by Poppy Rhys
She turned to Kyran, resting a hand on his arm. “Stand guard outside the door, alright? Don’t let anyone come in.”
He nodded, “I understand.”
Willa placed her hand on the knob, twisting, surprised it wasn’t locked. Quietly, she cracked it open, noticing a long mirror took up the opposite wall. Another door was closed, where the commode was, she assumed.
She tip toed in, Tosh right behind her, softly closing the door.
“Who’s there?” Rishbi called.
“Hey,” she said lamely, unsure how else to start a conversation with a stranger in the cleansing room. “My name is Willa, we met earlier-”
Rishbi burst out of the stall.
“What do you want?” Her eyes took on a suspicious slant, her meaty hands fisted at her sides.
“Listen,” she leveled, “I simply want to buy the necklace you’re wearing.”
The Ulu placed a hand on her chest, her face morphing from suspicion to shock.
“My Francis gave this to me.”
Willa snorted, “Francis?” No wonder no one knew his real name.
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to laugh at, because Rishbi’s face turned a stormy, dark purple, those muscles in her arms bulging further.
Fuck my life.
“Hear me out,” Willa held up her hands. “How does ten thousand sound?”
No change.
“Fifteen thousand?”
Willa winced.
“Twenty thousand?”
The necklace was worth way more than she had to offer, but maybe Rishbi didn’t know that.
“It is mine,” the Amazonian ground out.
“No,” Willa gritted, “it’s mine. Your idiot boytoy cheated it from me, and I’m not leaving here without it!”
Again, it was the wrong thing to say, because in the next blink, Willa was up against a wall, Rishbi’s meaty fist squeezing her throat.
“You should really lay off the roids,” she wheezed.
Tosh took Rishbi off guard, jumping on her back, and wrapping her in a choke hold. The meaty fist released her, and Willa slid to the ground, coughing, and rubbing her assaulted throat.
“Goddamn,” she croaked, getting to her feet.
Rishbi slammed backward into the mirror along the wall, Tosh’s body cracking it. She released the Ulu, slumping backward and shaking herself.
Willa charged, slamming into the large female enough to knock her off balance before pulling back her fist and smashing it into her face.
It barely fazed her, but already Willa’s knuckles were sore.
Tosh popped up behind her, cracking a heavy vase over Rishbi’s head, water and flowers spraying down.
Still, the woman shook it off.
Willa’s eyes widened crazily, wondering how in the fuck they were going to get out of there alive.
She pulled a knee up, her stilettoed foot crashing down on Rishbi’s thigh.
Down she went, crying out. Willa didn’t wait, pulling her fist back and beating it into the side of her face.
Three punches in, and Rishbi pitched forward, tackling her to the ground.
Willa cringed as the back of her head bounced up off the hard floor, jarring her teeth together.
Rishbi’s hands wrapped around Willa’s throat for the second time, squeezing until she was sure she was going to black out. Already the edges of her vision went spotty as she watched Tosh beat on the back of the giant’s iron skull to no avail, and her knife was unreachable as the large woman had her completely pinned.
Then she remembered something.
“Ear,” she wheezed, “e-eeeaaar.”
Tosh’s brow pulled low, her fists stilling. Willa watched, vision blurry, as her best friend’s eyes lit with recognition, and then she pulled her hand back only to slap it palm up against Rishbi’s ear.
POP!
Immediately the woman went down, body going limp over Willa’s and damn near crushing her.
She gasped for air, her windpipe scratchy, bruised, and already sore as hell. Turning her head, she coughed, sounding like a sick old lady hacking away.
With Tosh’s help, she rolled Rishbi’s body off, and got to her feet. Her reflection in the cracked mirror was rough. Hair a mess, neck red like she’d hung by a rope, and torn flower petals stuck to her dress.
“Thanks Tosh,” she panted, patting her best friends shoulder.
“If you hadn’t remembered the ear thing,” the blond rested her hands on her knees, obviously worn out, “you’d be dead right about now, I think.”
The one and only time she’d met an Ulu, he’d been wearing specialized ear covers. When asked, he’d told her it was for protection, since his gills were behind his ears, and they were the most sensitive part of his body.
Who knew that tidbit would end up saving her life.
Willa leaned down, feeling like her body weighed a million pounds as she snatched Violet off Rishbi’s neck.
“Now,” she sighed, attempting to straighten her hair, “we just gotta get out of here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“You go out the back, I’ll go out the front,” Tosh suggested.
After straightening up as best they could, they stood in the hallway, hatching their way out of the party.
“You’ll never get past the Wenden with that bruising around your neck.”
“What?” Willa rubbed her throat. “It’s bruising already?”
“Yep,” Tosh winced. “Looks pretty ugly.”
“Are you alright?” Kyran tenderly stroked her shoulder, eyes glued to her neck like it pained him. She leaned up, kissing his cheek since they were out of sight.
“I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t look convinced.
“We’ll meet at the transport?”
“Ye-”
“What are you doing back here?”
Ice slid down Willa’s spine at the sound of the Wenden’s voice.
