AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You have a brother?" I couldn't imagine there being two of Navik. He was larger than life, the Universe didn't seem big enough to hold two of him.
"Not of blood relation, but bound by the oath we take when inducted into the brotherhood of Star Mavericks." Navik's face glows with a hint of pride. "Once you're chosen to join, your loyalty to the group is unbreakable."
"No offense, but the Star Mavericks are pirates, right?" I squint up at him. "Aren't you guys thieves and mercenaries?"
Navik shrugs a hefty shoulder. "At the very least, but the brotherhood upholds a space pirate's code that unites us for life. Leave no Maverick behind."
"That would be nice to have a group of people you know you can always depend on, even if you are a bunch of criminals."
Navik tosses his head back and laughs. "It's far simpler to support one another when there are no rules to follow, only laws to break."
His wide open smile transforms his face into nothing short of handsome. His glossy blue skin seems to glow like polished topaz. The harshness of his features fades away with the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. Eyes that sparkle with ice blue flecks like sun glinting off a winter mist.
I can't help but stare, captivated by the way his laughter fills the room. Something stirs inside me, my heart flutters in my tightening chest. It's a rare moment of vulnerability that I haven't seen in him before.
Our gazes lock and the moment turns awkward. I divert my gaze and pretend to take interest in the machine gently blowing out the calming mist.
I clear my throat, the weight of silence too much. "I thought we were going to Tirius?"
"Already did while you were sleeping," Navik says. "The trollis didn't want any Yulineon entanglements, and the tracker will eventually be found."
"What's a trollis?"
"Short, stalky, green bumpy flesh. More than likely the creature who sold you to Warden Hyt." At the shake of my head, Navik furrows stark white eyebrows. "Do you not recall anything of your abduction?"
I think back to the last night I remember on Earth. The memory is a blur of movement and sound. I was walking home from my late-night job at our local diner when a bright light shot through the sky and an eerie hum filled the air. I remember feeling paralyzed with fear before everything went dark.
"No," I whisper.
Navik's face darkens as he reaches out and rests his hand on my shoulder. "Sometimes memories are better left forgotten,” he murmurs. A deep sadness engulfs Navik's countenance, and I can't help but wonder what he is attempting to put behind him.
"I couldn't agree more." I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs, holding myself together. Old memories leave me feeling raw and vulnerable.
Navik stands and crosses the room to pull a blanket from sleek, built-in cabinets that cover one wall from floor to ceiling. On his return, he shakes it out then covers me with it.
"It will be a few hours before we reach Yeet," Navik tells me as he heads to the door. "Rest, then maybe you can try to hold down a meal."
He doesn't wait for a reply but swipes his hand over a panel embedded in the wall adjacent to the door. The soft illumination in the room dims and the door sweeps soundlessly closed behind him. I'm left alone with my rampant thoughts about who Navik really is.
This softer side is as unexpected as it is confounding. Navik has lived up to his reputation as a cold, unscrupulous space pirate. The tender emotions I heard in his voice and saw in his eyes were at complete odds to how he was before we left Onis. What changed in such a short time?
The beast that lived within him wanted to protect me, to keep me safe, but Navik never shared in that concept, had even rebelled against it. The strained grimace on his face made the inner struggle he was having with his sivot obvious.
Snuggling into the blanket Navik laid over me with care, I entertain the notion that Navik and I share something in common. Just like me, Navik harbors something dark in his past he wants to forget.
I clip tender feelings that try to take root. I don't want to feel anything for him. He's nothing more than my ride home, no more than an exchange of one thing for another until I reach Earth.
We are not friends. He isn't my ally or my savior. I mean, I don't even like him. The lie knotted in my throat as a strange warmth blossomed behind my sternum.
ChapterSix
NAVIK
Isat at the console, my hands moving along the control panel, guiding us through the Denarian Sector and toward the dying solar system where Yeet orbits. I let my mind wander as I traverse the stars twinkling in an endless expanse of black.
The ship hums quietly beneath me as my thoughts drift to Cora and how she looked when I left her in the room.
Knees pulled up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, as if to shield herself from memories of her abduction. Her vulnerability resonated within me, reminding me of my own past—a dark betrayal by somebody I trusted and its hefty price of imprisonment.
