BA’SH
Ba’sh looked around the cabin of the Palace Cloudcutter and soaked in the sweet domestic scene.
Yasmine and Pia were curled up on a loveseat opposite Jax. The three were playing a game of Ardoovian Gambit and laughing every time the pieces stole a move by oozing across the tiles.
Pia had a lock of Yasmine’s dark hair twined around her little fist, like she wanted to know they couldn’t be separated.
Jax took advantage of a dip of the craft and sent one of his pieces sliding toward Yasmine and Pia’s remaining blockers.
They all leaned in and watched as Jax’s invader absorbed the blocker with an audible squelch.
Yasmine made a disgruntled noise at the loss of her piece and Jax let his head fall back and howled with laughter.
Across the aisle from them, Mrs. Slaite hid her smile behind a set of paper files she had insisted on bringing with her.
Thomm and Astyr cheered for Jax, not even pretending not to watch the fun. The pair of palace guards had become a regular fixture in their day to day lives. It was a comfort to have them along for the journey.
“How much longer?” Pia asked suddenly.
It was about the twenty-fifth time she had asked.
“Are you excited to get there?” Yasmine asked this time instead of answering. “Or do you want to stay on this craft playing games with your brother forever?”
Pia frowned.
“Both,” she decided finally, with a wicked smile.
“Well, we’re almost there,” Ba’sh called out to his daughter. “So, if you were saving up any brutal moves, now’s the time.”
She grinned at him and looked down at the board, while Yasmine whispered some ideas to her.
Ba’sh felt a pang of happiness in his chest. This felt like family time, plain and simple, and it wouldn’t be complete without Yasmine there. Is this what it could have been like if he hadn’t let his temper ruin things with her?
Yasmine’s comms went off, and she glanced down at her wrist.
“Oh, that’s the nanny agency,” she said to Pia. “I have to take it. Can you finish the game for us?”
Pia frowned, but she let go of Yasmine’s hair, and watched her walk into the rear of the craft, where there was a quiet nook for comms.
Then she scrambled out of her seat and climbed into Ba’sh’s lap.
He inhaled the sweet uvaberry scent of her shampoo, glad Yasmine had made time to give the little one an extra bath this morning.
“Is the nanny agency sending her away?” Pia asked worriedly, her little hands tangling in his cloak.
“Yasmine will be going back to Terra-17 after our trip,” he told her truthfully. “It’s her decision.”
“You can’t let her leave,” Pia whined. “I like being with her.”
“I think she likes being with you too, little one,” he said sadly.
“She loves me,” Pia said in a certain voice.
“You’re very lovable,” he laughed, snuggling her closer. “She might not be able to resist.”
“I know she loves me,” Pia insisted. “She let me take my circlet off for a minute when I was sad, so I could see how she feels.”
His heart thundered in his chest.