Corsairs: Kaspar (Corsair Brothers 2) - Page 134

All of this reminds me that we're in space, and space has no environment, and a pinprick of a hole in the junk-heap of the asteroid could suck us all into space and destroy us forever and…yeah. I squeeze Kaspar's hand tighter, my own hand clammy. Then, everyone's piling off the ship and talking all at once, and I'm overwhelmed with just how many people live on the Jabberwock. Sterre is in our quarters, since we want to give her time to acclimate before we toss her into a new environment again, but for a moment, I wish she was here with her heavy, comforting presence against my leg.

Then it's our turn on the ramp and we step out, and I scan the hangar. Nets hold back what looks like even more piles of junk, and I swear this looks like a cross between a grease-monkey garage and a hoarder's palace, but in space. This…is where we're staying?

Please don't let the Sister look like any of this, I silently chant to myself.

As I look around and try to hide my horror, my gaze lands on dark skin, a full figure, and wild curls that fluff out like a halo around a beautifully familiar face. Jade waves with excitement, her eyes lighting up at the sight of me, and Adiron is at her side, his arm slung around her shoulders.

I immediately burst into tears.

"I see them, too," Kas says in a low voice, a moment before Zoey flings herself at Adiron and gives him a flying hug. I manage to stumble my way down the steps, clutching tight at Kaspar's hand because I never want to let him go again, and then I run toward Jade, who looks just as I remembered her. Maybe better. Her smile is wide and warm and she puts her arms out and I finally let go of Kas to throw myself into them, like Zoey did to Adiron.

"You look so good," I sob.

Jade wraps her arms around me and gives me the best bear hug, chuckling as she does. "Don't cry. You're gonna make me cry, and then we're both gonna be a mess when we call Helen later."

I squeeze her tight. "It's the pregnancy. All tears, all the time."

She rubs my back. "I guess that slave girl outfit worked a little too well."

"You're one to talk—you're pregnant, too." I close my eyes and lean in to her hug, because this moment, more than anything, makes me feel like I'm home again. Home is Jade, and Helen, and Ruth. Once we're all together again, we'll be home, no matter where we are. Some of my anxiety ebbs, and I hug her tighter. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Did Kas take good care of you?" She strokes my hair, both mother and best friend in one. That's always been Jade—she's got a huge nurturing, protective side.

I reluctantly pull away from her, because I could stay and hug my friend for hours, but it'd probably get weird. I hold her arms as she smiles down at me, though. "He was the best," I say to her, and my eyes well up with tears again. "He's the best guy ever. I've never met someone as good as him—"

A scuffle to the side makes me break off in distraction. I look over and Adiron has Kaspar in a headlock. He noogies his brother viciously, laughing, and then releases him. Kaspar immediately tackles Adiron and then they're wrestling on the ground while Salvotor watches with a confused expression.

"He's an idiot," I say to Jade. "But he's the best idiot."

"Adiron, too," Jade says with a chuckle.

There's so much ground to cover that Jade and I don't know where to begin. We blurt things at one another for a few minutes, and then my stomach rumbles. Kas hears it and immediately stops roughhousing with his brother (and Zoey, which throws me off a little) to jog over to my side.

"Hungry, Sunshine? Let's get you something to eat. Jerrok's got to be around here somewhere." He squints around the hangar and then cups a hand to his mouth. "Where's the welcoming committee around here?"

"Go kef yourself," calls out a gruff, unfriendly voice from behind a control panel near the door.

Kaspar grins at me. "That'd be our host."

"Oh," I say, because that's…odd. They left Sophie with this guy? Kaspar had told me that they'd squirreled her away here because she'd be safer, but the person that spoke didn't exactly sound…hospitable. From what I've been told of Sophie, she's the opposite of Zoey. Zoey is young but can be brash and sneaky, just like her brothers. She knows a jillion coarse jokes and doesn't bat an eye at the pirate life. Sophie's a rescued slave who is…soft.

That's how Kaspar describes her. Just…soft.

My concern grows when the owner of the asteroid station—Jerrok—steps out from behind the control panel. His face is a scarred mess, his horns tarnished, and one of his eyes looks…strange. Bionic, I guess. His mouth is a flat line of disapproval as he studies us, as if we've shown up uninvited (which I'm told is not the case). He glares at us for a moment, and then turns and heads through a door that leads deeper into the station. As he does, I hear the heavy thump of metal and realize that the leg he's dragging is bionic, too, and not a good one at that.

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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