So many people.They merged with the crowd. Garish fashions intermixed with uniforms of navy blue, brown, and white. Banners hung from the bulkheads in intervals, each with a swirling symbol at its center, reminiscent of water. She’d briefly seen something similar graffitied onJupiter Oneonce—before the bots had scrubbed the mess.
She tried not to touch anyone, but it drove her closer to her warder.Blue tattoos everywhere.The face tattoos made her stomach roll.Here’s a pretty.
She buried the memory and looked up. Light shifted between lattice-work metal as people walked in the corridor above them. A rush of water gurgled from somewhere, like a stream, but she couldn’t see one. Vines climbed the bulkheads, mixing with bushy shrubs in round pots. People sat on benches tucked into alcoves.
Corridors are for walking, not mingling.
A man stumbled toward her, and Nia shrank away—right against her captor’s naked chest. She yelped, jerking sideways. Her bonds were tugged in the opposite direction. Mace steered her behind him, his body partially shielding hers. The people in the corridor parted like he was a scavenging plow.
The scent of hot food wafted toward them. Her stomach clenched painfully. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Twenty hours? More?
They turned another corner and the crowd thinned. She caught her breath. Welcoming beams of light flooded an open space ahead. She veered right, walking straight toward it. Mace didn’t stop her.
Placing her bound wrists on a railing, she leaned forward. They stood on the second level of a tall atrium, fixtures dispersing dazzling rays from the overhead five decks above. At ground level, tables of varying sizes spread throughout the center. Vendors skirted the outer edge.
Her side warmed as Mace stood beside her. She wanted to shift away from his heat but kept herself still, then jumped when a red parrot flew in front of her face.
“Birds?” When was the last time she’d seen a real bird? Maybe onJupiter One. Her heart thumped with wonder as she watched it soar.
“They escape the arboretum from time to time.” He shifted his weight, the movement bringing him closer.
The parrot swooped, landing on the uppermost railing with others. Her feet twitched, wanting to head there for a closer look.
“We need to go,” Mace said, his tone kind.
She hated him for it.
Swallowing, she turned away from the sight. He gripped the section of bonds between her wrists and tugged her toward a lift.
Once inside, the doors shut and the lift descended deck after deck, giving her another sense as toOrion’ssize. It stopped, the door opening, and she tugged her hands free to step out on her own. This corridor was smaller than the previous one, the bulkheads a lighter shade of gray. She raised her gaze to his in question. He gestured to the left, keeping his distance.
Holding her body stiff, she walked ahead of him. A man strode away from them at the far end of the otherwise empty corridor. A guffaw of laughter came through one of the closed doors, a woman yelling from another. Nia cocked her head when she heard a baby cry farther along.
Mace stopped at a door marked CSL92-264 and scanned his hand. The door slid open, and he waited for her to enter. Once through, he touched his vambrace. Her bonds separated, hands falling to her sides.
She scanned her surroundings. They were large quarters, bigger than hers onElara Five. The countertop in the kitchenette gleamed. A table sat next to it, two chairs tucked in efficiently and a skinny sapling in a brown pot at its center. Mace walked to the refrigeration unit and opened it.
Her heart thumped with uncertainty. Why hadn’t she been dumped in a cell?
A wall terminal occupied the bulkhead on the other side. Inactive, the black surface reflected their distorted forms. A large bed was built into the construction of the rear bulkhead, only accessible from one side. Fluffy ivory blankets billowed upon it like clouds.
A pile of dark blue cloth on the end of the bed contrasted with the pale color. She walked closer. It was clothing, a warrior’s uniform.
She whirled around, heart pounding in her throat. “These are your quarters,” she choked.
He paused by the exit. “Yes. Make sure you eat something.” He nodded to the open refrigeration unit.
“Where am I to sleep?” She gritted the words between clenched teeth, looking for another room. There was one other slender door. It had to be the washroom, not separate sleeping quarters.
“The bed,” he said nodding to the monstrosity behind her. “Or the deck if you prefer.”
Her heart beat hard in her chest, threatening to break free. “I will never sleep with you.”
Her words came out in a strangled whisper, but she knew he heard her when he said, “The deck it is, then.”
She screamed and charged. When the door closed between them, she grabbed the closest thing.
Chapter six
