Adiron (Corsair Brothers 1)

"Jabberwock hailing the Decision Maker," comes Zoey's voice over the intercom, and it's like a breath of fresh air. My little sister sounds so strong and in control, and I could not be prouder. "You have ten minutes to accept our docking sequence, or we will take drastic action."

Uh oh.

"Uh." Bethiah looks over at me. "This is going to be an incredibly ironic death, isn't it?"

"I sure hope not." I try to send positive brainwaves to Zoey—as if that'll do shit. Move faster, I tell her silently. We're about to be splattered on your windshield.

Another tense minute ticks past, and it feels like I have rocks in my stomach as I stare at the Jabberwock's docking connection, still frozen in place.

Come on, runt, I tell her. Come on. All the while, I wait for the next tick of the countdown to my death.

There's an unearthly cry of rage that comes from the bridge, so loud we can hear it through the walls.

"System override," the ship says, and Bethiah grabs my arm. "Vacuum sequence cancelled. Accepting ship-to-ship connection."

"I did not accept this!" Shaalyn cries angrily over the intercom. "You are not allowed on board! This is a hostile takeover!"

My sister's voice comes in, strong and proud. "As opposed to, what, a polite and friendly takeover? Better hold on, because you're not gonna like what else we do, either, bitch."

I race to the control panel, trying to send my sister a message, but I'm still locked out. I hammer a hand against the wall in frustration and begin to pace, watching as the dock slowly, slowly creeps toward Shaalyn's ship and eventually latches on with a whoosh of air and a chorus of messages announcing the connection. A million thoughts are racing through my mind—how did Zoey know we were here? Is Shaalyn going to retaliate somehow? Did Kaspar or Mathiras somehow contact the Jabberwock and let them know about the fact that I remained behind on the Star?

More importantly, will Zoey like Jade? Will Jade like Zoey? I want them to get along. They're the two most important females in my life, and the thought of them not liking each other makes my palms all sweaty.

Or…that could just be the near-death experience.

I glance over at Bethiah. Her ratty hair is disheveled, held back by her patch that's now resting against her horns like a headband instead of on her face. The look on her face is all smiles, though. "Never thought I'd be so glad to see that idiot Kivian," she tells me. "You think he'll let me have this ship? Since I practically took it anyhow?"

I shrug. "Can't hurt to ask nicely. And maybe don't call him an idiot."

She puts on a sweet smile. "He's a clever, clever male…and I love his outfits."

I snort at that. Impatience bubbles through me as I glance toward the bridge. My weapon's still at the ready, but I doubt Shaalyn's going to come out. She's probably destroying as much equipment as she can now that the Jabberwock has hacked into her systems and taken over. I stare out into space at the Jabberwock and see a couple of figures heading down through the ship-to-ship connection. I want it to be my sister…but at the same time, it's far too dangerous for her to be the first one to board an enemy vessel. If it is her, I'm going to give her a stern talking-to…right after I hug the living kef out of her.

Impatiently, Bethiah and I wait for the doors to open. There's a hiss and the faint metallic smell of space. Then, two big males charge in, blasters held high. Before I can even blink, the smaller soldier—Alyvos—has one pointed at my forehead. Tarekh pins down Bethiah with his.

I put my hands up in the universal sign of surrender. "Okay, maybe I'm not as glad to see you two as I thought, if that's the welcome we're going to get," I joke.

Alyvos lowers his gun a fraction and stares at me in surprise. "Adiron? What the kef are you doing here?"

"Surprise," I say, grinning.

70

ADIRON

"This is my ship," Shaalyn snarls as Tarekh drags her into the hold and places her in the middle cell. He throws the last surviving greenhorn in with her, a male that looks more confused than indignant.

"Don't care if it's your ship," Tarekh says easily. "Not sure what part of 'We're robbing you' that you don't understand." He slams the door shut and leans against it, grinning up at me. "You sure you don't want her dead?"

In the cell, Shaalyn makes an indignant noise.

"I want to ask my female if she'd rather do the honors," I tell him. Upstairs, I can hear booted feet as the rest of the Jabberwock's crew takes over the hijacked ship. Bethiah's up there with them, but I came with Tarekh, because I had to make sure that Shaalyn was locked up behind bars and safely put away. When she is, then I can relax.