As far as I’m concerned, a clone is just another person.
I look around the dock for Aithar, since he wasn’t on the Scarlet Gaze when I did my rounds of hugging and goodbyes. Zaemen said he was in Port, so I’m waiting outside for him before I head back to the Sister. Aithar is a special friend of mine. He’s a good listener, and kind. I’ve told him all about my love for Mathiras, and he’s told me all about a girl in Port by the name of Melody that he’s in love with. My guess is that he’s saying his goodbyes to her.
So I wait, and I try not to look up at the too-bright and open sky overhead, and try not to look over at Jade and Adiron, who are kissing as if their lips are going to fall off. It means a lot of staring at the ground with all that stuff I’m not supposed to be looking at.
“You okay?” a voice says.
I look up, smiling. Finally. “I was waiting for you, Aithar. Wanted to say my goodbyes before we head off.”
The a’ani manages a small smile in return, sitting down next to me on the crate. “Oh. Thanks.”
He seems miserable. “Were you saying goodbye to Melody?”
Aithar sighs heavily, glancing over at Jade and Adiron (still kissing) and then back at me. “It didn’t go well,” he admits. “I couldn’t tell her where we were going or when I’d be back. She didn’t like that. She accused me of being a pirate.”
“You are a pirate,” I point out.
He gives me an alarmed look, making a hushing motion with his hand. “Not so loud. No one at Port is supposed to know that.”
Why not? Like Mathiras, he’s a good pirate. Melody shouldn’t mind that, should she? “So what did you tell her?”
Aithar crosses his arms over his chest. “I told her what I could, which isn’t much. I can’t compromise the mission, you know? And she told me that if I wasn’t back in a month, she wasn’t going to wait for me. That she needed to find herself a husband to help her run her farm, and if it wasn’t me, then it wasn’t me.” He looks utterly crushed. “I think she broke up with me. She wasn’t even sad to see me go. She was just angry, like I shouldn’t have made plans without her. But Lord Straik has my loyalty first.”
“I’m sorry. Could you stay behind with her?”
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t now.” His shoulders sag, defeated. “I think she wants a husband—any husband—more than she wants me.”
“That’s nonsense. You’re an amazing comms officer and a good friend. Of course she’d want you.” When he gives me a small smile, I hold my arms out. “Hug?”
He pulls me against him, hugging me tight, and I rub his back, feeling sorry for him. Poor Aithar, giving his heart to a mean woman who doesn’t see him for the treasure he is. Aithar is the kindest man and always has time for me and my endless questions. He never pinches or makes me uncomfortable, and like Mathiras, gets mad when the port guards try to give me more dirty vids to watch. He says nice males wouldn’t do that.
“I’ll miss you desperately,” I promise Aithar as I hug him tight. “I know we won’t be able to write but you can tell Alice everything you want to tell me and she’ll write it down and tell me when we see each other again.”
“Thanks, Helen.” He squeezes me in a warm, friendly hug. “I’ll watch out for your friends, too. They’ll be safe with us, of course—Lord Straik would lose his mind if anything happened to a human aboard his ship—but you can bet I’ll take extra care of Alice and Jade both.”
I glance over at Jade. She’s migrated to Adiron’s lap, her arms around his neck, and she’s curled against him, her face pressed against his neck. I can feel her sadness, and it makes me ache. “Maybe we won’t be gone long. Maybe they’ll be tired of making people and when we catch them they’ll be glad and just give up.”
“Uh oh,” Aithar says, a warning note in his voice. “Don’t look now, but Mathiras just saw us…and he does not look happy that I’m hugging you.”
Mathiras? My heart hammers with excitement and I sit upright, looking behind me. Sure enough, across the docks, I see Mathiras descending the ramp of the Little Sister. His gaze is locked on me and there’s an intense frown on his face. Does he not like that I’m hugging Aithar? Does it make him…jealous?
If he’s jealous, will he grab me like the men do in one of the dirty vids and fling me against a wall and ravage my mouth with his tongue and tell me what a dirty cock-slut I am? I’m not sure I want to be called a cock-slut, but I like the idea of everything else.