“Save that for your mate, you monster,” I say, holding my nose. “Ugh, it stinks, too.”
Kas only laughs harder. “I asked if they were fertilized and Adi doesn’t know!”
“You’re sick, both of you.”
“I’m not going to eat them,” Kaspar protests. He gives Adiron a shove and the jar full of its disgusting contents slops close to spilling on the floor. “It’s his mate that wants them.”
I want to snatch the jar out of Adiron’s hands and seal it again. “Get that keffing shit out of here, both of you. Don’t play games with food. There’s too much to do right now and I can’t count on either of you.”
Adiron gets a weird look on his face, almost like he’s hurt. Kas frowns at me and then moves forward, grabbing one of my horns. “Someone’s in a shit-ass mood. What’s crawled up your ass, brother?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s just make sure everything’s prepared for our meeting tonight, all right? We’re going to be covering a lot of crucial information. I need everyone paying attention.” I cross my arms over my chest. “And I am not in a shit mood.”
“You and Helen both,” Kas continues.
That gets my attention, even though I hate myself a little for it. “Helen’s in a bad mood? That doesn’t sound like her.”
“Right?” Kaspar shrugs, watching Adiron fuss with the egg jar. “She’s seemed vaguely miserable all day. You think she has a sweetheart in town and she doesn’t want to leave him?”
My gut clenches at the thought. We’ve been docked here in Port for several weeks now and I’ve done my best to avoid her. I don’t want her getting ideas about the two of us, not after I was so careful to stay away from her on the mining station. She might have developed feelings for someone here on Risda III…or one of the clones that works on Straik’s ship.
Maybe that’s for the best. Maybe we should leave Helen behind when we go. “I’ll have a talk with her.”
CHAPTER 3
HELEN
I’m straightening up the rec room on the Sister, trying to keep myself busy, when Mathiras stalks in. Immediately I freeze, clutching a fluffy pillow to my chest.
Just the sight of him makes my heart flutter like it’s about to launch into orbit. At first, I thought it was because he was the first male I’d really ever noticed. The men who pulled me from my pod and woke me up and pinched me in all kinds of uncomfortable places? I can’t remember what they looked like. Since then, I’ve met a lot of other males. I’ve met the nice men on the Scarlet Gaze, and I’ve met Straik and Adiron and Kaspar. I’ve met nice men in Port who stared at my bright red clone-marker skin and pale eyes for so long that they made me uncomfortable, and Kaspar even beat one up.
I’ve met lots of males at this point, but Mathiras is…special.
He’s spectacular to look at, with a stern jaw and hair that always seems perfectly manicured. He’s got the most beautiful face of anyone I’ve seen, and his dark eyes are so full of intensity that they take my breath away. He always looks put together, his uniform never wrinkled (like Adiron’s) or patched up (like Kaspar’s) and even his horns shine a little brighter than everyone else’s. Today he’s got fingerprints all over one, which doesn’t seem like him, but it doesn’t take away from his stark male beauty. I’ve never felt anything like I feel when I look at him. Just gazing on him makes me happy.
Right now, he’s giving me a thoughtful look as I clutch the pillow and stare at him. “Do you have a moment to talk, Helen?”
With him? “Of course! Want to help me clean up the rec room?”
Mathiras immediately grabs one of the pillows on the floor, and I’m struck again at how different he is from his brothers. Adiron had thrown the pillows everywhere while fighting with Kaspar, and then they’d both walked out, laughing and leaving a mess behind them. But Mathiras doesn’t fuss about cleaning up. He simply gets to work, as if it’s part of his responsibility. I like that about him.
Okay, I might like everything about him…except for the fact that he doesn’t seem to like me.
Surreptitiously, I smooth my hair as I move to the far side of the long couches in the rec room and straighten things. “Your brothers were in here.”
“I can tell.” His tone is dry with amusement. “But it’s not your job to clean up after them, Helen.”
“I don’t mind. I like feeling useful. Everyone has something to do around here, and this can be my part until I learn how to drive the ship and shoot a gun.”
“Kef me, no one’s arming you,” Mathiras says. “You don’t need to do anything like that to prove your worth. In fact, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about.”