Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

Mike found himself stealing glances her way. When their eyes at last met, he composed himself and offered his hand. “Hi, I’m Mike. Mike Santos.”

“Hey, Mike.” His hand nearly vanished within her grip as they shook. She leaned forward to meet his gaze, and she smiled. “I’m Shona.”

He blushed. “I, um… This is Torsha,” he said and pointed both index fingers at his friend.

Shona paid Torsha a friendly nod. “Good to meet you.”

“You too,” said Torsha. “Why isn’t Orin waking up?”

“He will,” said Shona. “His wounds aren’t that bad. Most likely, he’s just exhausted from using his powers.”

“What happened?” asked Mike.

Shona told them everything, starting from their visit to Orin’s student housing building. She spent extra time on the moment when Orin stopped Drake’s bullet from killing Malmoradan. Excitedly, she concluded, “Orin made Ky’s entire shuttle hop up, just in time to dodge the warthog’s laser blasts! Then, he just marched right into battle with this huge pair of shields, and he took Blacktusk down!”

Torsha looked surprised, even a bit overwhelmed. “Orin did all that?” She moved to crouch at Orin’s side and traced his forehead with her fingertips. “It’s hard to believe. He’s so down-to-earth, you know? He’s always been into baseball, camping, and country music, and he’s pretty good at the grill. He’s the only guy I know I can call to help me move a refrigerator or change a tire in the middle of nowhere.” She smiled wistfully. “Or come rescue me from a stalker at a dance club.” She leaned back on her heels. “I guess he always has been the heroic type, just not this kind of hero.”

“Maybe something deep inside him woke up when his memories came back,” said Shona. “Sometimes people reconstruct themselves after a life-changing event. Of course, that usually takes months, so if that’s what Orion’s going through, this might only be a glimpse of the man he’s becoming.”

“Sure. Maybe,” said Torsha, and she glanced at Shona sidelong. “You sure know an awful lot about this stuff.”

“I survived a few life-changing events myself,” said Shona.

“How long is he going to be out?” asked Mike.

“I don’t know,” said Shona. “It could be another minute, or it could be another hour.”

With a heavy sigh, Torsha stood and plopped back down on her crate, causing it to slide noisily along the deck. “I don’t like this.”

“It sucks, for sure,” said Shona. “How did you two get here? Our shuttle’s still clogging up the tarmac.”

“We hitched a ride with the corpsmen on Bloodtusk’s Starwind, and they docked down below,” said Mike. “Bloodtusk acquired that shuttle legitimately, if you can believe it, so Falcon can’t lay claim. Captain Aguirre decided to leave it parked here, in case Bloodtusk ever gets out of prison.”

Shona regarded him questioningly. “I’m sorry, who’s Bloodtusk?”

“Blacktusk’s kid brother,” said Mike. “His real name is Husthar Veskatar, but he goes by Bloodtusk.”

“Cool,” said Shona.

“No, he’s not,” said Torsha.

Shona drew a deep breath and hunched over her knees. “How long have you all known each other?”

“Since we were five, so sixteen years, give or take,” said Mike, and he absently tapped the dull metal orb contained within his new jacket’s pocket. His heart jumped as he glanced past Shona’s V-neck, and he quickly anchored his sights on the shuttle Ergo. “We all went to the same elementary school, and our parents became best friends. Despite all our efforts to the contrary, we did too.”

“No offense, but you two smell like money, and Orin doesn’t,” said Shona. “How’d Orin end up at the same school as you?”

“Scholarship,” said Torsha. “He’s really good at scoring those. In case you were wondering, my mom is Iona Madagan. You’ve probably heard of her. Most people have. And Mike’s a Falcon Prince. His dad is Martin Santos, the Archduke of this sector.”

“No idea who either of those people are, but it’s a big galaxy.” Shona bobbed her head slightly. “You seem proud of where you came from though, so that’s pretty cool.”

Mike quietly cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” said Shona.

“Are you a giant?”

“Giants aren’t allowed to be spacers,” said Shona. “Don’t worry, though, people ask me that all the time. On my home world, there’s lots of people even taller than I am.”

“Wh… Which one’s your home world?” asked Mike.

“Gladius Prime,” said Shona.

At that moment, a corpsman approached from across the way. “Officer Chelsea, I’d like to check on your drip band. Is now a good time?”

“Sure,” said Shona, and she offered her forearm. “It’s just Shona. I’m not an officer of anything.”

The corpsman took a moment to confirm the heplock remained in place and to tab through the device’s diagnostic panels. Satisfied things were in order, she looked into Shona’s eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling so much better. Thank you.”

“That’s great to hear,” said the corpsman. “Can you follow me, please? There’s paperwork we need to fill out.”

“Of course,” said Shona, and she got to her feet.

“Are you coming back?” asked Mike. “I’m dying to hear more about your home world.”

“There’s a lot going on right now,” said Shona. “I’m not sure this is the right time for a walk down memory lane, but I could tell you all about it later.” With a hopeful smile, she suggested, “Tonight? Maybe with some spicy cocoa?”

“I’d love that, and in case we can’t do it in person, here.” Mike pressed his finger against the top of his hand, prompting his gene key to project his private profile. “We can do it remotely.”

“Awesome,” said Shona, and they exchanged contact information. “He’s gonna be okay. Okay? Orin’s gonna be fine.”

“I hope so,” said Mike. “Thank you.”

As Shona took her leave, Torsha glared at Mike.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m just dying to hear more about your home world,” mocked Torsha. “You’re ridiculous!”

“Why, for getting her contact information? You were the one dropping names.”

Shaking her head, Torsha turned away. “You know why.”

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With a worried look, April stood near an