and everything good that he represented. But always in the back of her thoughts was Faros saying so calmly and coldly that Nokx decided to be elsewhere while she was chained like a criminal and dragged out like garbage.
He held her tightly to his chest and she meant to whisper that she would give him a chance, but the ship turned and the entire thing tilted. She held tightly to his shoulder spikes to keep from falling to the floor, and they both slid into the nearest wall to brace for the inevitable.
EJ whispered, “There’s a backup gravitational stabilizer in the emergency system. If they haven’t disconnected everything, it should kick in in just a few seconds...”
But only the faint dripping and hiss of the internal workings of the ship answered. EJ closed her eyes. This couldn’t be it. It couldn’t be. There was so much else she wanted to do and see. She wanted to know whether Nokx meant what he said about being together forever. She wanted to get even with Faros and ram her fist into his smug face, maybe strand him on an uninhabitable planet.
Nokx’s arms tightened around her as he searched the corridors for any threats, his whole body tense though his hold remained gentle. EJ breathed in the slightly metallic scent of his scales. Did he mean what he said? Was he just trying to distract her from the facts with a ceremonial but ultimately empty gesture?
She wanted to believe him. She did.
She held her breath as the lights flickered more and plunged them into darkness. EJ held tighter to his shoulders and pressed against the wall to keep from tumbling down the corridor and into the metal structures. She’d no doubt break a couple of bones on the way. Nokx growled softly, staggering along the wall until they found an alcove that provided a little more shelter, though EJ had no idea how Nokx saw where to go in the inky darkness.
It wouldn’t matter for much longer. None of the emergency or backup systems kicked in, which wasn’t that much of a surprise. She’d been all over the Hollbrd and even basic maintenance had been ignored outright. The crew hid a lot of sins with paint and holograms. It was just her luck that the Slasu plot went so badly wrong that all the passengers died on the ship because they’d wanted to make the ship easier to capture. She swallowed a groan. Of all the stupid ways to end up trapped...
If all of the critical systems were damaged, it wouldn’t matter whether she forgave Nokx or not. Her heart pounded faster against her ribs as a single red light flickered down the corridor, just out of sight, but offered no indication of whether the ship would recover. EJ rested her forehead against Nokx’s shoulder and tried to breathe normally. “I don’t know if it’s going to...”
“A few more minutes,” Nokx said, hyper-alert as he eased them deeper into the alcove. He managed to brace himself across the entrance so she could lean more comfortably against the wall and his side and not feel like she was going to fall ass over stunner into oblivion. The Xaravian had replaced his dagger in his belt, beneath his robes, so he had both hands free.
EJ wondered if she’d missed her chance to accept it, to give him another chance. She didn’t even know if she wanted to give him another chance, if her heart would survive giving him that opportunity. Letting him in meant risking absolute devastation if he failed her again. She hadn’t trusted anyone but Bula in so long...
Her chest ached and she leaned her head back, grateful for the darkness that hid her. It felt so good to rely on someone else, to believe that Nokx had her back and supported her and wanted her to succeed. That he would defend her when she needed it. That he’d be there when she fell asleep and still around when she woke up. They hadn’t had very long together, but she’d believed it. She’d believed him. The only question was whether she could risk believing him again.
The ship groaned and creaked but slowly regained its equilibrium, and EJ started to breathe again. Nokx grunted in relief, though he didn’t relax his hold on her or his support bracing across the entry. He exhaled and murmured, “Now we only need enough light to see by, and we can...”