I shake my head, feeling pretty good at the moment. "We're corsairs. We don't apologize."
The look he gives me practically has heart-eyes. "I love Corsair Alice."
84
KASPAR
As if the universe is out to prove that life isn't always hard and terrible, the coded distress signal I send out is picked up by the Jabberwock within a few hours. It takes another day before my sister Zoey and the crew of Kivian's corsair ship arrive. They're all business as they take us on board, and Tarekh and Alyvos board our vessel to scrub traces of our DNA from the system and then program it to head off in the opposite direction.
We're a weary, aching bunch as we're hustled on board the Jabberwock, and I keep a hand on Alice so she knows that I'm here, that I've got her. I know these people and I don't want her to be scared. But then Zoey barrels around the corner and flings herself onto me with a hug, ruining my protective stance.
"Hey, little sis," I say, laughing. I hug her tight. "No need to squeeze me that hard. I'm alive and causing trouble like usual."
Zoey hugs me again, then pulls back and smacks me in the ribs. "Knowing you, I'm surprised you didn't show up with half the damn planet on your tail in pursuit. Or do we have to worry about that?"
"We should be okay." I move over to Alice, who's watching with a hint of amusement on her face, her hand on Sterre's head. "You should meet Alice—she's my mate."
"Your mate?" Zoey echoes, shooting me a narrow-eyed look. "You two sure got cozy in that escape pod, huh?" She turns to Alice and sizes her up for a moment. "Can I hug you or will your pet eat me?"
Alice opens up her arms. "Hugs are always welcome."
Zoey makes a girly squeal-noise in her throat and flings her arms around Alice, rocking her back and forth with the force of her enthusiasm. Alice shoots me a look of surprise over Zoey's shoulder, but I just grin. Zoey's probably just hopped up on excitement from our rescue. She'll have a million probing questions for Alice later—probably all of them to point out how I should be treated. Even though we're adults and bigger than her, Zoey acts like we're her responsibility. It's cute.
Behind us, Salvotor steps forward, his arms out. "Can I have a hug, too?"
"No," Alice and Zoey say at the same time.
"Aw." Salvotor looks crushed.
I'm feeling good, so I go over and hug the big dummy, then trap him in a head lock and rub my knuckles over his fuzzy head like I do with my brothers. Ignoring Salvotor's disgruntled noises, I look over at Zoey. "So how'd you know we were in an escape pod? Or even in this system?"
Zoey just cocks her head and gives me a smug look. "You think you're the first ones we've picked up? Everyone else is already safe."
Safe? "Mathiras? Adiron?"
Alice sucks in a breath. "Ruth?"
It turns out that Adi and Jade were rescued not long after we ran into Shaalyn, and Mathiras and Helen were picked up at an abandoned V'taarian mining station not long after that. They're not here to greet us because the Jabberwock has been scouring the system, looking for signs of our pod while the others handle business. Adi and Jade are on Jerrok's junker asteroid with Sophie, fixing up the Little Sister.
"Pirates really did a number on her, so Adi's getting her fixed up and putting in a few improvements while they're there," Zoey says, handing out bowls of noodles. We've moved to the mess hall to eat something, since I'm worried about Alice having nothing but tabs and being pregnant. She needs solid food. Zoey holds a bowl out and I automatically grab it before Salvotor can, and put it in front of Alice.
My mate just leans on my shoulder and hugs my arm. She rests her cheek against the plating on my bicep. "I'm not hungry. I'm too tired."
"You have to eat, Sunshine." I nudge her leg with mine. "Not just for you."
Alice sits up, giving me a weary look. "Fine."
I know how she feels. It's the post-adrenaline crash, when all of your brimming energy leaves your system and you just feel wrecked. I reach out and brush a lock of hair off her cheek. She's muddy and smells of the jungle, her hair a tangled mess, but I love the sight of her. She obligingly shovels a mouthful of food in and winks at me, as if to show me she's listening, and my heart skips a beat with how much I love this female.
Zoey hands bowls to both myself and Salvotor, then even preps a bowl of meat broth for the carinoux and sets it carefully on the floor. "I'm just glad you're alive and in one piece. We were all worried about you. Couldn't find a trace of you anywhere."