Corsairs: Kaspar (Corsair Brothers 2) - Page 135

"You get used to Jerrok," Kaspar tells me, sliding his arm over my shoulders. "His glare is the most pleasant thing about him." He grins down at me. "He bathed, though, so I guess he's fancying up for company."

"Greaaaat. Remind me again how long we're staying here?"

He rubs my arm affectionately as we follow Jerrok into the station. "Adi's been here a few days now, so I want to see what kind of work he's done on the Sister. I was told some important stuff was stripped, so as soon as we get her up and running, we'll rendezvous with Mathiras and Helen over on Risda III and see what the deal is with the clone stuff."

Clone stuff. Right. Because there was a possibility that I'd been a clone, and I need to delicately talk to Jade about it. I don't think she is, but who can say? How does a clone act?

There's a crashing sound off to one side, and when I look over, I see Salvotor with his eyes wide, his hands behind his back. "I didn't touch anything."

"Oh, for kef's sake," Kas sighs.

Actually…I take it back. I'm pretty sure Jade's not a clone. Given Salvotor and Helen, I have a pretty good idea of how to tell.

"Here," Kas says, leading me down a side hall. "Let's go to the terrarium. You'll like this."

"A real terrarium?" I ask, oddly excited. "In space?" Sure, we just spent a few months on a jungle planet with far too much flora and fauna, but it's nice to think about plants in space. The Star had been bare of everything, and the Jabberwock is too sleek and new to have a lot of homey clutter and green things. I miss seeing greenery already. I wonder if I can talk Kas into getting a houseplant of some kind. Ship-plant. Whatever.

We turn down another hall and the clutter recedes, spacing out as if someone's been slowly clearing things away. In the distance, I can see a window and thick greenery, and when the doors open, I smell the dirt and the plants, and it gives me a strange bout of homesickness for the jungle nest we had high in the trees. It was rough there, and dirty, and tiring, but we were so happy. I want to keep that happy feeling, and I'm scared of what adding all these other people to our bubble will mean. Even if I love those people, it's a change. I hate change.

Kaspar leads me inside, and the moisture in the terrarium hits me like a wave. It's damp in here, just like the jungle. Just like the jungle, there's overgrown greenery everywhere. If this is a garden, someone's let it grow wild. Leaves and plants overflow out of the beds, spilling onto the tile floors. Vines climb over every surface, over each other, and toward the ceiling. It's lush and ridiculous and crazy and I love it. "Oh wow. Sterre would have a field day in here."

"Mmm." Kas looks thoughtful. "There's no terrarium on the Sister but maybe we can convert one of the passenger rooms at some point. Would you like that?"

"I'd love that," I tell him, smiling. I love that he's thinking of the future. I love that no request is too weird or too big. Most of all, I love that he's envisioning 'us' together.

"Be careful," calls out a sweet voice. "I just gave Sleipnir something to make him sleepy but it hasn't hit yet. Move slow if you're male."

At my side, Kas grimaces. "Right. I forgot that he doesn't like me."

I nudge him, amused. "Sterre doesn't like you much, either."

"Excellent point." He tugs me forward until I'm standing in front of him. "You go first."

The fact that the big, fearless alien is tugging his shrimpy mate in front of him for protection fills me with giggles. I'm laughing as we approach, and still laughing when we come upon the lazy, sprawled form of Sleipnir in all his opalescent glory. His skin gleams even brighter than Sterre's, which I didn't think possible. He's also huge, the overfed tiger to her lioness. In his front paws, he hugs a twisted pretzel-shape of metal, and he licks it with slow, sated drags of his tongue, barely stirring when we approach. A woman sits beside him, statuesque and pretty. She's human, with olive skin, dark hair and delicate features. She wears a soft, simple dress, and her hair is pulled up into a messy knot that leaves tendrils playing against her neck.

She looks…soft. Just like Kas said.

"You must be Sophie," I say with a smile. "I'm Alice. Kaspar's told me all about you."

"Oh dear," Sophie says with a shy smile. She strokes Sleipnir's long muzzle, her fingers dancing near those big white teeth as the carinoux gives a sleepy yawn. "I can only imagine."

Tags: Ruby Dixon Corsair Brothers Fantasy
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