“I don’t own him. He knows that. I purchased his eligibility to rule.” I clarify while Mooralan speaks quickly after me.
Glaring at me, she snaps her beak. “What happens when you get mad at him and decide to clear that debt or sell it?”
“I’ve spent most of my life under debts taken by others. I know the weight of those things. I know the way they can be used against you. I won’t do that to anyone else.”
She says something to Ferrok, and the argument that ensues makes me take a step back.
“Now she’s questioning how you could afford him if you’re in debt too, and if someone owns you. He’s assuring her you’re not, that you’ve paid those debts.”
Her posture changes to something a little more relaxed, and she looks at me… approvingly?
“What happened?”
Mooralan leans close. “He told her you work at Phantom’s and that, at least, has removed the worry of your debts from her mind. You have a respectable job.”
Another five minutes pass with the two of them arguing and Mooralan giving me abbreviated play by plays.
She finally accepts that I’m not giving him up, and some of the tension that had kept my spine straight eases.
And then, Mooralan stops talking.
“What? Why did you stop?”
“She’s just repeating the same concerns she’s had for years now. Most of the objections are about me.” He lowers his voice to say. “I can read you my sins if you really want to hear them.”
“Later,” I tease.
Sighing in frustration, Ferrok looks at us and says, “I’m not in any danger here, but I also don’t think this argument is going to end any time soon. You should go enjoy our freedom.”
“You’re sure?”
He nods. “I’ll see you soon.”
And then she says something sharp, and he looks up at the ceiling before turning back to answer her.
Mooralan makes a face and says, “Uh oh,” as he takes my hand and turns us both away.
“What?”
“She’s asking him about grandkids.”
CHAPTER 5
Ferrok looks tired when he rejoins us a few hours later. We’ve gotten a table at a restaurant that just started serving human food—apparently the station administrator has encouraged it for unknown reasons.
“She’s staying,” he says with a full body exhale as he sits beside me. “She wants to talk to you in person, so she’s learning English, and wants to meet for dinner in three days.”
“She’s going to learn English in three days?” I ask, trying to reconcile the idea of it withyearsof Spanish classes that I barely retained.
“Like I said, your language isn’t difficult.”
“And she knows more languages than he does.” Mooralan says.
“She wanted two days, but Mooralan has to work, and I am not taking you into that conversation alone.”
“Should I be afraid of her?”
Ferrok shakes his head. “No, but it’s the three of us. She needs to understand that.”
