Page 171 of Seven Oars
He grunted.“I was still young, and he was a patient man.”
She could see why an old, seasoned pirate would be impressed with Fincros, even if it was for all the wrong purposes.
“You are such a formidable race,” she said quietly.“I hope that one day, you’ll go to Enzomora. You’d make a good defender.”
It seemed to have caught him off guard.“The defenders will reject me for my past. Meaning, they will kill me on sight.”
His logic baffled her. He was one of the strongest, most seasoned—and most restrained—fighters. Even she could see that. Surely Rix higher-ups would see that, too?
“It’s not your fault you ended up on Sir-Sar!” she tried to argue.“Were you born there?”
He deflected.“It won’t matter. I lived at a Rix pirate stronghold, and I did things that not just violate the defender code, but rub it in their noses. There’s no redemption.” A faint sneer curled his lip.“Neither do I want any. I’ve gone too far.”
A weight settled in Rosamma’s chest. Unlike her, Fincros truly had no place to land.
“Did you ever try to escape Sir-Sar?” she asked quietly.
He withdrew a little, his attention shifting inward.
“At first, when I was younger. But after Aerser became my handler, I got too busy surviving. And then I grew up and became one of them,” he said simply.“I carry his wisdom in me, and I forever will.”His gaze settled on her, intense.“Despite the fact that I killed him.”
She recoiled.“You what?”
His chuckle was low and dark.“The explosion was epic, Rosamma. It lit up the sky. Aerser never made mistakes, except one: he forgot that we had grown up, Thilza and I.” He fell silent.“Thilza… he sees it differently. He’d never forgiven me for rigging Aerser’s craft. But that’s a story for another day.”
She gave him a light shove, exasperated.“Why do you insist on being such an awful man?”
“You can never win if you just want to be left alone,” he said slowly.“Aerser taught me that lesson, and it was an easy one to learn. Always fight. If you don’t, someone else will end you.”
“It sounds like advice as terrible as the man who gave it,” she said, snuggling back into his warmth. The freezer’s chill seeped through the cover she wrapped around herself. Another reason why she hated this place.
“It was great advice,” Fincros smiled, a rare sight.“I’ve lived by it ever since.”
Overcome by tenderness, she kissed him, but he pulled away.
“I am a wanted felon with no rights to a pardon,” he warned her suddenly.“You must always remember that.”
She gazed at him as if he were a distant star, full of fascinating secrets.
“I see more than a pirate in you,” she said.
“How you see me doesn’t change the things I’ve done,” he whispered across her mouth.“Doesn’t change what I’ll do, because, stardust, life is a battle.”
He kissed her back, a seeking, open-mouthed kiss that made her drunk.
With him, she was complete. As a woman, as a person.
Months had now passed since their capture, though she’d lost count. It felt like a lifetime.
What was it that Fincros had said to her that very first time at the Habitat?
Indefinitely.
He’d known it from the very first moment she’d laid eyes on him on the Bridge, captured like fish in the net.
She was still caught in his net. Only this time, he was caught in hers…
She dozed off against his chest.
