He threaded his fingers through her hair and gripped it painfully, tilting her head back. Her eyes dropped to his mouth and she watched in terror as his teeth sharpened into points.
Janet screamed.
A strangled gasp caught in her throat as she jolted up in bed. She wildly looked around her surroundings.The cabin…Her heart pounded in her chest.I’m in the cabin.Janet twisted to see Lily fast asleep beside her. Exactly where she’d left her.Thank the heavens.
And then her eyes found the android hovering beside them. She screamed for real this time. Lily startled awake and Janet moved to shield her.
“Oh my! Oh, Mistress Janet and Mistress Lily, I apologize for frightening you,” the android said.
“What are you doing here?” Janet asked, practically shouting. “Tell Zeph to leave us alone!”
“I am here to protect and guard you with my life. Master Zeph has given me the highest priority job on this ship. I am honored to serve you.”
“We don’t want or need you,” she said, lowering her voice and blinking back the leaden veil of fatigue. She swiped her hair back and closed her eyes hard, finding it hard to steady her thoughts. “Go away.” She turned to check on her sister. “You okay?”
Lily nodded, bundled up like an old woman, fluffy blankets framing her head. “You scared me.” Her blue eyes settled on the android that had taken up position against the wall.
“I’m sorry. The android startled me.” Janet sighed and fell back onto the bed. Then sat right back up. “Wait. Where did all these blankets come from?” They hadn’t been there the night before.
“Mistresses were tossing and turning. Master Zeph told me to see to your comfort so I layered more over you until you stopped. Sixty-three percent of blanket reserves on the ship remain.”
“Tell your master that we want nothing from him except for him to take us back to Kepler.”
“Will do—”
“But what about seeing the universe?” Lily whined, climbing out of her cacoon of blankets. “I wanna see my video game.”
“Which game is that, Mistress Lily?”
“I’ll take you to see the universe later—” Janet began at the same time the android spoke.
“Which game is that Mistress Lily?” the android asked.
“Terraform Zero 18!” Lily grinned with excitement. “Uncle Zeph said he’d take me to Titan!”
“Master Zeph has just informed me that we are headed for Titan this very moment.”
Janet wrenched her eyes shut and sighed.
Lily went from a hundred to a thousand before Janet could open her mouth to tell her no. Her sister thrashed out of the last of the blankets and began jumping on the bed.
“Titan, Titan, Titan!” Lily chanted.
Not five minutes after waking up, and Janet already had a headache.Was I this bad when I was a kid?
Her feet hit the ground and she approached the android, pointing her finger. “You tell your master that what he’s doing is wrong.” She stabbed her finger into its chest plate. “If you want to remain alive, Cyborg, then take us home now!” She turned away and hugged herself muttering, “If I don’t kill you first.”
“Master Zeph wishes you luck, Mistress Janet.”
“Titan, Titan, Titan!” Lily continued to chant.
Janet gripped her brow.Titan?She’d never even heard of such a planet, but knowing Zeph and what someone with his amount of power was capable of, he probably had the means to buy and name one just for the hell of it.Just to spite me.She ground her teeth together.
The android moved toward Lily and Janet stepped between them.
“Don’t you go near her. Back up,” she warned but her sister climbed off the bed and rushed past her to stand before it. “Not so fast.” Her heart skipped a beat and she gathered Lily up into her arms.
“What’s your name?” Lily asked it.
