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

the right way to do things. Shulana’s got leadership potential, and Sturmhardt had us all enthralled last night with one of her sword dances. We’re working out the kinks on Ikunku’s lifting rig, and we’re still trying to figure out what Saki’s good at, because it isn’t shooting.”

“Train her in hand-to-hand combat. Assign her to the takedown team,” said Malmoradan. “Trust me, she’ll excel, even if she’s a little uneasy about it at first.”

“You spent five minutes with her. How can you possibly know that?”

“She’s a calico,” said Malmoradan, and he regarded her expectantly.

Casey chuckled. “Sure, I’ll give it a shot.” She took a deep breath. “So… you gave Orin your warrior’s oath, huh?”

“Ah, yes. That,” said Malmoradan. “Allow me to dispel some of your assumptions, first. I never gave you my oath because we were in the business of saving each other’s lives. Orin and I were enemies in that moment, and he saved my life anyway. That’s as close to moral bedrock as it gets.”

“That’s not what I’m getting at,” said Casey. “You were the first person to join my team, Malmoradan! It’s always been you and me, no matter what. No matter who else came through, it was always us two, and you didn’t even talk to me about this!”

“And I quote: ‘the tenets of ilvalori call for swift and decisive action when the opportunity for honor presents itself,’” said Malmoradan. “Besides, no one knew where you were, so it’s not like I could talk to you about it, anyway.”

“Since when do you give a damn about honor?”

“I’ve always given a damn, I’ve just kept it at a simmer,” said Malmoradan. “Shona will be thirty in four years. It takes a year for the Council of Elders to review anyone’s plea, so that means I’ve only got three years left to secure us a place in the Roaring Halls. If I don’t, it’s excommunication for both of us.”

Casey took a deep breath. “I never took you for the religious type.”

“I ain’t, and you know that. The Roaring Halls is a palace that stretches across all of northern Ocely, from shore to shore. Everywhere you look, there’s towers with fur-lined plateaus. There’s pillars, open-air apartments, and shaded nooks, all connected by ramps and bridges as far as the eye can see!” Malmoradan eased back against his pillow. “If we’re excommunicated, it means we’ll never set foot in there. They’ll treat us like we don’t exist, and I could never do that to Shona. Casey, I made a promise to safeguard her future. I’m not willing to break that promise.”

“We could’ve done it together,” said Casey. “We still can.”

Malmoradan laughed quietly. “Honor’s not really our thing, though. We grabbed jobs a little beyond our rating because April’s been the ace up our sleeve, and you have a knack for surviving things no one has a right to survive. That netted us tons of guild incentives, but that’s all we ever did.”

“That’s not true,” said Casey. “We made a big difference in a lot of lives, and some that really needed help, too!”

Malmoradan winced. “I’m too tired to argue about this. Just… give it some thought. Okay? You know I’m right.”

“No, you’re not!” Casey caught herself, and she sighed. “But maybe you’re not completely wrong, either. April told me pretty much the same thing a couple days ago. Listen, we can do it different from now on—do it right; do some real good! I’m getting so much money for Blacktusk, we can take poor man’s bounties for ten years and not break a sweat. What would you say to that?”

Malmoradan shook his head. “Honor is rooted in sacrifice. If we’re only taking poor man’s bounties because we can afford it, there’s no honor in it.”

Casey looked defeated. “Look, I’m trying to change, here. I’m trying to do better. I’m trying to be better.”

Malmoradan reached over and squeezed Casey’s hand. “I know you are. Don’t give up.”

“So, this is really it then,” said Casey.

“For now,” said Malmoradan. “We ain’t ever going to stop being friends, though. Count on that.”

“Good. I’m glad.” She took a deep breath. “I guess we better go find the others. Cajun promised to have a look at Nimbus, and I’d like to get that squared away.” She stood up and gingerly hugged Malmoradan. “We’ll stop by on the way back to the shuttle. You take care of that shoulder in the meantime.”

He hugged her back. “See you soon.”

“See you soon, old friend,” said Casey. Cajun grabbed his toolbox, and they exited into the passageway.

They walked a few paces, pausing near a medical storage room. With an exasperated sigh, Casey ran her hands through her hair as she leaned back against the bulkhead. Cajun regarded her sympathetically. “Ya goin’ to be okay, mon Capitaine?”

“No,” said Casey. “You saw how he instantly knew what to do with Misaki. It’s a gift! One I’ve come to depend on.” She glanced to her left and waved at the liaison officer as he stepped into view from around a corner. “What am I supposed to do without him?”

“Nothin’ right now, unless ya plannin’ on a season o’ turnover,” said Cajun. “Malmoradan would’a warned ya if he saw somethin’ bad.”

“I guess so,” said Casey.

The liaison officer stepped close. “Your friends are gathered in the enlisted mess. Please follow me.”

◆◆◆

“That was the first time I boarded a starship and the only time I ever saw the Sapphire Skyfall,” said Shona. “But I’ll never forget how beautiful it was. Go ahead and look it up if you want, but even the best holos won’t come close. It took my breath away.”

“Malmoradan said Gladius Prime was a hellhole,” said Mike. “You make it sound like paradise.”

“I prefer to remember the good things,” said Shona, and she glanced away. “But since you asked, yeah… growing up out there was hard. Most of the time it was very hard. The starshipyards pay the directors a lot to let the kids work for them, so there isn’t much incentive