then EJ. “The bounty remains, unfortunately. We can’t worry about helping others while we still have to worry about surviving someone else’s vengeance.”
Nokx scowled and leaned forward, almost blocking EJ from view as he faced his captain. “The bounty will never go away; we’ll always be running from it. We might as well look making this part of the universe better, since we won’t be going back to governed space for a long, long time.”
Faros shrugged and drank some more, savoring the taste of the liquor. “Don’t see the need for it. No one ever did me any favors like that; no one went out of their way to help my ship or my crew.”
EJ frowned as she studied her glass and the spread of food still on the table. The pirate captain had a point, even if it was a selfish one. Her time in the Fleet and every year after just confirmed the truth: the universe was not a kind place, and it grew even less kind for the young and females and those who were alone. It made sense for Faros to be selfish like that and focus on himself and his ship and his crew. It made sense. And yet... It wasn’t right. It didn’t seem fair that he could sacrifice anyone and everything just to make sure his ship was protected.
She sipped the liquor as Violet and Faros argued about the Tyboli bounty and whether it was enough justification to avoid governed space forever, and Nokx remained quiet next to her. EJ had spent every day after leaving the Fleet worried about saving her own skin and making sure she survived. Sometimes that meant taking from others, stealing to make sure she had enough to eat, hiding in structures and ships so she didn’t have to pay to travel between ports. She’d never really considered who was on the other side of what she’d considered very small crimes. Things that the universe owed her.
Which was uncomfortably close to how Faros viewed the world. Sure, her actions came back to haunt her with the charges and fake trial and eventually being confined to the gen ship for a long exile, but she hadn’t stopped to really think about whether the sentence was deserved. It stripped her liberty and was clearly unfair for a long list of reasons, but... EJ shifted on her chair.
She got the feeling that Faros would say exactly the same thing if ever brought to trial for his crimes. None of it was his fault or he’d done it for a perfectly justifiable reason that didn’t require a punishment. Maybe she really did deserve to be terra-forming on a rocky, uninhabited planet.
Nokx’s fingers slid against the back of her neck. “What are you thinking about so hard?”
EJ searched for a smile or some kind of reassurance that didn’t mean dragging out her muddled thoughts and the history of her various crimes. He didn’t know about all the work she’d done for Bula and her sisters and their team. It was probably better that he didn’t. He already looked at her sideways a little whenever he thought too much about why she’d stowed away on the Sraibur. Admitting to some of the terrible things she’d done wouldn’t make it easier to convince them to keep her on the pirate ship—even if Violet thought it helped her fit in.
EJ picked at the food and found a much better topic to distract him with. “Dessert.”
His gaze sparked liquid silver and his voice deepened. “Perhaps chocolate.”
Her stomach fluttered in anticipation, or maybe it was the spicy food and strong liquor. When Nokx squeezed her knee and his fingers slid up the inside of her thigh, she shivered all the way to her toes and tried not to wiggle in anticipation. “Sounds perfect.”
He grumbled and immediately picked up the tablet to find something. His scales flared with hints of purple and the occasional gold streak, and a smile touched Violet’s face as she looked at EJ. “Big plans?”
EJ’s face burned but she didn’t bother getting embarrassed. It wasn’t like she’d be around that much longer if Faros had his way, so there was no reason to be shy. She managed to keep a straight face as she nodded. “Well, last night Nokx promised to cover me in chocolate and then lick it off, but we got distracted. I figured we could try again.”
Faros snorted mid-drink and spluttered liquor all over the table, and Violet grinned with appreciation. “An