Adiron (Corsair Brothers 1)

"Thank you," I tell her sincerely. "I haven't read a book in over three years. I'm going to enjoy every page."

She purses her lips and nods, hesitating in the doorway.

Time to get it all out in the open. "You don't like me, do you?"

Zoey opens her mouth, and then closes it with a snap. "I don't know you," she confesses. "But if Adiron is in love with you, then I'm sure we'll get along. He's been lonely for a long time and I've never seen him so happy. I think you're good for him…" She pauses and trails off.

"But?" I ask, because I know there's a “but” in there somewhere. My stomach is tight with nerves.

She drums her fingers on her crossed arms and then sighs. "It's not you specifically. It's that…" She pauses and then rushes on. "You're still thinking like a human."

I tilt my head, confused. "I am human."

"Yes, and you've seen what this end of the universe does to humans, right? If we're not lapdogs, we're chewed up and spit out." She paces for a moment, frowning. "You're thinking that life is good and fair and things are just and that bad guys always get their due. You think it's not your place to be executioner, right?" She shakes her head. "And that's going to fuck you up, in the end."

I blink in surprise. I can't believe Adiron's human sister is telling me I'm not bloodthirsty enough. "You think I should have told them to kill Shaalyn?"

She pauses, clasping her hands under her chin. "I think you're not thinking far enough ahead. What if she comes back for revenge? What if she decides that Adiron has wronged her and makes it her mission in life to fuck him—and his mate—over? That's my point. You think like a human—but these people don't. You have to think like them if you're going to survive." Her expression grows firm. "Or you're going to die and take my brother down with you."

I stare at her in shock.

"I'm telling you this as a friend," Zoey says softly. "No one would be happier than me to see you and Adi happy and growing old together. But I've been out here in space for over ten years now. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. I've adapted. And I think you should do the same." She moves forward and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You chose to spare Shaalyn because you didn't want to be the one with blood on your hands. That she deserves a fair shake, yes?"

Wordlessly, I nod.

"Did they tell you that Shaalyn murdered her crew?" When I gasp, Zoey ruthlessly goes on. "Bethiah was serving on her ship, right? And she turned on her to try and take control. Shaalyn couldn't be sure who else was on her side, so she went through the ship and slaughtered her own men in order to save her own hide. That's the kind of person you're dealing with. That's the kind of person you sent off in an escape pod because you couldn't get your hands dirty. I'm not telling you this to be cruel. I'm telling you that if the tables were turned, she would absolutely take every chance she had to claw her way ahead, and you need to realize that." She pats my arm. "Kindness is an admirable trait, but only back on Earth."

She turns and leaves me alone in the room with my thoughts.

75

ADIRON

I'm itching to get back to Jade. Everyone on the Jabberwock is great, and I love seeing my sister and her mate Sentorr, but it's been far too many hours since I held my mate, and I need her desperately. I want to bury my face against her soft, dark skin and just breathe in her scent. I want to hold her curves against my body and just…lie there for a week, wrapped around her. Yeah, that sounds good.

Eventually, Shaalyn and her sole remaining greenhorn are dispatched into the pod. Her shrieks of anger are the last things I hear as the pod is sealed, and then she's the universe's problem. I watch as the pod drifts away, on a slow trajectory into nothing at all.

Bethiah comes to my side. "You think I should have 'oops' programmed her to fly right into the ice field?"

I shake my head. "Jade wants her to have a fair shake, so she will." My female has a heart as soft and ample as her bottom, and I love that about her. "Speaking of, I'm going to go find my female. Good flying to you." I clap a hand on Bethiah's slim shoulder. "Where are you headed?"

"Someplace quiet where I can give this girl a new face." She strokes the ship's wall panel.

"To Jerrok's, then?"

A strange expression crosses her face. "Not for a while."