think you should have seconds. It's a spice that my people put in mixed drinks, but it's known to cause a bit of…gastric distress amongst humans."
Jade pauses, mid chew. She puts a napkin to her mouth, her actions fascinatingly dainty, and asks, "Gastric distress?"
I nod solemnly. "We found out the hard way that it's rough on human systems. You've never seen three pirates move faster than when their little sister is making distressed sounds in the lavatory."
Her shoulders shake with laughter again. "I'm going to finish eating—if it's safe—and then you're going to tell me that story."
"It's safe, I promise you. The last thing I want is to poison you." I take a big bite of the oddly flavored food. "And we found out the hard way. Zoey was addicted to flavoring her noodles like that and we couldn't figure out why she—"
"After," Jade warns me again. "Tell me after!"
We eat, and I'm pleased to see that Jade doesn't pick at her food. She eats with hearty enthusiasm, just like me, and when we're done, I clear the dishes and offer her a hot cup of tea. I tell her my Zoey stories as we sip our after-dinner drinks, and she laughs so hard at my coarse tales that more tears stream from her eyes. Zo would probably kill me if she ever knew I was telling these stories, but I'll take that chance later. For now, I'm just happy that Jade's having a good time.
"After that," I finish, "Mathiras made sure that Zoey ate new foods in small amounts. Very small amounts."
Her smile is wide. "Mathiras sounds very caring and conscientious."
"He has to be. He's stuck with a bunch of idiots." I grin, fully acknowledging that I am one of those idiots.
Jade's expression grows thoughtful. She stares down at her tea, and I can tell her mood changes. Her smile dims and the sadness creeps back in. "Have we had any word from anyone? Anything from Helen or Alice? Or even Ruth?"
I doubt we'll hear from Ruth any time soon. She's probably even now scratching her way out of Straik's keffing posh (scented!) holding cells and vowing revenge on him. Helen or Alice, though… "We might not hear anything from them for a while," I tell her. "The pods are dialed in to our ship here, but the farther away they get, the better the odds are that someone else can intercept a message. It's best to not let anyone know that we're here alone, or we're just inviting trouble to our doorstep."
"Of course." I can see the acceptance on her face. "I just…miss them. And I worry."
"Well, yeah. Of course you worry. They're stuck with my brothers, after all," I tease, but her smile is gone. I think for a moment and then offer an alternative. "You know…we can always go check. Maybe something came in while we were here."
"I'd love to check," Jade says in a soft voice. She reaches across the table and brushes her fingertips over mine. "I know there's nothing there, but I'd still like to check anyhow."
"I figured."
"Thank you, Adiron."
As long as she keeps touching me, I'll give her anything she keffing wants. Anything at all.
37
JADE
I'm having fun.
A teeny, tiny part of me feels guilty that I'm enjoying myself when the world's going to shit, when the others are stuck in escape pods, when Ruth is missing…but I push that thought aside. I'm allowed to have a little fun. Life can't just be one big unending shitstorm, right? There have to be pleasant moments to look forward to.
This is definitely one of those pleasant moments.
I loop my arm through Adiron's as we stroll toward the bridge. Tonight, the lonely, sterile halls of the Buoyant Star don't seem quite so desolate. I've got Adiron for company, and even if he's not the most serious of types, he's exactly what I need to distract me. He finishes another story about his sister Zoey—it's clear he adores her—and turns to me with a smile. "After that, she joined her mate and the crew of the Jabberwock. They navigate together, which, I gotta be honest, I'm not entirely sure how it works. Probably a lot of fighting over the controls. Zoey's a tyrant when it comes to setting flight paths and running fuel estimates." He shrugs. "Sentorr's a decent male, though. A little more stiff in the collar than I'd expect my sister to fall for, but he adores her."