Aetherbound - E.K. Johnston Page 0,52

so that she knew to turn her face to his and wait. After that part, though, the books proved completely useless.

Fisher’s hands slid up her arms, drawing her body close to his. It was a precarious balancing act, but she trusted him to bear her weight. He held her face gently in his hands, like she was precious and good, and his mouth moved over hers. She was warm, suddenly, right down to her toes, and surged towards him. The shift in weight pushed him back against the arm of the sofa and pressed her chest against his. He laughed, breathless, and caught her in his arms, straightening his legs beneath her so that he could hold her body more comfortably. He kissed her again.

Her only point of reference for the feelings he was stirring in her was Ned, and she really didn’t want to think about Ned right now. Pendt didn’t know what to do, but Fisher didn’t seem to care. He had to know that her only experience with this type of thing was with his brother, but nothing they had ever done was this intense, this personal. She pulled back a bit from his mouth, and he didn’t stop her. He looked at her, unblinking. There was no regret in his gaze.

Pendt blushed, turning bright pink as he stared at her. It was ridiculous and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She buried her face in his shoulder, unable to take the frankness in his eyes any longer. She started to giggle and couldn’t stop herself. Fisher laughed and tightened his arms around her. It felt like home.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Fisher said. “It’s complicated and kind of a mess, and I have no idea what the future is going to bring, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Pendt knew that he meant the sofa specifically, not the station in general. She was glad too, though she didn’t trust her voice enough to say it. Fisher didn’t seem to expect an answer anyway, which was another reason she liked him, if she was honest with herself. He understood her before she spoke, and he understood her when she couldn’t.

They sat in silence for a time. Pendt wondered if this was the first time in her life she had ever been so at ease, so content. It was an ugly question but confronting the wretchedness of her childhood helped her move further away from it. She decided that it didn’t really matter. She had Fisher and Fisher had her, and they were going to see what came of it.

She’d dozed off by the time Fisher’s communications unit chimed, indicating that he had a message. If it had been her unit, she would have bounced up immediately: that always meant they needed her for the Net or the Well. Fisher’s communications were important, but rarely quite so urgent, and she watched him as he slowly reached out with one long arm to snag the datapad off the table.

He sat up so abruptly that she was nearly dislodged onto the floor. Both of his hands were on the datapad, so she didn’t have anything to hold on to. She scrambled to keep her balance and stay sitting on the sofa, and by the time she’d sorted herself out, Fisher’s face was as pale as if all the blood in it had drained out.

“What is it?” she asked.

But she knew. She couldn’t have said how, could not have given a logical explanation, but she knew.

Fisher handed her the datapad, and she read the words she hadn’t allowed herself to consider long enough to fear. The Cleland had been captured and destroyed in battle, with all hands aboard.

Ned Brannick, the bright boy who did his best to save her and save everyone else, was dead.

“YOU MAKE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY”

Sylvie Morunt was a daughter born to a man who wanted only sons. She gave up trying to understand her father when she was quite young. Some people are bigoted, and you cannot reason with them. They have no redeeming qualities, even if they are talented in other arenas. It was not Sylvie’s job to rehabilitate him.

She became a doctor because her brothers did, and she loved them. They were all gene-mages of varying ability, and Sylvie tagged along to their classes on Katla Station until the teachers accepted her presence. She was young, but she was proficient, and good at working hard, and soon enough she and her brothers were