"Mathiras and Adiron are both out there. Once they find out we haven't shown up, they'll comb this end of the universe looking for us. And then there's always Lord Straik."
She turns to me, her face brightening. "You think he's going to come back and rescue everyone?"
Well, no. I think it's more likely that Straik's horrified by his family's hands all over interspecies slavery and he'll do his best to tie up all loose ends. That means he'll come back to make sure the Star is disposed of, along with all others that know about it. But I don't want to give Alice another thing to worry about. "Oh, I think he'll definitely come back. It's just a matter of time."
The worried, pinched on her face eases a little. "I'm still mad at you."
"You absolutely should be. I don't have my priorities straight," I agree. "I ate your pussy before I told you about our situation. I'm a monster."
She picks up a fallen leaf and flings it at me, her cheeks red. "It's not like you didn't get anything out of it."
This is true. I had a keffing glorious time and can't wait to do it again. "I'm sorry I kept it from you. I don't want you to be so worried, that's all."
"We're in this together. I'd rather know the truth about our situation, even if it sucks." She sighs and picks up her pants. "And now I have no clothes."
I chuckle and get to my feet, then plant a kiss atop her head. She lets me do it, so she's not that mad at me after all. "Why don't you wash up and I'll see if I can find us something to eat? Or if nothing else, some leaves that would make decent coverings."
Alice nods. Instead of moving away from me, though, she leans in and presses her face to my chest, her arms going around me. "We're going to get out of this, right? You're not just saying that to make me feel better? You really think we'll get rescued?"
I want to squeeze her against my chest, because she's making my heart ache. "We're absolutely going to get rescued. I have every confidence in Mathiras."
"But not Adiron?" she jokes.
"Adiron would show up just to rub it in my face," I admit. "Either way, I suppose it'd be a rescue."
"I'd settle for either."
So would I. I'm not worried about staying here alone with Alice. I've been stranded in worse spots for weeks on end. But I don't like when she's anxious. I want to make it better for her. So yeah, I want a rescue…
Or…do I?
Because it occurs to me that the moment we're rescued, Alice wants to leave. She wants to go to a farm planet and set up somewhere safe, somewhere that is as anti-Kaspar as they get.
Maybe I don't want my brothers to rush forward to a rescue after all, as selfish as that is. I want some time with Alice to convince her that she needs me. I can turn her around. I just need time.
38
KASPAR
All things considered, Alice takes the whole “we're stranded indefinitely” thing pretty well. She doesn't rage at me, my practical Sunshine, just accepts our fate and keeps on going.
"Well," Alice tells me after washing up at the stream. "If we're going to be here for a while, we need to set up shelter."
I clutch my chest, pretending to be wounded. "I made you a gorgeous one. You don't want it?"
"Not after our fruit adventure," she tells me tartly. "No." She studies our surroundings with a thoughtful expression. "We can make do with a temporary shelter for a day or two, but we're going to need something more permanent if we're going to be here for a while. Should we go back to the pod, do you think?"
"Eventually we can strip it of everything. For now, though, I want to leave it alone. If someone comes looking for it, I don't want to make it too easy for them to find us."
Alice raises an eyebrow at me. "Even your brothers?"
That's so charmingly innocent of her. We're deep in enemy territory, on a moon that's known to be raided by black-market privateers, and she thinks the first person that runs across our pod is going to be one of my brothers? That would be great, but also highly unlikely. "My brothers won't mind working a little harder to find us."
"But they WILL come find us?"
There's so much worry in her question. I move to her side, put my hands on her shoulders, and give her a kiss atop her sunshine-y head. "They will. I know they will. Don't you worry. We just need to wait things out." I pretend to lean in and sniff. "You smell, by the way. Maybe you should do a little bathing while I scout around."