Page 17 of When the Universe Sings

Satisfaction wove its way through my bones when a rumble slipped from Captain Ruciyah’s mask, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “Absolutely not.”

I blinked, allowing my expression to fold into one of confusion. But it was Greabes who held his hand up at his captain. “Sit your ass down before you have a heart attack.”

Though the captain didn’t sit, he did rest his hands on the table, leaning over until he was close enough I turned to Crux instead. My stomach twisted painfully at the look on the male’s face, as if he was trying to see down into my soul.

“If this male can help thenIwill contact him,” Captain Ruciyah all but growled.

Greabes shook his head. “If he’s Louxurian it’s got to be Juniper he speaks to. You’ll get nowhere with him.”

The captain circled the table until he loomed over me, hands flexing at his sides. I stood before I even realized what I was doing, skittering back a few steps, and heat flooded my cheeks at the shame of showing such weakness. His steps stuttered and he reached out a hand before it dropped, perhaps to stop me from running.

But his threat rang in my ears as if he’d screamed it.

“Tread carefully. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

CHAPTER

TWELVE

Unfortunately for Captain Ruciyah,I was the only one on board with any sort of link to Louxuria.

In the few days since the discussion in the mess, I’d avoided him at all costs, unable to stomach even the sound of his heavy tread across the floor. My small room had become my sanctuary, though after over a full cycle of climbing and silks my hands itched with restlessness. So each day I scaled the ventilation shaft, searching around for hidden rooms or anything that might help me.

Not that I found any. In fact, I’d been lucky the captain had chosen to take the prisoner where he had. The ship’s environmental system was split into three separate sections with the living quarters being the smallest of the three.

I took most of my meals from the small meal renderer in the common living area after the rest of the crew went to sleep. I also ignored Greabes’ grumbles on the other side of my door when he came to drag me to dinner—confirming I was, in fact, the only one with access to my room.

Perhaps it was cowardice, hiding from Captain Ruciyah. But I needed time to pull the pieces of myself back together again and push away the screams that vibrated through my skull every time I saw him. I had been raised to believe the best in others, raised on kindness and fairness, but I could no longer find that part of myself anymore. Not after the years on Ebyd III. My nightmares roared to life each night until I barely slept. In onlya few days the dark circles beneath my eyes reappeared with a vengeance.

“Can’t sleep?” Maxtalen murmured behind me.

I spun, fist clenching around the stirring stick on the counter beside me. But the male stood a few paces back, eyes wide and hands raised. His tablet flashed in one while the other held an empty cup.

“Maker, sorry,” he wheezed, taking another step back.

Lowering my hand, I grabbed the beverage I’d been making—some hot drink I’d never seen before. It was faintly spicy and I’d found I’d developed a taste for it over the last few days. I cleared my throat. “No…I’m sorry.”

When I turned back to him, he was blinking at me rapidly, a flush rising in his cheeks. “Want me to leave?”

With a shake of my head, I moved to one of the chairs around the table the twins and Crux liked to play cards on. I’d watched them once playing long hours into the night from my perch in the ventilation system. Rys cheated every time and I was pretty sure Crux did too.

Maxtalen moved up to the renderer to refill his cup and passed a hand over his face. “So far, no luck with finding a way into the gala. I keep looking for a back door to their security system or a way to fake an invitation, but it’s looking more and more like we’ll have to go through the proper channels.”

I nodded, having figured as much. We had some time, but every day that passed the window closed until I wondered if the captain would take the reckless route of storming the planet and killing us all.

“You know someone from Louxuria?”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I nodded again.

“From the outpost you came from? Wuaxia?”

Something like doubt shimmered in his eyes. I didn’t know much about Wuaxia but from the look on his face it appeared it wasn’t a place Louxurians would frequent.

“No…” I rasped, clearing my throat again. “From before.”

Maxtalen’s lips pursed and he cautiously made his way over, slipping into the chair across from me. “You don’t speak much.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Countless others on theDaskquahhad felt the need to point this out as if it might unlock something between us or as the beginning of a question they would never ask:why?But after a moment Maxtalen’s cheeks flushed deeper and he dropped his gaze to his cup.