Kyran’s hands gripped her arms, pulling her further into the dark hallway, as her legs became wooden stumps, unwilling to move.
Tosh’s eyes widened, and then she turned around, fluffing up her hair. She could see the shadow of the Wenden standing at the mouth of the hallway just around the corner.
“Just needed to freshen up,” Tosh smiled, and giggled. “I think the champagne went to my head.”
That snapped Willa out of her stupor. Her friend never giggled.
“I saw Rishbi come this way-”
Tosh latched onto the Wenden’s arm just as he got closer to turning the corner. Willa could see the side of his robe peaking around.
“Oh, you’re lover?” Tosh purred, smoothing a hand down his wiry arm. “I was just in the cleansing room, and didn’t see her.”
“Yes, my lover,” the Wenden finally said. “One of them. I have many.”
Willa wanted to gag, because his voice took on a tone she didn’t like, and it was directed right at her best friend. She felt her muscles tensing, preparing to walk over there. To do what, she didn’t know. Save Tosh, maybe? But Kyran’s grip on her tightened.
She looked up, and he gave one firm shake of his head. No.
“Oh,” Tosh purred, and Willa’s attention snapped back to the scene unfolding before them. “Well, since you can’t find her, maybe you’ll spin me around on the dance floor?”
“Where are your friend and her hound?” He sounded disinterested, yet, she detected a hint of suspicion.
She didn’t like the way he called Kyran a hound. Then again, everything the Wenden said rubbed her wrong.
“They already left,” Tosh sighed, as if put out. “Left me to party alone. I told Willa I’d meet her back at the ship later on.”
She’d said that last part a little louder than necessary. Willa got the hint but she didn’t want to leave Tosh. Her fingers fisted, jaw clenching. It felt like throwing her to the wolves, even if the blonde could defend herself just fine.
Rishbi wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon, and they�
�d locked the handle from the inside. No one would discover her unless they broke down the door. But still, she didn’t want to go without Tosh.
“So, how about that dance?”
There was a pause, and Willa watched her best friend’s expression morph, eyes narrowing, hinting that there could be more than just a dance involved.
Willa nearly groaned. She was gonna owe Tosh big time for this.
The Wenden offered his arm, elbow clearly visible from around the corner, and Tosh giggled again, taking it.
Then they were gone.
“This way,” Kyran whispered, clasping her hand as he snuck further into the hall. At the very end were a clearly visible set of glass paned doors leading into the back terrace.
Halfway there, Willa froze as a giggling couple exited one of the rooms. Thinking quickly, she shoved Kyran up against a wall, gripping his collar and pulling his shocked face down to hers.
Mouth locked on his, and she moaned, pushing her fingers through his hair, and hiking her knee up his side in hopes of a convincing show.
He was a stone statue for a handful of seconds before his hand grasped her thigh, pulling her further against him and he kissed her back like a ravenous beast.
His hard body was like hot rock against her. For a moment, Willa forgot she was pretending, and barely registered the snickering couple as they skirted past them, back to the party.
When she pulled back, detaching her swollen lips from his, she was breathless. His eyes devoured her, and her heart raced a mile a minute, arousal and adrenaline fighting for the upper hand.
Her body wanted him right then and there, but her brain wanted to get the hell off Rewinn Two. Willa stepped away, clasping his hand again, and they raced for the backdoors.
She jiggled the handle.
A pained squawk eked from her. “They’re locked!”
Before she could panic, Kyran’s hands covered both knobs, twisting until she heard a crunch. With a small shove, the doors fell open, the sweet night air filling her lungs.
Out the doors they went, slinking around the maze of topiaries until they were jumping a hedge, once again at the front of the estate.
Willa paused in the shadows, brushing a leaf off her dress, and plucking a few from Kyran’s tunic. His fingers snatched a few leaves from her hair that she didn’t even realize were there.
“Thanks,” she grinned, leaning up once again to give him a quick peck on the lips. With another deep, calming breath, she walked toward the transports, seeming collected -she hoped- to the stragglers showing up to the party, and those leaving.
She counted on, if anything, people thinking she’d snuck around the side of the estate to dabble in some taboo make out session with her Khyma.
Kyran at her back, like others would expect him to be, they waited there, the odd sensation of feeling naked without her cloak adding to her unease. The seconds felt like little eternities as a transport pulled up, its door sliding open. The necklace clutched in her fist felt like a beacon, screaming ‘thief!’ to everyone at the party.
It was all in her head. And she wasn’t a thief. At least, not this time around. Violet was rightfully hers, she had to remember that.
She stepped into the transport, chancing a glance behind her, looking past Kyran. She could see the Wenden escorting Tosh through the crowd, facing the door, and surveying the guests. Still seemingly oblivious to what just happened in his cleansing room.
The door slid shut, his gaze never meeting hers.
Willa sighed, sagging on the plush bench.
“Let’s never do that again.”
****
Willa stretched her naked limbs, moaning happily as Kyran squeezed her to his side. That kiss at the party couldn’t be forgotten once they’d arrived back on the ship.
The swirling adrenaline and arousal needed an outlet, and they’d barely made it back to her apartment before banging each other’s brains out.
