Page 8 of Tethered

I overshot. She stiffens, rising to her full height. Maybe I imagined a slight tilt to her mouth— it’s certainly not there now.

“This isn’t a holiday camp,” she snaps. “You have any idea how much trouble you could have—”

Her mouth closes, her teeth clack together. And, shamefully, I perk up like a puppy being offered a treat. I point a chopstick at her. “You’re hiding me in here.”

She doesn’t reply. I get to my feet, feeling disadvantaged with her looking down at me. “You could have put me anywhere. I’m in your cabin because, for some reason, you don’t want anyone else to know I’m here.” I pause, scrutinise her, and take a stab in the dark. “You don’t want Dominik to know I’m here.”

Aha. She twitches.

I can’t even begin to guess why she might hide information from him.

Tanisira points at the cart. “Slide the lid back up when you’re done and the cart will take care of whatever’s left. There are more clothes you can wear in the closet in the bathroom. I have some tasks to take care of, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning to—”

I scowl at her. “If you say take me for a walk, I will scream this place down.”

For a moment, she gives me only silence, which pisses me off more.

“Check on you,” she finishes, slowly, as though I’m an idiot.

I scrub at my face, taking a moment. Sleep. I need sleep. I need to see Vee, and then I need to sleep. But I can only do one of those things right now and if I keep snapping at the captain, I may never get to do the other.

I hadn’t even noticed a closet in the bathroom.

“Sorry,” I say. “You’ve been kind, I don’t mean to be rude.”

Tanisira doesn’t seem to know what to say to that. A long, awkward silence stretches out before us. I honestly, truly, don’t know where to go from here. My ideas weren’t fully fleshed out in the first place and now nothing makes sense. I turn back to the cart and shove another roll into my mouth. They really are magnificent. Did she make them? Or maybe theMidashas a Suryavan chef.

I hear muffled footsteps and when I glance over my shoulder, she’s activating the flat piece of glass on the wall by the sofa. Asit powers on, three words flash across the screen:Swagatam, Kapitan Tanisira.

“Where will you sleep?” I ask.

It doesn’t escape my notice that, even though I’m being wrongfully detained, shecouldhave chained me up in the engine room or vented me or something worse. With no small share of mortification, I’m glad that she’s the person responsible for Vee, if it had to be anyone. She cares about his safety, at least.

Tanisira ignores my question and pins her gaze on me. “I’d advise against doing anything stupid.”

“What?”

“Your moods are erratic.” She gestures with one long-fingered hand. “Unless you have a concussion.” Tanisira pauses meaningfully and turns to face me fully.

“No, I don’t have a concussion.”

I swallow another roll, feeling a sharp twinge in my chest as anxiety bubbles up.I turn my focus to the food,hoping that might help dissipate some of it.Makiaakasreally is one of Vee’s favourites. He prefers vegetables over meat, but I think he’d die for this duck, it’s so smoky and rich. It’s real too, not the GM facsimile most vendors churn out because of how terrible livestock farming was for our environment.

The food sticks in my throat. I’ll keep working on the captain, and I’ll see him soon.

“How are your other injuries?”

The tone of Tanisira’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. Unlike mine, her mood is extremely consistent. Surprisingly, there seems to be actual concern in the question.

“Fine,” I say. I don’t want her to know that, actually, I’m in a lot of pain. My wrist throbs even with the splint on and my knee is swollen as shit. She has eyes in her head so she can see it, of course, but I’d rather not admit the full extent of my injuries.My parents instilled in me a hatred for showing weakness, and I’m not about to start now.

Tanisira looks at me for a moment longer but when it becomes clear I’m unwilling to say anything more, she leaves. It’s only when I’ve cleared the plates that I realise the entertainment screen is still on. A flick through confirms I can only stream shows. There’s nothing I could possibly focus on right now, so I switch it off. Back at home, it’s way past my bedtime. I hit the pillows fully dressed, too tired to wrestle with clothes, but wishing I had something to wrap my hair with.

The bed canopy must be programmed because it wakes me up the next morning with a soft burbling. At some point in the night, I somehow managed to kick the pants off and wriggle beneath the covers. I open my eyes to the reflection of a beautiful sunrise over a sparkling waterfall. For a moment, I feel almost relaxed, sprawled across the soft sheets.

I roll onto my side and the pressure on my knee yanks a curse from me. My bubble of relaxation bursts. I drag my body out of the bed and do a quick search of all the tech in the cabin just in case any of them work today. No dice. It feels strange and unsettling to get ready for the day without any of my comforts and outside of my routine. It’s usually rigid because Vee needs me to keep him on task, which meansIhave to be on task. Even when he’s spending the week at his father’s, I stick to my normal schedule.

This just feels uncomfortable. Not to mention the mess that is my hair because of all the friction against the pillows.