A Star Reborn: A Space Opera Adventure (Seven Stars Saga Book 2)

by AJ Super

  He turned his head back to her, eyes glistening. “What if I told you I didn’t do it?” he muttered.

  She jerked her head back. “But you did. You said you did. Kai said…”

  “Your father was really sick,” Malcam interrupted her.

  Nyx shoved him away and sat up, teeth chattering. “Sick? It was just a cough.” He was lying. He was just trying to spin his betrayal into something else. Something she could forgive.

  He propped himself up and covered her with a blanket. “He didn’t want anyone to know. He only told me and Kai. He wanted to die quick though. Not slow and painful. Kai wouldn’t agree to it. Xaoc told me he’d give me the Medusa if I did it.”

  Her mind ground. This had to be a lie. It was too complicated, too messy. Too convenient. “The mutiny was staged? You and my father wanted Kai off the Medusa so he could kill himself? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Malcam nodded.

  Nyx swallowed the planet lodged in her throat. Why would he lie about this? Why tell her something like this, knowing it would hurt her? Knowing she would realize she’d been betrayed by Kai one more time. Knowing she’d been betrayed by her own father. “He didn’t even care that I was there. How I would feel. What would happen to me.”

  “Xaoc was a selfish man. It’s what made him a good pirate.” He smoothed a stray strand of sable hair behind her ear. “Are you okay hearing this?”

  She looked down at the pillow under her. “No.”

  “I’m sorry I let you misunderstand. I made promises.” He stood up and wrapped the blanket around Nyx tighter, then walked to the door, gathering his wet clothes. “You’re doing better now. I’ll leave.”

  Her stomach sank. “You’ll go back to Red?”

  His brow creased. “Back to Red? What’s that mean?”

  “You two are always together,” Nyx said. Her chest tightened. She didn’t know why she was talking about Red, or why it even mattered. She didn’t even know if Red came down to the planet with him.

  “Only because no one on the Thanatos trusts either of us. Or will talk to us.” Malcam turned to her. “Do you actually think there’s something between us?”

  “Isn’t there?”

  “In the sense that we’re friends, and she doesn’t do romantic, or touching, unless it’s to beat la merde out of someone.” He grinned. “Closest she’s got to a partner is Betty, and she’s on another ship. Perfect partner for Red, in her mind.”

  Nyx stared at Malcam.

  “Did I say something wrong?” He shifted.

  She shook her head. She had always thought Malcam and Red had come as a pair, not just a business match, but a distantly romantic one. “Well, then. See you.”

  Malcam frowned, and shifted, clearly disappointed. “I’m staying. You’re shivering still.”

  Nyx bolted out of bed clutching the warm fuzzy blanket to her bare chest. “St-staying?” she jittered, half cold, half stuttering in disbelief. Maybe even in relief. She couldn’t let him leave like this. She had to say something. Give him an apology. Let him know she was sorry for misunderstanding him, for not trusting him. He had just saved her. She owed him something.

  He walked toward her and put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down into the warmth of the bed. She stared into his azure eyes as he glowered down at her.

  He wrapped a hand around her forehead, feeling her temperature. “Sleep now. You’ve had a rough day.”

  “Will you leave when I fall asleep?” She smiled, suddenly feeling a little shy as she settled back in the bed.

  He ran his fingers through her hair and leaned next to her. “Sure, if that’s what you want. Just promise me the next time you have a secret meeting, you’ll take some back-up.”

  She closed her eyes, and mumbled her assent, engulfed by the warm blue electric waves surrounding Malcam, forgetting that he was still dangerous. Forgetting that there would be a price for him saving her. For now, he was her trusted crew member… and the generous boy she grew up with on her father’s ship. The man who gave coins to Downsider children. The man who didn’t know Boucher wouldn’t die easily, even though he probably left her out in the ice flats. She would have to ask him about that, after she woke up.

  12

  The insistent beep of the comm wriggled its way into Nyx’s dream. In it, she floated softly on a cushion of warm blue, looking up at the deep purple sky as the sun passed beyond Elysion’s horizon. Her smoky white tendrils twined in and out of the waves, caressing each breaking crest as it lapped silently into the trough between lengths. Her eyes fluttered open.

