“Moss. For the Heavens’ sake.” Torian pinched the bridge of her nose. “Take a seat, Lyric. Are you okay with salad with vinaigrette? Allergic to anything?”
“Yes. And no.” Lyric offered a thin smile and sank onto the edge of one couch cushion, perched awkwardly. They rested their hands on their knees, one foot tapping incessantly.
Torian busied herself bynotwatching Lyric, since the mechanic clearly didn’t appreciate attention. By the time she’d washed the produce, Lyric’s foot had stopped tapping. As she mixed ingredients and shook the vinaigrette, Lyric’s shoulders had loosened.
They finally gained the courage to ask, “How… um, how do you know Amelia?”
Maybe I should have invited Amelia for dinner. If I can call this dinner.The thought crossed her mind, gone in an instant. Too late now, anyway.
(And maybe it was for the best.)
It took a moment to wrangle her brain back to Lyric’s question.
“We’re—”
“They are not-romantic partners.”
It wasn’t spoken as “they aren’t romantic partners.” It was very clearly meshing the words “not” and “romantic” into something that insinuated the exact opposite.
Silence followed Moss’s statement. Torian almost melted into the floor, especially when she realized Lyric was watching her curiously. She cleared her throat, suddenly enraptured with tossing the dressing into the salad. “We’re not romantic partners.”
“That’s what I said.”
“She must like you,” Lyric mumbled.
Torian froze. Her palms felt sweaty. Amelia had admitted asmuch, but hearing it from a second source felt damning. “Why do you say that?”
Lyric sounded hesitant, but seemed more willing to speak now that the conversation topic was about someone else. “She hadn’t come by in a few years. It’s… um, it’s weird she brought someone else. That hasn’t happened before.”
Torian fumbled for a reason why thatdidn’tmake her special. “Well, I had a mechanical problem, and you had the unique expertise to fix it.”
Lyric shrugged.
Torian returned her focus to adding prepackaged croutons. The salad was a bit thin—the leaves were limp, and she was limited on fresh food to add to it, considering the nature of her travel and the type of grocery shopping she’d done. But it was something to eat before she went to bed, so she served two healthy portions into smaller bowls.
All the while, Torian kept an eye on Lyric in her peripherals, but the mechanic clearly had nothing else to say on the matter.
They did, however, change the subject. “Moss said you’re repairing an alien space station.”
“I amrevitalizinga space station,” Moss rephrased.
“We,” Torian said.
Moss sounded arrogant now. “Iam the one tasked with creating a livable ecosystem inside Vaesa’s many domes. You will merely be renovating existing residential buildings in the main dome. Between the two of us, I am vital.”
Amusement filtered into Torian’s voice. “You’re right. I should just leave you to it.”
Moss paused. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me.”
Torian snorted, returning to Lyric’s question as she handed them a bowl. They clearly preferred to remain at the couch, probably for the distance, but Torian didn’t mind eating alone at the table.
“Point is, yes, we’re moving to Vaesa. My sister, Celise, can’t breathe very well on Colony 13. I originally bought this ship totake her to Rhymarra, but—” Torian cut herself off with a grimace, stabbing the limp leaves in her bowl. “Well, they don’t want folks like us.”
“An alien space station sounds better,” Lyric said. “Fewer people.” To her surprise, they pushed to their feet and walked to the table, but hovered until Torian gestured at a nearby chair. They sank into it, fidgeting again.
Torian took a thoughtful bite of her salad. The vinaigrette was bright and citrusy, with a sweet aftertaste she loved. Taking another bite was a struggle—nylarian silverware was less like pronged forks, more like tongs with tiny pinchers at the ends. It was awkward to eat with, but luckily, Lyric seemed to figure it out fine.
She watched them for a moment, offering a smile. “Moss wasn’t lying, you know. You’re welcome to come with us. We could probably use your expertise.”
