Page 149 of Trove’s Purpose

“We get him back, or we get revenge,” he said simply, like it really was just that simple.

And for them, she knew, it was.

Tightening her jaw, she followed Tanin out of the room, but she didn’t go to join him at the helm with Sway.

Instead, she went downstairs. Heading to her room.

Their room.

Where Trove kept his weapons.

Because she was no longer a child, held in check by laws that discredited the words of children. She would no longer sit back as someone she loved was stolen from her.

Never again.

Chapter 51

Trove

It was not the first time Trove had woken up in chains.

It was not the first time he had woken up chained to a bed.

It was also not the first time he had woken up chained to a bed with a lusty eyed female gazing at him from the darkness.

“Feels like home,” he said carelessly, looking around lazily.

Rinnicks, seated just past the foot of his bed, puffing on her long, thin pipe, looked confused.

“What?”

“I’ll admit though, the bed is nicer,” he said, gazing down at his nude lap.

He was naked. Of course, he was. He couldn’t imagine anyone would have allowed him to keep his clothes or any potential weapons they might carry when he was being kidnapped. At least someone had done him the decency of covering him in one of Rinnicks fabulous, black silk sheets. It was far better quality than the silk the brothel ladies used.

“Flower silk?” He asked conversationally, running his foot along it. “Feels like genuine flower silk. Though, I imagine a sheet this size made of pure flower silk must have cost you a tidy amount of credz. I guess it’s not a worry for you though.”

Rinnicks stared at him like he had lost his mind. He couldn’t blame her. He probably sounded like an insane person, babbling about nothing. Completely unafraid.

But there were only so many times he could wake like this and still be shocked by it. Sure, it hadn’t happened in years, but he’d carried moments like this in his dreams for as long as he could remember, so it never seemed that far away.

“Did those drugs rattle your brain?” She asked, sneering. Like he would be completely useless to her if he was a fool.

He probably would be, if he understood what she wanted him for.

And it wasn’t exactly a hard guess.

Trove wouldn’t say he was afraid. He certainly wasn’t comfortable. Not because anything here was uncomfortable though.

The bed was large, plush, and roomy. The sheets were impossibly soft. The air was cool and heavily scented with a thick, musky perfume that made him want to sneeze. He was in a seated position, partially reclined, his arms in shackles held up over his head. They were well supported by the large cushions at his back, so they didn’t hurt, but the magcuffs held him trapped to the bed frame. He wouldn’t be able to move very far even if he tried.

A comfortable and lavish prison. Much nicer than the basement to be sure, but not at all that different beyond the surface shine.

The room itself wasn’t anything special. It wasn’t the same bedroom he met her in back on Heava Yu, though the design was very similar. Dark, dim, heavily perfumed, and opulent – that was more a call to her personal tastes than the mark of a specific place.

But he didn’t hear the soft, telltale hum of a starship engine. He supposed she could have really good soundproofing for her room, but in his experience, doing such a thing was pointless. All starships came with that same soft, distant hum. It existed in the very walls, the floor, the air itself. Getting rid of it was nearly impossible. It could be done, but the cost and process were both exceedingly impractical, so he doubted that was it.

So, he didn’t think he was on a starship. However, he could still be on a space station. He could also be on a moon, a planet, even an asteroid. He didn’t have enough information to figure that out. There was one window here, filled with red glass that shimmered like gemstones, but it was opaque. It let it light, but he couldn’t actually see through it. It might very well just be a light, shaped like a window. Either way, it didn’t help him figure out where he was.