Niya
Chlo takes me back to her quarters, an embarrassingly large suite that includes two rooms and its own bathroom.
“I know,” she says as we sit on a settee that looks like it’s from another galaxy, and it might be. The Marinax has been hopping around for the last few months.
“It’s because of Lasson. He didn’t want to stay in my old quarters.”
“Where is Lasson?” I say. “I was hoping to meet him.”
“He’s doing business on Engra,” she says, and she doesn’t look happy about it. “I asked him not to, but he insisted. There’s really no way to argue with him. He always wins.”
“I can’t believe you mated with Lasson Birtak,” I say.
“Neither can I,” she says. “But I did. He’s not at all like you’d think he’d be.”
“You mean insufferable, egotistical, and demanding?” Isn’t that what the richest guy on Choryn would be like?
“Yeah,” she says. “But he’s not like that at all. You’ll see. He’ll be back at dinnertime and you’ll get a chance to talk with him.”
“How’s this all working out?” I say. “Doesn’t he want to go back to Choryn?”
“He said we’re going to stay on the Marinax until we find a place that suits both of us. Then we’ll discuss settling down.”
“But how are they letting him stay here? I mean, you work here.”
“He’s brought a lot of business to the ship. And he’s pals with the captain and Nik, so they let him—and us—do what we please. And, you know, he’s paying for these quarters.”
“Chlo,” I say. “I have to talk with you while we can. While we’re alone.”
“Aeryen?”
“He’s—Chlo, Joston said that Aeryen’s Chengdry.”
“Oh,” she says. “How could that be?”
“You know what Chengdry is?”
“I found out while I was on Choryn,” she says. “Lasson’s sister, Kaera, is mated to a Chengdry. Fitch.”
“Joston said that it was Chengdry who settled Engra, millennia ago. Is that right?”
“That seems to be true,” Chlo says. “But—that was millennia ago. How could Aeryen be Chengdry?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering. You’re the doctor—”
“The former doctor,” Chlo says, and for the first time since I came aboard, I detect a note of regret and sadness in her voice.
“I thought maybe you’d know.”
“Sometimes long-buried genetic traits arise again, even centuries later. Spontaneously. Without warning. Like his vestigial tail.”
“Chlo, he’s got these lovely hairs sprouting from his wrists. I’ve been shaving them, and he hasn’t started questioning me about them, but Joston said—”
“Joston said. Joston said. It seems like Joston has said a lot to you. And the two of you look like pals. Like, um, maybe more than pals.”
“Joston—” I stop myself before I say anything else, before I say Joston again.
It seems that he’s become an integral part of my life even though I’ve known him for less than a day. And, worse, he’s become an integral part of Aeryen’s life. That’s obvious to anyone who sees the two of them together.
“Chlo, I don’t want to make things hard for you on the Marinax. You’re living a great life here and with Lasson.”
“You’d better tell me, Niya. We haven’t been able to say what we want for years now. And I know you need someone to talk to. You’re my dearest friend. You can tell me anything. You know that.”
“Chlo”—I take a deep breath—“I want to ask you something, but you don’t have to answer now. You don’t have to ever answer. And I know it’s not right, but every day I get more worried.”
“Just say it, Niya. I don’t mind. And of course I’ll answer, even if the answer’s not what you want to hear.”
“Chlo, you haven’t been here for years. You don’t know what it’s like on Engra. The laws are twice as strict as they used to be, there are barriers up on all the roads anywhere near the palace, and there are whispers of rebellion.”
“And?”
“And Aeryen. He shouldn’t stay on Engra. I want to find another home for him, and I’m hoping you’ll help.”
“Well, that’s so easy. Pack up your stuff and come stay on the ship for a while until we can find you a better world. There’s an empty cabin down the corridor. In fact”—Chlo gets up and goes over to a console on the wall and starts searching on a screen—“in just two months we’re going to be in the Triangulum. Lasson’s parents . . . but we’re not talking about Lasson’s parents. We’re talking about you and Aeryen.”
