Page 98 of Veiled Vixen

PART THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - VALOR

Veila curls into herself, her knees tucked up to her chest and face buried in her blanket. Her body shakes a little like she’s shivering from the hormonal imbalance after the miscarriage, or maybe she is truly cold.

A few moments later I know she’s asleep. Possibly the drugs from the surgery are still in her system or possibly she is just exhausted. And even though I know she is an evil bitch, I cannot help but feel sorry for her.

My mind begins to drift as I watch her sleep. I think about what has been happening since Serpint came home with Corla. I think about all the girls. Of course, I only know Brigit well. But if these girls—Lyra, and Nyleena, and Corla, and Delphi, and Brigit—if they were ever in a room together discussing their pasts, I bet it would sound a lot like Veila’s.

I don’t know if they ever used Nyleena like they did Veila. I don’t know if they kept her pregnant to destabilize her personality and drive her mad with the desire to protect her unborn children at any cost. But I doubt it. Nyleena was a fun kind of crazy. She was looking for a way to burn off cooped-up feelings with her many troublemaking antics. Luck’s princess was a handful. She was mean and wild, but she was not evil.

I glance down at Veila and have to reluctantly admit—my princess is evil.

She has done terrible things. But looking at her now—all curled up into a fetal position after the loss of her pregnancy, her full lips slightly parted, her breathing soft and deep as she sleeps—she looks… small. And vulnerable.

Is this what they did to Corla? Was Corla the first? Unlikely, since she is the youngest. The seventh daughter of the Cygnian king. Though I’m fairly certain that Veila and Corla are close in age. Crux and Jimmy saw Veila with Corla back on Wayward Station that night we all escaped.

No, that’s not right. We did not all escape.

Veila was left behind that night.

That’s a sobering thought.

The Cygnian Government’s prize princess was stolen by the Wayward Station Governor’s son and then he and his friends packed up and escaped into the ALCOR Sector.

What was Wayward Station like that night?

I don’t think I’d ever thought about that before but surely they were pissed off. And I know now that they had other boys like us. But all of them were younger than Draden and Serpint so they had none who could take the place of the boys they lost.

Veila’s body is shivering more forcefully now so I get up, wander through her quarters, find her bedroom, and tug the cover off her bed. Then grab a couple pillows and go back into the living room.

I cover her with the thick comforter and keep the pillows for myself.

If Luck knew I was over on her ship tucking her into her bed he would lose his fucking shit. He would probably shoot me.

But I don’t care.

Used. That’s what we are. All of us. Crux and Corla. Jimmy and Delphi. Luck and Nyleena. Serpint and Lyra. Tray and Brigit. Me. Draden. Tycho. Ceres. Beauty. Xyla. Flicka. ALCOR. Asshole. All those Akeelian boys we found on Lair Station. All the twin sisters who were made into ships including Lady, Dicker, and Booty.

Hell, even Baby was used. Probably Succubus and Mighty Boss too.

But Veila… she has not just been used, she has been used up.

I’m too tired to think about it anymore.

I’m too tired to figure out all this bullshit.

All these questions, all these secrets, all these mysteries—they can all go fuck themselves.

I wake to the sound of bot beeping and chirping.

My eyes feel like sandpaper when I rub them. I roll over on the couch, only half remembering where I am. Veila’s couch.

Then I sit up. How fucking long was I asleep? How long has it been since Luck gave me a two-spin deadline?

The beeping and chirping draws my attention to the coffee table where I left Veila’s wristband. It’s lit up with words, still translating. But then I hear Veila’s soft voice come through the band’s speaker.

“I’m fine,” she says. There are some kitchen sounds, letting me know she’s upstairs. “I’m just hungry.”