A few draics peeled off to follow the tour group. They made it seem like they were also interested, but to Torian, it looked like they were offering protection for Nasra.
She might have found a neutral ground with the draics and tou’siil, but there was more work to do, clearly.
It’d probably be best if she helped temper that. But as she started after the tour group, Dutch approached, cutting off her exit. “Ah, Torian, wait.”
She quirked an eyebrow, pausing.
The nylarian cast a hesitant glance at theDestituteanchored nearby, then lowered his voice. “Thank you. For… erm, talking to Moss.”
Torian shrugged noncommittally. She had loyalty to both of them now, but that just meant she couldn’t side with either. It put her in an awkward position. “Moss needed some help, that’s all.”
“No, I mean it. Not just this most recent conversation; thank you forbefriendingit.” Dutch clenched his eyes shut. “I messed up. I just—I couldn’t remember where that blasted ship was. Without you, I’d still be wondering. You helped both of us more than you realize.”
“Moss loves you,” Torian said. “But I’m glad it isn’t relying on you alone anymore.”
“That’s a good thing,” Dutch replied.
They shared a smile. His eyes cast upward, to the dome highoverhead. The keels were still patrolling space, and one saw him looking and waved. It appeared more like a fishlike wiggle than anything. Dutch waved back, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I’ll have to deal withthem, too. My friends and family were clearly making long-term plans, if they asked the keels to watch Vaesa.”
Torian hesitated. “I’m still confused. Where did they go, Dutch?”
The last nylarian smiled sadly. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”
There was a weight to that statement that Torian didn’t quite comprehend. She lowered her gaze, her words soft. “That must be hard. I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” Dutch chuckled humorlessly. “Perhaps as we repair Vaesa’s biomes, we’ll find more clues. But… I may need to make my peace with how they left, and accept that I’ll never be able to follow them.”
That sounded awful. Torian stuck her hands in her pockets, rocking back on her toes as she searched for something comforting. “Well,we’rehappy you’re here, at least. Really, I’m so grateful for you and Moss. Without either of you, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”
“We had a saying on Verdaan: Sometimes, the kerrac leaves rest in the right spot.” Dutch chuckled, stretching his long arms above his head. “I spent so long traveling, avoiding my culture and people, that this feels serendipitous.”
Torian could only imagine what Vaesa felt like for Dutch. Knowing answers might be hidden here—but also knowing that to find them, he’d have to brave a silence so profound, so disquieting, that it would take more courage than Torian could fathom.
But at least she was around to help break the silence. Maybe they could help each other more than Torian initially realized.
“What are you going to do about the keels?” Torian asked, changing the subject.
Dutch sighed. “Nothing. This is their home. Maybe we can build some housing for them, if they want it. I plan to ask thekeels to patrol and inform me of foreign ships, but… it may be best to upload Auto-Navigation into your friend’s starship, too, just in case.”
“I’m not sure she’ll want that, but we can ask,” Torian said.
Dutch shrugged in understanding, then gestured toward the dock’s exit—and her sister’s clinic. “Well, either way, nothing has to happen today. Take a break, Captain Razner. You deserve it.” With a wink, he strolled onto theDestitute.
Moss opened the door for him, and Auto-Nav said, “Welcome back!! Can I have a mobile unit, too?”
“Better,” Dutch said. “How would you like to have access to a draic starship?”
“Ooooh!” Auto-Nav squealed.
He vanished inside the ancient, unwanted, moss-covered starship, and Torian swallowed a laugh. Her eyes turned upward, watching the flicker of blue light as the keels swam past the dome. The kerrac tree’s leaves shimmered, and muted conversation could be heard in the distance as Nasra gave Amelia’s crew a tour.
For one, quiet moment, everything felt right.
CHAPTER 28
“This seat taken?”
Torian squeaked, startled, and it sent Amelia into a fit of laughter. It had only been a day—Torian wasn’t expecting Amelia to be up yet. She leapt to her feet, hovering awkwardly, suddenly forgetting what she normally did with her hands.