  Malcam’s arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and she lay snuggled into his burning bare chest, blue energy bubbling easily with each breath. Her white wisps wound in and out of each crest like in her dream, lazily fingering through each fiery wave.

  He groaned as she moved his arm off of her and opened his eyes.

  “The comm,” Nyx whispered.

  He nodded and swung his feet out of the bed and stood.

  She quickly averted her eyes, heat rushing to her cheeks. He was in nothing but his black boxer-briefs.

  Malcam smirked. “Had to get you warm somehow, princess. Besides, my clothes needed to dry too.”

  “That’s a little much, though. Don’t you think?” Nyx turned her head and put her hand up, half-shielding her sight.

  “I’m sure you’ve seen men in much less. Why the face?” His smile widened.

  “Face? There’s no face.” She turned to look at him. “See, no face.”

  He leaned over and placed his hands on the bed in front of her, his lips centimeters away from hers. He cocked his head towards her ear. His breath was hot on her neck, and her heart stutter-stopped. “You’re still pulling a face.”

  She pushed his shoulders away, and he straightened, laughing. He walked to the door pad and hit the comm button. “ExO Harris ici.”

  Silence on the other end.

  Malcam pushed the button again. “If you don’t have anything to report, why are you paging the captain?”

  “Pourquoi es-tu avec la capitaine? I thought she was going on this mission alone.” Sarama’s exasperated voice rang over the comm. “Nevermind. Is she there?”

  “She’s resting,” Malcam growled.

  Nyx walked up behind him, white cotton sheet wrapped around her naked body and tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m fine. What’s up, Sarama?”

  “Auto-docking procedures have completed. We have a situation in the mess.” Sarama’s voice crackled. “I think you should immediately go check it out.”

  “What is it?” Nyx pushed the comm button.

  “You should see for yourself. And deal with it as you see fit. Matthews only listens to you anyway.” Nyx’s First Officer’s voice was steel.

  She bit her lip. Sarama was angry, angry at Matthews and something he was up to. The nanobots should have helped him by now, so he shouldn’t be having a violent episode. But what could have Sarama so worked up?

  Malcam walked to a pair of black wool pants and a loose black sweater draped on the footlocker at the end of the bed. He pulled both on quickly and sat on the sheetless bed, pulling on a thick pair of black socks.

  Nyx stared at him.

  “Don’t you want to get something on?” He grinned at her. “Not that I mind you standing there in nothing but a sheet. But you’d probably be more comfortable with clothes on. I saw a change of clothes in the locker.”

  She clutched the sheet tighter. “Oh? Yeah?” Shuffling to the metal trunk, she ran a hand through her hair. “You. Undressed me?”

  Malcam guffawed and shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, princess. I was more concerned with the fact that you were wet and freezing, than getting you naked and in bed.”

  She cleared her throat. “Thanks for that.”

  He grunted and grabbed his heavy winter boots lying next to the bed. He jerked them on without lacing them and stood.

  Nyx pulled the locker open; she had stow
ed extra clothes in the shuttle in case she got stuck on planet. Malcam walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, leaning into the locker and hulking over her, his body pressing against hers. He pulled out her maroon jumpsuit and handed it to her. “You’re off-duty today. No uniform once you get back. Just deal with whatever this is, and then to your rack.” He breathed in her ear. “Sarama and I have the helm. Besides, playing hide-and-seek from the new Protectorate in dark space isn’t that hard.”

  She turned and opened her mouth. He put his hand over her lips and shook his head. “No. Your objections are noted, mon capitaine. But overruled. I haven’t reported what happened to Sarama yet, but I will if you make me.”

  She wrapped her fingers around his and lowered his hand, still clutching the front of the sheet. “Seven Stars, please don’t tell Sarama. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  With his free hand, he smoothed her hair behind her ear. Nyx inhaled and glanced warily at him. Maybe Yoon was right. Maybe Malcam did have feelings for her. She blinked. “I need to get dressed. Turn around.”

