Page 45 of Veiled Vixen

I laugh too. Uncomfortably. Because I’m not sure what kind of laugh this is.

“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?” Luck says, suddenly not laughing. Suddenly angry again.

“What are you talking about?”

“You expect me to believe this bullshit story?”

“Dude, that’s how it happened. And now Veila says she’s pregnant—”

“What?”

“—but she says I’m not the father and—”

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

“—and I don’t really know what to make of that.”

“Well, I don’t know what to make of you,” Luck growls. “But I’ll tell you something I do know. You’re an asshole. We’re not on the same side.”

He gets up from the navigation table and starts to walk towards the airlock.

I get up too, rushing over to grab his arm.

He turns on me. Eyes lit up like a fucking Cygnian princess. Only this isn’t lust, it’s hate.

“Crux and Serpint came to me upstairs.”

“That’s a good one. I killed Crux.”

“No, dude.” I shake my head sadly, trying not to remember those dark, empty pits in Crux’s eyes. “You didn’t. He’s alive.”

“That’s impossible. I shot him. Point blank in the chest with a plasma rifle.”

“It was on stun,” I say, automatically lying. Not sure why I’m lying, I just don’t want to get in to what I saw inside Crux or his story about the golden place.

“It wasn’t on stun,” Luck insists. “I saw it. I saw…” But he trails off.

“He’s alive, Luck. I just fucking talked to him. So it had to be on stun. Hear me? It had to be because he’s still up there.”

Luck turns to look at me. Confused. Angry. “Is this another lie?”

“Just listen to me. They said I have to get you to let Veila through the spin node—”

Luck guffaws. “You are too fucking funny.”

“—and Veila said the same thing. And—”

“Fuck you!” Luck says, pushing hard. Two flat palms on my chest so I go reeling backwards and crashing against the edge of the navigation table. He takes two steps and crosses the distance between us and points his finger in my face. “Go back to your princess, OK? We don’t want you here. Go back to Crux, and Serpint, and Veila, and Tray. Because that’s where you belong now, Valor. We’re fuckin’ done.”

“Listen to me!” I yell. “I can trick her. I can trick her the way Tray tricked me. I can use her. She told me something about Earth, Luck. She says none of the babies will be born if they don’t get something special from Earth. Some… I don’t know. Antibody, maybe?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Earth!” I say. “You need to get Nyleena to Earth if you want to save your babies. And Veila has control over the spin-node level. So you need me, Luck. She needs you and Nyleena to get through the node and you needme to get up to that level. Because I’m telling you, there’s a lot more going on than you realize. I didn’t even tell you about the Akeelian girls yet. And trust me on this. You will need to know that little bit of hidden truth.”

He turns away, but doesn’t make any more moves towards the airlock.

“I have only one weapon left.”