She had her necklace back! She had Kyran at her side, safe and sound, and the world hadn’t felt so right in a long time. Too long.
They lay in her bed, talking about the future, and all its possibilities. She laughed at how excited he got when she talked about all the places they would visit, all the new people he would meet.
He was most excited to see where she came from, not just Dor Nye, but Atomin, where her family lived. Even in all his travels, he’d never seen a floating station the size of a planet. It was truly unique, Atomin, and she couldn’t wait for him to see it, and meet her family, and the Ato people.
Willa wasn’t nervous, like she thought she’d be. In fact, she’d never been more hopeful in her life. She wasn’t alone. She had someone to share it with. Two someones, actually, because Tosh was her best friend, and that would never change.
She had all she needed in the universe; Kyran, Tosh, and their lives upon Pearly.
She leaned up, kissing his nose before getting to her feet.
“Going somewhere?” His voice rolled over her in delicious waves, and she was once again reminded how inhumanly quick he was learning English.
“Mhm,” she looked over her shoulder after slipping on her shirt. “Gotta go check on Tosh.”
She’d been so happy to get out of that dress, so when she slipped into a pair of pants, she couldn’t help the contented sigh that passed her lips.
“I’ll come with you-”
“Ah-Ah,” she wagged a finger, pressing him back into the bed. “I won’t be long, and I’m not finished with you.”
He growled, attempting to drag her back to the bed, but she resisted, chuckling against his lips when they captured hers.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you,” Willa sighed, eyes drooping lazily as she basked in his kisses.
Kyran grinned, his white freckles lighting up, and that single dimple in his cheek flashing. “You have the rest of our lives to figure it out.”
Willa bit into her bottom lip, the thrill of that giving her more pleasure than she ever imagined it would.
Eventually untangling herself from him, she left her apartment in search of Killian. She wanted to talk to him first, tell him all that had been going on, and apologize.
She had to make things right, and she wasn’t going to back out of that now just because she had her necklace.
Once on the bridge, she waved at him. “Can we talk?”
“Sure,” he set aside ‘the tablet’, raising his gaze. Immediately, he shot to his feet, expression horrified as his gaze homed in on her neck.
“What the- Willa, what the hell happened to you?”
“I’m okay. Let’s just… talk someone private.”
After starting at the beginning, the shelk game with the Wenden, and landing at the part where the bruises on her neck came from, and the fact that there was no buyer for the Nin fuel, he was red.
Red like a hot sun.
Red like the hot sauce Tosh loved to put on everything.
Red like all the blood vessels in his face were bursting at the same time.
“I know!” she hedged, rubbing at her sore neck. “I fucked up, but it’s over now. I’m telling you straight so there are no surprises. Everything is settled, the mess is no more, and we’re all good now.”
“I have no words!” His mouth fell open, shut, and open again, but still nothing came out. He collapsed in his desk chair, looking dazed.
“How could I not have known?”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Willa squeezed his shoulder, feeling guilty. He was probably thinking how he could’ve missed it, since he was pretty on top of things, thanks to that tablet. “It wasn’t your fault. I just know you really, really well. Too well, probably.”
Truth. She could maneuver around Killian’s blind spots like no one’s business.
“I think, in light of recent events,” he finally looked up at her, that determined, older brother look in his eyes, “any time you leave the ship from here on out, you’ll be escorted by men that I approve of.”
Everything she’d done would be seen as a huge liability to the company. Daughter or not, her parents would do what was best in the interest of the business. Which meant she might’ve cost Tosh her position as well.
But Killian was going easy. Too easy.
“Okay,” she conceded, nodding.
“I mean it Willa, no more gambling-”
“I understand.”
“And don’t try to give my guys the slip-”
“I won’t.”
They eyed each other for a few more moments, and then he sighed. “I’m glad you’re alright, though.”
“Me too. Could’ve been a lot worse.”
“Don’t say that,” he shifted uncomfortably. “And go see Jonah about your neck.”
“Okay, okay. I’m just gonna check on Tosh first.”
“No,” he shook his head, “you’re not stepping foot back on that planet, and as soon as Tosh boards, we’re leaving.”
A chill traced down Willa’s spine.
She and Kyran had been back on the ship for a few hours already. Her best friend should’ve been back long ago.
“Tosh isn’t on board?”
It must’ve been the tone of her voice, because Killian shifted again, as if going on high alert.
“No,” he picked the tablet back up, scrolling through it with haste. “She hasn’t been scanned back in.”
Willa stood, her guts clenching as she thought about what could be keeping Tosh on Rewinn Two for so long. Nothing good came to mind.
I should’ve never left her there!
“Willa, talk to me.” Killian’s voice was on edge, just like she felt.
“She should’ve been back by now, Kill,” Willa left the room, her brother hot on her heels. “Something’s wrong, I can feel it.”
The ships intercom beeped. “Captain Killian, your immediate attention is needed on the bridge.”
“Willa, just wait,” he grabbed her arm. “Let me take care of this, and then we’ll both go look for Tosh, okay?”
As if he didn’t trust her, -and she couldn’t blame him- he steered her toward the bridge.