  A sly smile crept across Malcam’s pale face, and he tugged at the black gauge plug in his ear. “Yeah. I’ll just. Pick up these.” He turned and began picking up the still wet parkas and gloves, underclothes, olive sweater, and uniform Nyx had been wearing when she fell under the ice.

  He walked to the bathroom cubicle and dumped her personal clothing in the small hamper by the sink as she put on a fresh pair of floral printed cotton underwear and a white under-tank. Ducking his head as he came out, Malcam took a deep breath. “I’ll make sure the crew on swabbie duty gets the parkas cleaned. Gloves, too.”

  She slipped into her maroon jumpsuit and zipped the snug fabric up the front. She turned and reached out. “That’s okay. If I have nothing else to do today, I can take care of it.” She wiggled her fingers for Malcam to hand over the jacket.

  He thrust it in her direction. “Fine. Do I need to ban you from fiddling with the hardware on board too, though?”

  Nyx smiled and draped both wet parkas over the back of a chair by the table near the door to the shuttle’s other compartments. “At least let me do something with my time.” She felt through the pocket of the white parka for the little drive and wrapped her fingers around it. She sighed. It was water-logged, but safe. It should have survived being dunked in the icy water with her, but her heart sped with anticipation.

  Malcam slapped the door pad, and the door whisked open. “You almost died, and you want to fix console hardware and soup up system tech when you’re supposed to be resting?”

  “She almost died?” Yoon stood in the doorway, his hand poised above the comm button, ready to ring into the crew quarters of the shuttle.

  “Malcam,” Nyx hissed.

  Malcam crossed his large arms and tipped his head. “You’ve made yourself at home. Just wandering onto any shuttle you want? Not suspicious at all…”

  Nyx walked up and slid in front of him. “It was nothing. Just an accident.” She glanced back at Malcam warningly. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some business in the mess hall, apparently.”

  Yoon turned and followed her. Malcam stalked after the two of them, door whispering closed behind him. Nyx looked over her shoulder as he caught up and walked down the docking ramp side-by-side with Yoon, who glanced darkly in his direction. She strode quickly in front of the two men.

  Yoon lowered his voice. “What the Stars happened down there?”

  Malcam shrugged.

  “And why were you with her?” Yoon ground out. “She left alone.”

  Malcam laughed. “You’re the second person to ask.” He stopped, and Yoon stopped with him. Nyx slowed so she didn’t get out of earshot as they walked out of the docking bay and down the tan corridors of the Thanatos. “When two consenting adults…”

  Nyx spun. “Malcam,” she growled, eyes stony. “Nothing happened. I had an accident. Malcam helped me.”

  “Helped you? Have a little more gratitude than that, princess,” Malcam rumbled.

  “Fine. You saved me. Is that what you want to hear? You saved me. I owe you. I’m indebted to you. What more do you want from me?” Nyx’s voice rose. Her white tendrils swam through his cresting blue fire, seeking the small white flame that joined their energies together.

  He held up his hands, surrendering, his azure eyes sad. “Nyxie, I don’t want anything from you. We’re family. What can I say to get you to understand that?”

  Nyx blinked. Why was it so hard for her to accept his overtures? To accept him? He was trying so hard. He kept looking out for her. She stepped forward, her tendrils fingering through the crests of his waves. “Those promises you made… Who were they to?”

  “Your father didn’t want you to be alone.”

  Nyx inhaled sharply and pulled her wisps back. The silence stretched between the two. She didn’t know what to say as she stared into his impossibly blue eyes.

  Yoon looked at the two of them and cleared his throat. “Don’t you have something to attend to?” He nodded to the cafeteria door in front of Nyx.

  Nyx pivoted and slapped her hand down on the door pad, opening the door. Sarama was angry about Matthews again, and she needed to deal with it.

  Matthews stood on a table. The mess hall was completely filled, and nearly half of the crew surrounded him. A cold glint was in his hazel-green eyes. He took two fingers and pressed them to his heart when he saw Nyx. “Que Les Étoiles soient avec nous,” he boomed over the silent crowd. Heads turned towards Nyx, Yoon, and Malcam, and in unison the press of crew put two fingers to their hearts and thundered, “Que Les Étoiles soient avec nous. Nous sommes bénis.”

