Page 65 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
“Preserving my lineage was too important for me to get bogged down in other concerns.” Lord C’don patted his son’s back, like he was a prize horse. Jynn made a face and absently shifted away from the touch. “I don’t expect a nobody like you to understand the demands of a noble house, Rtaharion.”
Xane’s head tilted …and then he started for both of them, death in his eyes.
Sadie caught hold of his arm. “Killing the ducklings won’t help anything.”
“It will make me feel better.”
“Only in the short term. Focus on the bigger picture. Can we get another power crystal thingy? We have that money from the casino, right? I can buy one.”
“Yes, I can repair the ship, if we had another thrust crystal.” Lord C’don volunteered. “Jynn can help. Can’t you, Jynn?”
Jynn shrugged with zero enthusiasm. Escaping a hostile planet was clearly cutting into his plans to hate everything and sigh a lot.
“Get me a crystal, and our problems are solved.” Lord C’don promised Sadie. “Then, I can finally get out of this dreadful place.” He clutched a wing to his breast, like a Shakespearean actor in search of a stage. “Oh, how I long to return to the gentle ponds and swaying reeds of my homeland. All this sand chaps my feet.” He extended his webbed toes so they could commiserate over his damaged pedicure.
“You’re not coming with us.” Xane began opening cabinets and piling up supplies. “If Sadie and I do somehow escape this mess, we do it alone. You can find your own way. She is too softhearted to let me kill you, but we’re sure as shit not helping you either. You’ve endangered my wife, and that’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.”
Lord C’don glanced Sadie’s way, like she might overrule Xane.
Sadie crossed her arms over her chest.
Lord C’don began to look a bit sickly, as he realized that he’d burnt all his bridges. “You can’t just abandon me, after everything we’ve been through together.”
Sadie scoffed at that bullshit.
“If you’re as smart as you think you are, you’ll learn to hide in the shadows of Corono and only emerge to forage in the dead of night.” Xane advised him ruthlessly. “Otherwise, you’ll soon be stuffing for a throw pillow.”
Lord C’don paled beneath his feathers. “It’s not fair! If you have to take your petty anger out on someone, blame Jynn. He was the one stuck in the mine!”
“Hey!”Jynn protested.
“I’m not staying on this abysmal planet.” Lord C’don snapped at him. “It’s nothing personal.” His eyes went back to Xane. “Rtaharion, we can make a deal, I’m sure. We’re both civilized men.”
“Do I look fucking civilized to you?”
Sadie cringed at his volume. “Xane, sweetie, keep moving forward. We can deal with that little jerkafterhe helps us fix the ship.”
“We don’t have time to replace the thrust crystal, Sadie! Our footprints will lead the other men here. We’ll have to leave this ship behind.”
She blinked, trying to rearrange her thoughts. “What?”
“We’re doomed if we stay.” Xane grabbed cartons of water capsules and shoved them into a bag. “We need to get across the desert and away from here.Now.”
“What’s across the desert?”
Xane spared her a meaningful look.
“You don’t know.” She realized, and her stomach sank. “You want us to just walk into the unknown?”
“Whatever’s out there, it’s better than staying put.”
Sadie shook her head, hating this plan. “I want to fix the spaceship. I likethatidea.”
“We don’t have time.” Xane repeated, closing up his hasty bag of supplies. “We have to move.”
“We’ll come too.” Lord C’don persisted.
“Do wehaveto go with them?” Jynn moaned. “They’re so… common.”
