Thea

“No, Thea, you cheat. I’m not playing with you anymore,” Leila complained as she continued to stare at the data-pad Bryce had lent her, and I just rolled my eyes. We’d been stuck on the tiny shuttle for the last three days, and still had two more days until we reached Paradise. Thankfully, the shuttle had a bathroom, and we still had plenty of food, but the whole thing was just so damn boring.

“Aurora is still playing, but we need one more and Suriel is out of money.”

“Aurora cheats, too. Why don’t you ask your girlfriend to play?”

“Bryce, do you--”

“Yes!” Bryce shot up from where she was sitting in the pilot’s seat with an enthusiastic cheer. Which was suspicious because she had never agreed to play cards with me before, and because I’ve never seen her this excited to play a game.

“Great!” I smiled and tried my best to mirror her cheer. “I’ll deal. Did you want to buy in with your leftover iron, or just credits?”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry, Thea, I don’t really want to play cards,” Bryce apologized, and I was about to shrug off her rejection, when she added the best news I had heard all week. “Sora finally responded to my message.”

“No way!” I immediately rushed over and wrapped my arms around her before asking a perfectly reasonable number of questions. “Where are they? Do they need help? Are they okay? Is Sami okay? What about the assholes who took them? Did you tell them you’re a god now? Wait! Don’t tell them, I want to do it.”

“No, I didn’t tell them I’m a god, because I’m not one, and give me a moment. Messaging like this isn’t the most efficient way to communicate.”

“Alright, fine, just, you know, make sure they’re okay and everything.” I sat down next to Leila and waited patiently for Bryce to finish talking to Softie.

“Stop bouncing your leg. It’s irritating.”

“You’re irritating,” I countered, but Leila just ignored me and kept reading. “Alright, fine. Bryce, come get me the moment you’re done talking to Softie.” She made a noncommittal noise, and I moved all three feet back to the cargo area where Aurora and Suriel were sitting on the floor.

“We were able to get a hold of our friends, but before you ask, no, I don’t know anything else yet. Bryce is still talking to them, but she said she’ll let us know when she’s done.”

“Yeah, we heard. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.” Aurora smiled up at me while holding out a deck of cards. “Guess we won’t be playing any more, huh?”

“Nah, probably not.” I took the cards and disappeared them into my ring. “I couldn’t convince Leila, and Bryce doesn’t really gamble.”

“You two do realize that we don’t have to play for cash, right?” Suriel argued, which caused me to raise an eyebrow.

“I’m not playing strip poker with my brother.”

“Yeah, dude, that’s just weird,” Aurora added with a frown.

“That’s not what I meant, and you both know it.” Suriel’s face was turning red, and the two of us couldn’t help but laugh at the poor guy.

“Alright, stop teasing Suriel. I have an update,” Bryce interrupted from the pilot’s chair before getting up and moving to stand across from me in the center of the shuttle. “Most importantly, Sora and Samira are both safe. There are a lot of details that Sora didn’t get into, but the gist is that they managed to escape their captors, and are currently aboard a ship on their way to Paradise.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as Bryce finished her explanation. Sami and Softie were safe, which just left one last thing. “What about the assholes who took them?”

“They sold the bounty to a pirate captain, who Sora killed, but the original hunters are still on the run, and they still have Ithnaa.”

“What’s the plan, then? Are you going after them?” Leila asked. She had set her data-pad down and spun the chair around to face the rest of us.

“We’re going to continue on to Paradise to meet up with Sora and Samira. After that though… I’m not sure.” Bryce hesitated for a moment, before continuing. “I don't want to stay on Paradise for any longer than we need to with the bounties out there, but I also don’t want to suggest we fly back to our ship with another two people stuck in this shuttle.”

Aurora blanched. “Yeah, no thank you. As fun as it’s been getting to know Thea again, I could definitely use a bit of space at this point.”

“Hey, you’re no joy to be around either.” I held my nose and waved my hand in front of my face. “You still smell like Tartarus, and three days without showering hasn’t helped.”

“Anyway,” Bryce’s interruption stopped Aurora from being able to argue, so she just gave me the finger and let Bryce continue. “The owner of the ship that they’re traveling on is a pirate who helped them escape. Sora is going to try to convince him to give us a ride, but if that doesn’t work, then I’m hoping to hire a captain on Paradise instead.”

“I don’t know the whole story, but is bringing more people into this wise?” Leila asked with a frown. “From my understanding, the bounty we’re dealing with here isn’t small, which makes me think the fewer people who know where your friends are, the better off we’ll be.”

“Which is why our best option is going to be to use the pirate who already knows who Sora and Samira are, if only to keep an eye on him.” Bryce paused for a moment before shaking her head. “Alternatively, we could try having Sora and Samira take the shuttle back alone, but then there’s the matter of Ithnaa.”

“She’s a djinn, right?” Aurora looked towards me, and I nodded, so she continued. “I’ve never met a djinn before, but from what I’ve heard, they can handle themselves. Besides, from the way Thea was explaining things, she’s not even a full member of your crew.”

I exhaled heavily as I ran my fingers through my hair. “No, she’s not, but if Mother figures out what Ithnaa was planning, then it’s going to get bad for her, like really bad.”

Bryce shook her head. “Beyond it just being the ‘right thing to do,’ Ithnaa knows too much for us to let Mother get a hold of her. She’s one of only a few people who can connect me and Thea back to Sora and Samira.”

“Plus, if Mother manages to turn her against us, then I wouldn’t like our chances,” I added.

“Alright, well, I’m convinced,” Aurora said with a shrug. “What about you two?”

“I’m happy to help in whatever way I can, and besides, I don’t really have another place to be.” Suriel matched Aurora’s shrug, but Leila didn’t seem so enthusiastic.

“We agreed to come with you if you would take us to meet Ashaiya, not join your crew. I was fine with helping you save your friends, but this is definitely above and beyond.”

“I can message Ashaiya and give her the coordinates to our ship, but as I mentioned before, it will probably take her the better part of a month to arrive and that’s not including any delay due to diplomatic concerns.”

Leila nodded at Bryce’s explanation, and we all waited as she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. “If it’s going to take time, then I’d prefer if we set things in motion sooner rather than later. Until then, I don’t mind helping where I can. Just please make it a priority. I understand that you’re going through a crisis right now, and I don’t want to come across as too bitchy, but I’ve been thinking about Thea’s description of Ashaiya’s solution, and it has me worried. I’d like to get an explanation directly from her as soon as possible.”

“I’ve actually been thinking about that, too,” Suriel said with a frown. “What Thea described shouldn’t be possible, and even if it is, I’m not sure I like the implications. If you’re planning on confronting Ashaiya, then I’d like to be there.”

My eyes went wide as I realized what he was implying. “Wait, if you two are going to fight Ash, then I’m going to help.”

“Nobody is going to fight anybody.” Leila glared at me, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “I just want to make sure whatever it is that Ashaiya is doing isn’t going to ruin dad’s reputation.”

I scoffed at that. “You mean like lying to all of his followers and tricking them into a fake afterlife?”

“If that's what she’s doing, then she must have a good reason. I just want to give her a chance to explain herself.” Leila definitely didn’t believe what she was saying, and we all knew it.

“Alright, I’ll get a message to Ashaiya and let you know once we have something arranged.” Bryce moved back to the pilot’s seat and Leila spun her chair back around, signaling the end of our discussion.

I turned towards Suriel with a grin and pulled the cards from my storage. “Okay, so what’re we betting now?”