Page 58 of Tempting Fate

Imani moved to the passenger seat and showed me the basics, how to vary the speed, how to steer. “The autonav will help you out. Just take us as far as the forest, and I’ll get us from there to town.”

The engines started in a humming whirr and the craft rose higher above the ground.

I pulled on the joystick. The speeder lurched into motion far faster than I had anticipated, and I slackened off the throttle. “How high can this vessel go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Comm, what is the altitude capacity of an FRH Speeder?”

“An FRH Speeder can fly at two hundred metres above sea level,” the computer said.

Two hundred? That was taller than any tree I’d seen.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Imani’s sternness sent a flurry of something skittering through me, something hot, something heady, softening my mind into a haze. My brain refused to conjure meaningful words, and I fell back on simple, polite formality. “As you wish, Mistress.”

“What did you call me?”

The shock in her voice stole my concentration. I slowed, the autonav taking over when I under-steered around a corner. Had I said something wrong? “It is the term of respect for someone of your rank on Orith.”

“Explain.”

“My mother is Madame mai Tasra as she is mated. My sister is Mistress mai Tasra, as she is not. Was not.” It was just as well Shohari was not on Orith any more; she was hardly a madame. “Father is Master mai Tasra, and I am Squire. And so, as you are not mated, the term of formal address would be Mistress.”

She blew out a long breath. “Noted.” A good few heartbeats’ quiet passed before she said, “It means something very different where I’m from... I prefer it when you call me Marni.” Then, “How are you enjoying flying?”

I wanted to ask her more, but I had made her uncomfortable; she had changed the subject, and so I must honour it. “I love it.” The freedom to travel, being able to control a piece of machinery, being able to learn a new skill, all of it filled me with so much joy.

And the view. All I’d seen was the family grounds, my own garden, and the village. There was so much sky here. Hazy mountains in the distance. The forest up ahead.

We flew in companionable quiet until she said, “Pull over, we’re close.”

I let off the throttle and jerked the speeder to a stop.

“Well done, Airi, you did so good.”

Imani’s praise warmed my bones from the inside out. I stood up as much as the low cockpit would allow, she leaned forwards, and I held her waist as I slid across and under. What I’d give to stroke her, to map out every luscious roll and curve, discover her body with my hands just as she knew mine with her eyes.

I allowed myself another brief moment of contact before guiding her away and into the pilot’s seat.

I couldn’t think straight. Now I knew what it was to experience the joy of touch, to know the feel of her soft, soft body, I never wanted to stop. But as Imani flew us onwards, the outside world intruded. I had been so focused on her, on flying a speeder, and then purchasing the tech I needed.

I was going into a town. For the first time. Ever. My headspines ruffled, and I smoothed them over.

“Are you okay?”

“I am well. I must help my sister, and I cannot unless I can speak with her.” I needed this new datapad, and that was it.

“And you think you can help with the bounty hunter thing if you have it?”

I breathed in a confidence I didn’t quite feel. “I know I can.” It had taken years, but I’d built a small network of contacts in the galaxy. Mostly traders I’d interacted with, ones I’d managed to have minor conversations with that weren’t directly related to the trade at hand. Stolen moments of connection.

And now I’d have no restrictions. Yes, the vastness of the galaxy was terrifying and overwhelming, but… I could do this. I had to be able to do this. Shohari had spent her whole life looking after me, the whole of her adult life trying to keep me safe.

Now it was my turn.

When the town came into view, I understood why Imani had shown me pictures. If I had seen this with no prior idea… As it was, my pulse raced and my skin prickled with sweat.