“If it would make you feel more secure, then I have no objections,” Myrum said.
Helmen shifted her gaze to Amina. “Your only duty today is to take care of Myrum. I’ll have Teshor bring you and him some food. What does the lizard want?”
Amina looked around the room and spotted the familiar cage full of bugs and pointed. “Ruby’s got her meal here already.”
Helmen looked at the cage and made a relieved sound. “Right, I’d forgotten about them.”
“I’ll take care of everything here,” Amina said.
Helmen took hold of Amina and tugged her close. “Do not release him from the bed. I mean it, Amina. I know you have absolute trust in him, but whatever allows you to get close without worry probably doesn’t extend to the rest of us. Think how’d you feel if Desur or Teshor got hurt.”
“I know, but he can’t eat like this,” Amina pointed out.
“Secure his legs, keep his arms tied to the bed, and you can release his chest so he can sit up,” Helmen said. “I’m sure you can figure out how to get food in his mouth without making a mess.”
“That will work,” Myrum said from the bed. His lack of irritation at being held like this helped keep Amina from feeling too guilty.
“I need you to be as reasonable as Myrum,” Helmen said to Amina with a grunting laugh before leaving.
Amina stretched then looked down at Myrum. “Will you and Ruby be okay if I use the elimination room?”
Myrum didn’t answer right away, and she got the feeling he really wanted to say no. Ruby picked that moment to move herself completely out of the blanket and settle on his chest, drawing his attention to her.
He let out a long breath, looking up from Ruby to her. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
She really wanted to use the cleanser too, but that could wait. She gave him a last little pat on the shoulder before ducking into the small elimination closet in his cabin. After relieving and sanitizing herself, she walked out to find Teshor walking in with a tray full of food.
“Breakfast!” she exclaimed, rushing over to pull a small table out of the wall.
“I heard Helmen found you sleeping snuggled up with the Talin,” Teshor said, clearly amused. Then she moved to set the tray down.
“Helmen wasn’t happy with me,” Amina said.
“She’s only worried about you,” Teshor said. “Besides, you don’t always make the best choices when it comes to strangers.”
Amina huffed. “You make a bad call once and no one lets you forget it.”
“The guy tried to steal our ship,” Teshor said with a grunting laugh.
“Desur trusted him too,” Amina reminded her, then waved a hand as if dismissing the subject. “Besides, I took care of him before anything happened.”
“I think that's the only reason Helmen didn’t send you home permanently,” Teshor said and looked down at Myrum. “I’m sorry you have to be secured to the bunk. Desur is working hard to create a solution.”
“Don’t apologize," Myrum said. “I need to apologize if I scared you earlier. I’m content like this for now.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so gracious,” Teshor said. Amina knew Myrum's calm acceptance was winning Teshor over. “I look forward to having a more involved conversation with you later.”
“That would be nice,” Myrum agreed.
Teshor gave him a slight nod, something the entire crew had started doing because Amina did it so much, then left.
“You did that really well,” Amina complimented as she leaned over and scooped up Ruby. The lizard scrambled up her arm and wiggled down into the collar of her jacket. The poor thing felt cold against her skin.
“Can you comfortably handle a higher temperature?” she asked, finding a spare strap to secure his legs down.
“I’ll be fine with however warm you want to make the room,” he said, sitting up when she released the strap across his chest. He rotated his neck, making several incredibly loud cracking sounds.
Amina winced. “Please tell me you meant to make those sounds.”
