Page 34 of Essa

Essa gives one final wave to her crew, a crew she may not see again in the same capacity before following after Ixor. I make sure there's plenty of slack in the leash as I pull Seth with me. Seth drags his feet, mainly because it's difficult to be fast in his state.

Essa's body tenses as we step through the airlock and onto Fortune's Favor. Two of Ixor's brothers are waiting on the other side, and they flank us as we follow Ixor further onto the ship.

The crew of Fortune's Favor are Straxion brothers. They all have blue-black hair, pale orange skin, and thin tails, like Essa's. Their bodies are decorated with various pieces of flashy jewelry that sparkle on their fingers, tails, and around their necks. They watch us with wary eyes, and I wonder how much of Essa's scary face is out right now.

"You'll be in here until we arrive. I don't trust you wandering the ship," Ixor says without ceremony as he opens the door to a small bedroom. Essa files in, and Seth and I follow her.

Ixor remains in the doorway. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. We're trusting this crew a lot right now, and there's a chance we'll regret that. The only thing that has me trusting them even a little bit is that Seth thought they were our best shot off Earth.

"You need anything, you press that button," Ixor points at a small black button next to the door. "Do not leave without anescort." He's about to leave when his tail thrashes a bit more erratically. "Do you have what I asked you to bring?"

I pull my pack off my shoulder and dig around for the sewing patterns. I hand them to Essa, who hands them to Ixor, who looks over them, unable to fight a smile from growing on his lips. He rubs at a thin navy tattooed band around his neck before steadying his features and giving us all a tight nod.

"Trip should only be half a day, but if there are any hang-ups, we'll let you know." With those parting words, he steps away from the door and closes it behind him.

I immediately move toward the door, checking if we're locked in. When it slides open without a fuss, revealing the same two males who followed us earlier, I give them a hard scowl before stepping back into the room.

We're not locked in, but we're not allowed to go anywhere, either. I'm about to get upset about it when Essa places her hand on my shoulder, tugging on me gently.

Her hand moves down my arms, and her eyes roam over my skin like she's checking to make sure I wasn't hurt. Satisfied I'm fine, she does the same to Seth. When it's abundantly clear neither one of us was hurt in the small walk from our ship to the holding room, she visibly relaxes.

"I need to paint you," she says with a sigh as she falls to the bare bed against the wall.

The movement tugs at the chain enough to remind me we're connected, but I'm more interested in what she means by painting us that I don't think about the leather rubbing against my skin or how it presses against my scars. When Essa distracts me, I can forget about a lot of the horrors of my life, and I don't know how to handle her having that much over me.

"Come sit, I'll start with you."

And because she's weakened me since I've known her, I move to sit beside her on the bed, not grumbling a single objection.

thirteen

Seth

When the fog of Essa's venom fades, I'm covered in dark swirling paint over my limbs, chest, and abdomen. My eyes snap to focus as Essa leans in close to my face, the paintbrush in her hand drawing a single vertical line down the center of my lips.

"Welcome back," she murmurs, twisting her hand so she can run her knuckles down my cheek. I lean into the touch, not because of her venom but because Essa is safe.

I didn't respond the same way Adam did to her venom, and I know it's irritating him that I didn't. Maybe he was hoping that the needs he shows when he's that vulnerable were part of her venom and not his own desires coming out when his guard was down. Even now, he's assessing me with narrowed eyes and a hard press of his lips.

"The paint looks nice," I say, keeping my eyes on Adam to make sure he's not about to get all jealous since Essa's had her hands on me for the last hour or so while she was painting me.

She worked on Adam for just as long, but I didn't mind watching that. He didn't either. No, his emotions were screaming with how pleased he was. Not that he gave any indication to Essa that he was.

"It's so I know if anyone touches you," Essa says, dipping her head slightly like she's embarrassed.

I want to ask her about it, whether she's embarrassed because she thinks we'll let others touch us or because of her own possessiveness. Either one shouldn't be a concern. Adam won't let anyone besides her touch us, and we both like that she wants to own us, just like Adam wants to own me and her. I don't ask about it because Adam lied to her earlier, and she still needs help.

"Adam can braid your hair," I tell her, testing my motor functions by raising my hands to her silky black strands and running my fingers through them.

"Seth." Adam's voice is a warning growl.

He won't be happy with this, but if we're as into this as I want us to be, he needs to be honest, and Essa deserves to know everything.

"She needs help with her hair." I ignore the confused look Essa shoots us to turn a stern gaze on Adam.

I won't back down from this. Not when appearances seem so important in Haventh culture. Essa needs to look every part the regal goddess she is, and Adam can help with that.

"Don't do this," Adam says through clenched teeth, his eyes burning with an angry fury that I know means he wants me on my knees, but he won't spoil all of Essa's hard work. Not yet, at least.

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