right into her sparkling silver eyes. “Why did you do that?”
The girl sucks in a long breath and leans back, out of my space and out of reach. “You were kind of rambling. I heard first kiss and… well. That was something I could help you out with. So I kissed you.” She smiles sheepishly. And for a quick moment I see the girl underneath the threat of death. She didn’t always look like this. She wasn’t always empty and dark. She had her own, real light once, and I bet it was spectacular.
“What’s your name?”
“Alera.” She holds out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
I take it, but I don’t shake it. I hold it for a moment and look her in the eyes. “Thanks. For the kiss, I mean. It… helped. A little, at least.”
She nods and pulls her hand back. “So. Do you have a name?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes. I’m Crux.”
“Crux.”
“Ever heard of me?”
She laughs. “Should I have heard of you?”
“No.” And then I laugh too. “But I felt the need to check.”
“You must have some reputation.”
“In some places.”
“Some places? Or some… times? Because I’m pretty sure that rant of yours included words about time travel.”
I don’t say anything.
“Ah. Now you’re gonna go all quiet on me.”
“It’s just… very hard to explain.”
“Well.” She looks around. “Unless you’re needed somewhere else at this moment, I’d love to hear your story.” Then she walks around the other side of the bar and comes towards me. I have a quick moment of panic that she will try and kiss me again—and then I have another moment of panic that she won’t.
She doesn’t.
She backs up to the counter, grips the edges, and lifts herself up with a smile. “I’ve got time, Crux.”
I might actually be needed somewhere else at this moment—like, it’s entirely possible that the real Harem Station is blowing up this very second—but I suddenly decide that I don’t really care. That’s all going to happen anyway. I could, technically, opt out of everything and time would still keep spinning, wouldn’t it? I don’t control time.
So fuck it.
This isn’t the girl I asked for, but this is as close to the situation that I asked for that I’ll ever get. At least in this life.
She is a first kiss.
She is my one chance to explain.
I’m not going to pledge my undying love to this girl, but if this is all I get—if this is my one last chance—then the hell with it. I’m not gonna waste it.
“OK. How about I make you a real drink? Hm? Because this is a long fucking story and I think you’re gonna need it.”
She smiles at me. And with that smile comes the tiniest bit of brightness. It’s almost imperceptible, but I’ve been around princesses for almost two decades now, so I see it. “Sure,” she says. Swinging her feet a little. “I’d like that.”
I turn back to the shelves of liquor. And without even meaning to, I find her reflection in the mirror. She’s smiling at me. “You look better,” I tell her. “A lot better.”
“I feel better too.” She lets out a long sigh as I grab a bottle, then order up some more juice from the autocook.
“Alera,” I say. Trying out her name.
“That’s me. The one and only silver Alera.”
“Are you someone important?”
“I mean…” She giggles. “I’m not trying to brag here, but I was engaged to the Harem Station governor’s son before that ship came through the spin node and killed him.”
“Wait.” I turn around, take my ingredients over to the counter next to her, and put up a hand. “Back up, princess. Explain that.”
“The governor’s son. He and I were—” She pauses to wince. “You know. Arranged marriage.”
“Oh. Got it.”
“But he was killed in a freak accident. That spin node thing, actually. The moment that the Wayward Station ship was coming through the spin node, he—the governor’s son—Aleric—”
“Whoa. Hold on. Alera and Aleric?”
She nods.
“That’s disgustingly sweet.”
She giggles. “I know. But that’s how you know you’re fated, right? You have a name mate.”
“Sounds like bullshit to me.”
“Yeah, me too. You don’t have name-mates in your… time?”
“No. Soulmates though. We have those.”
“Soulmates? That’s dumb. How can you mate a soul?”
“How can you mate a name?”
She laughs again. And again, she brightens. Just a little. “Point taken.”
“OK. Continue. I want all the gory details about Aleric’s death, Alera. I think it might be important.”
“Unfortunately, there are no details. The Wayward ship came through just as Aleric’s ship was entering, and his ship just…