Page 24 of Rebel
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The station kitchen was a cozy space with a bolted-down metal table and built-in cupboards. It was situated on the second level of the station, which was built like a square with a courtyard in the center where shuttles could land. The whole structure was surrounded by high, sturdy walls with two watchtowers on either side of it. The satellite dish and other communication equipment were at the back of the structure high up on a sturdy tower.
The first floor was on stilts with space beneath, probably for shuttle buggies to be parked. There was a mech area too, but that was as far as I’d got in my explorations before being summoned to supper.
Xavier stirred something on the hob that smelled delicious, and Lore sipped water from a metal mug. A dark blue bruise stood out starkly against the pale-blue skin under his right eye. He kept his gaze downcast, index finger tapping on the rim of the mug.
Vex and I sat side by side on the opposite side of the table. The silence remained thick and pregnant. I’d just polished off an Athion energy bar, which, apparently, would give me the nutrients I needed to keep functioning. The soup Xavier was making was more for us to feel like we’d tasted something, because the bars were like cardboard.
Come on, someone say something. It looked like I’d have to break the ice myself.
I blew out a breath. “Did something happen while I was unconscious?” I waved a finger toward Lore’s face. “How did you get that?”
Lore’s gaze flicked to Vex.
Oh, boy.
“There was an altercation in the med lab,” Xavier said from his position at the hob. “You and Tide were both unconscious, and Vex thought Lore was neglecting your treatment.”
I glanced at Vex, at the tightness of his jaw and the dark shadows his lashes made on his cheeks as he stared at the table. He was ashamed of his actions, that much was obvious.
“But,” Xavier continued, “it turned out Lore had completed an assessment, and Tide’s condition was worse, so he treated him first.”
Vex cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Lore.”
Lore shook his head. “It’s all right. I would have done the same in your position.”
Xavier dropped the spoon he’d been using to stir the pot with and turned to Lore. “You would have?”
Lore fixed his eyes on me and then slow blinked. “You saved my brother’s life?”
It took a minute to click who he was talking about. Tide? Tide had said Lore and he were like brothers.
I shrugged. “He would have done the same for me.”
Lore smiled wryly. “Probably. But not for altruistic reasons.”
A shiver of apprehension skittered up my spine. “What do you mean?”
Xavier pushed away from the hob and took a step closer to the table. The tension was back, but now, it was more expectant.
Lore sighed heavily and opened his mouth to speak.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Tide said from the doorway.
I tore my attention from Lore and turned to Tide. “It was the right thing to do.”
Xavier crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, Tide,shedid the right thing.”
What was he needling at?
Tide looked pale and drawn, and there were dark smudges beneath his silver eyes, and he stood braced against the frame to stay upright. “I went to check on the signal feed in the tower. I saw neither of you had sent one, so I did the honors.”
Lore exhaled through his nose and shook his head, but Xavier said a few words in the Athion language that sounded suspiciously like curses.
“She saved your fucking life, Tide,” Xavier said. “She carried you up a rock face and then back down again and across the fucking dustlands. She almost died.”
“And none of that would have happened if you hadn’t sabotaged our ship,” Tide snapped.