  A wave of nausea hit Nyx like an asteroid field. She blinked and swallowed. This was forty or fifty of her people, her crew, her family. The Greene siblings melted out of the crowd and grabbed her arms. The mass of people parted for her as she walked through, stunned. Malcam and Yoon shook out of their shock and followed, diving into the crowd before it closed behind her. She could feel the bulk of Malcam as the crowd pressed him close to her back. Yoon put a hand on her shoulder. The Greene siblings just smiled and pulled her forward to Matthews’ table-turned-pulpit.

  Nyx’s head spun. If nearly half her crew was here, this was the half who were off duty. How many who were on duty would otherwise be here in this press of people saluting her with a tap to their heart? Her mouth dried, and she took a shaky breath in. She needed to breathe. The Greene siblings helped her up onto the table with Matthews, Malcam and Yoon hulking below her, keeping the throng of crew from getting too close. Maeve Greene smiled sweetly, and Jack tapped his heart, saluting and bowing his head.

  Nyx turned to Matthews and whispered through grit teeth, “What is going on?”

  His eyes sparkled, and he raised his hands to the crowd. “She is the Star of Stars. The God of Gods. And you have the blessing to serve under her. Both as captain and as a God. You are her chosen. Her family. Never forget. Once you step foot on this ship and serve this captain…”

  The crowd tapped their hearts again, and sang out both in Queen’s Speech and Common:

  “Nous vivons pour notre famille.”

  “We live for our family.”

  “Nous mourons pour notre famille.”

  “We die for our family.”

  “Nous sommes maintenant une famille.”

  “We are family now.”

  The power of the words surged through Nyx’s core.

  Matthews smiled brightly at Nyx, then turned back to the crowd and spread his arms wide, dismissing them. “Que Les Étoiles soient avec vous.”

  The crowd eased away from the table and the Greene siblings held their hands out to Nyx to help her down. Nyx looked at them both and shook her head. She blew up her cheeks and stared at Matthews as he watched the backs of the crew walk out the door to the mess hall. “What was this, Matthews?” she hissed.

  He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be happy.”

  “Happy? You’re
starting a… cult… On. My. Ship,” Nyx grit, barely keeping her temper. How did it get this far? Her crew had only been tapping their hearts. How had it turned into a crowd of fanatics chanting?

  He reached down to the Greene siblings and dismounted the table, then faced Nyx as she towered above the few straggling crew members. “Two Stars have fallen. War is coming. And you need a crew whose loyalty will be unerringly yours.”

  “No. I need a crew who will do their jobs. A crew who won’t let their beliefs get in the way of their duties.”

  Matthews stared up at her. “You need an army.”

  Malcam’s brows knit. Yoon put his hands behind his back and pursed his lips. Both men took in what Matthews had just said.

  Nyx looked down at the men. She licked her lips, then shook her head. “I’m not going to take advantage of people’s faith to build an army.” She had the clones anyway. All she needed to do was convince Yoon to give her control… Or take it from him… She flinched at the second option.

  Matthews set his jaw. “It’s too late. These people need guidance. For the first time in their lives they are seeing a Star be born and rise into her powers. And not just any Star. The Star of Nyx. Head of the pantheon.”

  Crius had made it clear that Nyx had little power in the family. That secrets were being kept and that she was still in the dark about so many things. Nyx closed her eyes. “I’m just some overblown operating system. I’m not what those people want me to be. And I’m sure not what the Progenitor designed me to be.”

  “But you could be,” Yoon said quietly. “You have the Star marks, even if they are faint. Your potential will grow once you absorb one of us, and you will become a great power in the universe. You could rule it all.” His sapphire miasma swirled tempestuously.

  But if what it was going to take was uploading a sibling Star, she wanted nothing to do with that kind of power. There were other ways…

  Nyx’s eyes darted to Malcam, whose fists were clenched tight. Blue waves crashed around him. “Malcam?”