Page 19 of Tethered

“That’s it?” I ask.

She does that thing where she tilts her head inquisitively. I’m beginning to realise that Tanisira doesn’t waste words when gestures or microexpressions will do. It’s the complete opposite of how I function. So is her preternatural sense of calm. In a way, having her nearby gives me something steady and soothing to lean on.

“Look what I’ve done to his expensive furniture, and that’s all you’re going to say?”

“It’s not my furniture.”

She surprises a laugh out of me. “Oh, fuck.” I gasp. “Don’t. Gah, that hurts.”

I think I see laughter in her eyes. “Well, it’s not. And I’m not the one who will tidy up, so it’s not my mess either.”

“He’d be furious.” I mutter, surveying the carnage.

“Would he?”

That brings my gaze snapping back to hers. From where she kneels, warm amber eyes look up at me. “Have you met Dominik?” I ask, following a suspicion that bubbles up.

“No. This was—” she hesitates. “My first trip as captain of theMidas. I would have met him on Suryavana for the first time.”

“When you handed over my son.”

She studies my face for a long, silent moment. Something behind us crashes to the floor, and I jump so hard that my knee twinges. I bite back a hiss, but she notices it all the same. She always does, it seems. Despite the rigid way I began to hold myself at the mention of Vee, Tanisira takes my leg between her hands and gently straightens it out.

“I didn’t know.” She rubs the muscles either side of my knee as she speaks. Her touch starts off agonising, but she’s good with her hands, and it morphs quickly into relief. She knows where to press without having to be told, feels for the joint and eases out the stiffness.

“I was told I’d be taking Dominik’s son to Suryavana. His babysitter dropped him off—”

“Opal isn’t a babysitter.”

Tanisira pauses, and I embarrass myself by mewling in protest. She continues kneading my sore leg. When I don’t say more, she prompts me. “Who is she?”

“A dead woman,” I mutter to myself. I’m only half joking.

“She dropped Vee off with barely a word and disappeared. I’d been given a brief directive, so I showed him to his cabin and made my way to the bridge.”

“And now that you know?” I demand.

She ducks her head a little, and I don’t know if she’s doing it to avoid eye contact or because she’s found a particularly tight knot in my muscle. I’m probably staring holes in the top of herhead, but I need to know if Tanisira is like Opal: if she’ll put her career before her morals. That’s assuming she even agrees that Dominik is a kidnapping sewer rat.

“And now that youknow?”

Her words rasp over my skin. “I’ll help you get home safely.”

The oxygen whooshes out of my lungs in one fell swoop. I will tears back into my eye ducts and hate that they don’t work that way. Sniffling, I reach for Tanisira, take hold of her chin and tip her head up. I wish I could read her. She searches my face—acknowledging my tears, yes, but also looking for something.

I’m not offering her softness; I want her vow.

“How do I know that you’re being honest? You don’t know us. I snuck onto your ship. I set a galley on fire. I smashed up thousands of creds worth of furniture. You could just as easily say that to keep me compliant and hand me over to the authorities at Red Horizon. You’d complete your first journey as the ship’s captain and look good in Dominik’s eyes.”

Whatever had been open and searching in her face shuts down. She pulls away, rising to her full height in one smooth movement. Her eyes have hardened, which would be terrifying if the heat from her fingers wasn’t still sinking into my skin.

“Helping you is the right thing to do.” Tanisira’s voice is back to that distant timbre, the warmth of her body gone. “I’m not thinking about job security. After this, I’m done with Gryphon. I’ll get a job on another ship back to Telluria.”

“So you’ll drop us off somewhere? How will you get us home?” I ask, increasingly frustrated. It’s not Tanisira’s fault but I demand more anyway. I’ve been let down so many times, I can’t seem to stop the words from coming. “I don’t want empty promises. I’ve had enough of those to last me a lifetime.”

“The course was always straight to Red Horizon, and theMidasis barely stocked for that. Even if we weren’t expected bythe seventh, I wouldn’t be able to ‘drop you off’ somewhere—we’re in the middle of space.”

Even with the change in her demeanour, Tanisira manages to keep her tone respectful. It kind of pisses me off, and it’s probably just me dying for an argument, but I wish she’d snap at me.