“We’re talking about Aeryen,” I say. “I can’t leave Engra.”
“Of course you can.”
“I’ve told everyone that Aeryen is my sister’s and that she’s on a special mission in Majnia. The only way I can justify Aeryen’s leaving is if he’s going to be reunited with his mother. I can’t go with him.”
“We’ll think up another story,” says Chlo, ignoring me.
“Mated to a Chorynean and you’ve already taken on one of their most useful traits,” I say, and we both laugh.
“Lying does come in handy,” she says. “Especially in a situation like this.”
“I’m not going to leave,” I say. “It’s too suspicious. I want Aeryen to have every chance he can have. I don’t want to hamper his progress in life.”
“You could never do that, Niya. You love him.”
“He needs a father, Chlo. Did you see how attached he is to Joston? And they’ve known each other less than a day.”
“Joston again,” Chlo says. “I suspect that it’s not just Aeryen who’s become attached to him.” She smiles, but when she sees my reaction, her smile vanishes.
“Niya,” Chlo says, “you cannot possibly be involved with Joston Lynar, can you?”
I open my mouth to answer, but no words come out, so I close it.
“Joston—well, Joston’s a fun guy to have around and he’s a great pilot and a good crew member, but, Niya. He’s—I don’t know how to say this.”
“He’s an irresponsible cad? Is that what you were about to say?”
“I can’t speak to the cad part, and I’m pretty sure he’s not involved with anyone on the ship, but he’s not what you’d call the solid or dependable type. More like someone who’d be fun to have as a brother or a pal, not someone you could rely on to be your life mate.”
“Chlo!” I say. “You’ve jumped to a crazy conclusion. He just came to dinner last night. That was all.”
“Niya,” Chlo says, “you were my closest friend on Engra for years, and even though we haven’t seen each other in a very long time, I still consider you my closest friend. I know you really well. And add to that my now-intimate knowledge of the most adept liars in the Seven Galaxies—the Choryneans—and I have to tell you that I can spot a liar from two galaxies over.”
“He did play with Aeryen for a while.”
“But that’s not the part you’re leaving out, is it?”
A brief flash of last night’s passion parades itself across my psyche.
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay,” Chlo says. “Here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to get a raft and go to Engra.”
“Chlo! You can’t go there. And I don’t want to ask Joston.”
“You think he’s the only pilot on this ship? Nik Arca will help us.”
“But, Chlo. You can’t go to Engra.”
“No one will notice. It’ll just be for a little bit while we get your stuff and Aeryen’s.”
“Chlo. Stop right there.”
“Then we’ll fix up that cabin down the corridor. Your years as a flight controller will translate nicely to a post at the helm or in the engine room. Nik will help with that too. Then, when we get to the Triangulum, Lasson and I will help you and Aeryen find a new place to live. I hear they’re very open to new settlers there. See? Problem solved.”
Before I can say anything else, Chlo’s on her comm, talking with First Officer Arca, who must be the Nik Arca she referred to, and she’s making arrangements for us to go to Engra.
After she finishes on the comm, she says, “Nik says we’ll go tonight, after the vid screening—they’re showing Joston Parst even though they just showed it. Everyone demanded an encore last night but there wasn’t time. And, Niya, won’t it be fun to see it together again? We’ll be in and out before anyone notices us. We just have to make sure we’ve got an ally in the control room on Engra, and I told Nik you must know someone you can trust.”
“Ozker,” I say. A reflex. He’s the one I trust the most there ever since Var left.
“Good,” says Chlo. “Then it’s settled.”
“But nothing’s settled,” I say. “I can’t leave. I just can’t. And there’s really no way I can spend two months on the Marinax.”
“Because then you’d have to face up to your feelings for Joston Lynar?”
Sometimes it’s a terrible thing to have a friend who knows you so well.