Page 3 of On a Barbarian World

The Sky Nomad was a large ship, but it didn’t require a huge crew. Her brothers had decked it out with some of the best tech available. As a result, the spacious bridge was manned only by a small group, and in the center of that, seated in the captain’s chair, sat Nissa Phoenix—formerly Captain Nissa Sander of the Galactic Security Services Patrol. She’d spent several years patrolling the galaxy’s edge, keeping law and order, and usually chasing Justyn’s smuggling ass around. She’d never caught him, but eventually, after years of being in love with her, he’d caught her.

Now, she was captain of the Sky Nomad, which had freed Dare up to be an even bossier convoy master.

Nissa swiveled and smiled. She had some reptilian ancestry, which was displayed in patches of bronze, diamond-scale patterns on her forehead and cheekbones, and a bald head. Her eyes were yellow, with an elongated black pupil. “Welcome home.”

Aurina lifted a hand. The rest of the bridge crew waved and called out greetings.

Justyn appeared, standing at his wife’s shoulder. “How’d it go? Find any profitable worlds or new civilizations to trade with?”

“Not this trip.” She watched Justyn place a hand on Nissa’s shoulder, his fingers brushing the side of her neck. Such a small move, a tiny thing, but as Nissa leaned into his touch, Aurina realized it was so much more.

A hand descended on the back of her neck and squeezed. Not that same intimate touch, but comforting all the same. She tilted her head, and looked up at her oldest brother, Dare.

“Glad you’re back,” he said, voice deep.

Dare was your typical tall, dark, and far-too-handsome man. He left his dark hair long, framing his fallen-angel face. Add in his mercury-silver eyes, and he never lacked for female companionship.

“Glad to be back,” she said. “But not for long. I still haven’t found a habitable rest stop. Got a couple of possibilities to check out, but I needed to refuel. Me and the Ariel.”

He nodded. “Anything else we need to know?”

“Yes. I found a little nest of space pirates. Tech’s old, but they looked relatively well organized.”

“Nissa, call up the maps, please,” Dare said.

“On it.” Nissa tapped on the screen attached to her chair.

The air in front of them filled with a three-dimensional hologram display of their star maps. Aurina took the small, thin glove Dare handed her, and once it was on, she waved her hand through the maps, moving to the location she wanted. “Here. Near this gas giant. The pirates are hidden on the third moon.”

Dare crossed his arms over his chest, and Rynan stood beside him, in much the same pose.

Aurina stared at them for a second. Handsome devils, all three of them. They’d inherited their father’s build and looks. They were only her half-brothers, but none of them had ever bothered with the distinction. Instead, they’d welcomed her with those strong arms of theirs. After her mother’s death, she’d been an angry, rebellious twenty-something, who’d gone gunning for the siblings she’d never known.

She’d assumed they’d lived the charmed life she’d been denied after Flynt Phoenix had spent a few nights with her mother, and left her alone and pregnant.

Instead, Aurina had found out that Flynt Phoenix had been a horrible father, and had abandoned his sons as well. Worst of all, they’d ended up with a stepfather who made Flynt seem like Parent of the Year. They rarely talked about it, but she knew that compared to what Dare, Rynan, and Justyn had suffered, she might have gotten the best deal after all.

She cleared her throat. “Ah, I’ve also noted a few possible planets and moons with extensive mineral resources. No life forms, and most are uninhabitable.”

Dare’s lips twitched. “For your future mining enterprise?”

“Yes.” She made no secret of her obsession with geology and shiny rocks. She was keeping a great little record of the planets they’d passed or visited where she could one day come back and start mining. Phoenix Resources had a nice ring to it. “Okay, hang on while I tap into the Ariel’s comp system and download the rest of my data.”

She swiped her hands through the air, pulling up the correct commands.

“There. I’ve put in the locations of the four possible rest-stop worlds I’m going to investigate.” She pulled off the glove and handed it back to Dare. “But first, I need fuel for the Ariel, then food and a shower for me.”

Justyn grinned at her. “I’ll take care of your ship…if you give me one of those Maltan emeralds you hoard away in the safe in your cabin.”

She raised a brow. “Do you know how much they’re worth? More than you can afford, you scruffy smuggler.”

“I’m not a smuggler anymore, remember? I’m a legitimate trader.”

At least he didn’t wince when he said that now. “You can have a Sulphran diamond.”

“Done.” His grin was huge. “They match the color of Nissa’s eyes.”

It was then that Aurina realized her smuggler/trader brother had just scammed her. “You wanted the diamond all along!”