual protest and bed down on her sleeping mat in the room
he’d given her. What good would it do anyway? Every time she laid down for the
night on the cold floor of his ship, Ryn hauled her effortlessly into his arms,
carried her to his own bedchamber, and cuddled around her like he never
intended to let her go.
She was
beginning to enjoy sleeping with him, and that wouldn’t do at all. Instead of
enjoying his company and helping him repair his ship, she should be planning an
escape or at least learning more of his language so she could insist he return
her to Tersi.
He’d thanked her
in her own language the previous day. Pleasure rippled through her and she hid
a grin in her pillow. So what if he’d mangled the word a little? At least he’d
tried. Why, she had no idea, but that was true of everything Ryn did.
Why had he
kidnapped her? Not for sex. Though he reacted to her presence often enough,
he’d never so much as placed a wrong hand on her. Not for food, either. She’d
pointed out a grove of paupau trees to him yesterday only to have him shake his
head in that way he had of telling her absolutely not without saying a
single word.
Stubborn man.
He didn’t need
her to pick up after him, didn’t need her for so many other things most men
wanted women for. He was teaching her how to fight, readily shared information
on how to operate his ship, and cared for her as if she were a
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