Grace Goodwin - The Virgins - Complete Boxed Set

Chairs. For people to sit in and fly this ship, this strange, fat metal bird.

My heart raced as I climbed down from the saddle. Before my feet touched the ground, Maddox was there, assisting me and my sore, shaky legs. Here, before me was proof of Maddox’s claims. A flying ship!

“Welcome to the Aurora , Cassie.”

“You named your ship?”

“Well, it’s Thorn’s ship, but yes, every ship has a name.” His hand wrapped around my waist to support me as I stepped forward. I lifted my hand to touch, then thought better of it.

“Thorn?”

“Thorn is our commander on this mission. When Neron escaped from prison, he wasn’t alone and the Sevens, that’s our leaders, sent us to bring them back.”

“So, exactly how many of you Everisians are here? On Earth, right now?”

“It’s Everians. And, I’m not sure how many men were with Neron by the time he arrived, but there are four hunters on the ground, including myself. Thorn is our commander and does everything by the book. He’s tough and mean and follows the letter of the law. Jace and Flynn are hunters just after the money and adventure. They’re brothers from one of our outer regions.”

“And you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“Why do you do what you do? Why are you a hunter? Do you do it for the money? Or adventure?” I looked him in the eye so I could see if he lied to me, or became uneasy when giving his answer.

“My family is one of the richest on Everis. I don’t need the money. I do it because someone has to, because someone has to stop evil. I do it because I believe in justice. Vengeance.”

“You’re a vigilante, then.”

“I suppose I am.” He watched me, gauging my response to his words. I searched my soul for a moment and realized I agreed with him. True justice was more important than stiff laws written in old yellowed books. So I shrugged my acceptance of that and turned to face the ship. I lifted one hand to touch but stopped with my hand halfway to the ship.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

Ignoring the trembling of my fingers, I lifted my arm and ran my palm over the smooth surface. It was cold and hard, like the whetting stone I kept in a drawer in the kitchen. The ship rested on eight very strange giant legs that spread out like goose’s feet. I wandered around the exterior and saw three large tubes protruding from its rear. They smelled burned, like three-day-old ash in the bottom of the fireplace. “Is this the engine?”

“Yes, but not an engine as you know it. We use the gravitational magnetics of dark matter to propel the ship. Every moment we fly we are either being pulled toward, or propelled away from a gravity well in deep space, or, once we arrive, by the planet’s own gravitational force.”

“What?” Suddenly dizzy, I stepped back and shook my head. This was too much for one day. Too much. I had no idea what he was talking about and I felt small and stupid and completely out of my depth. Overwhelmed.

I was standing in front of a spaceship! Maddox was a man from space. It was too much.

“I can’t do this. I have to go.”

I stumbled toward my horse, tears streaking down my cheeks. I’d held them at bay all day, continually forced the sights and smell of blood from my mind as we rode hard and fast to get here. To this thing that Maddox claimed would keep me safe. It didn’t look safe; it looked like a cage, a giant steel box that I would be trapped inside forever.

He let me get as far as my horse, but even she shied away from me in my current state. And I couldn’t blame her, I was a mess.

Maddox’s arms wrapped around me from behind and I shoved him away. I didn’t want him to hold me right now, I wanted to go home. Back to a life that made sense.

“Cassie, stop.”

“No. Let me go.” My voice was uneven, laced with fear and frustration. Confusion.

“I can’t. Neron is still out there, Cassie. Please. Just listen. We’ll get on board and I’ll get you a bath and dinner. Please.”

“Neron can go hang. I have a rifle, and I know how to use it.” I saw the familiar object sticking from my saddlebag, but in comparison to the ship beside me, it looked old and simple and useless.

“You’d have no chance, Cassie. Please. Trust me.”

Oh, his voice was so calm and reassuring, pure temptation for my tired mind. But I did not want to go on board that stupid ship. I wanted no part of it. “I’m a damn good shot.”

I was. I’d practiced for hours after Charles’s death; I’d needed to feel powerful, strong. The sharp crack of gunfire had given me that. I’d spent every ounce of money I had on ammunition for more than a month. I could shoot the tail off a wasp at a hundred paces. I was damn good.

“You’d never see him coming, Cassie.”

I whirled on him then, rage making me bold. I embraced the emotion. I preferred anger to fear. “He’s just a man, Maddox. A sick, twisted man, a killer who deserves to die.” I lifted my chin and stared at the man who’d brought me here, to this crazy place. “If he comes near me, I’ll shoot him.”

Yes, I’d shoot him. Why hadn’t I thought this clearly earlier? I was not helpless. And I was done being shocked and terrified, running and hiding like a scared rabbit. The sight of Mr. Anderson’s body had thrown me, but no more. I walked forward, pushing my finger into Maddox’s chest.

“I’ll shoot him dead for what he did. But I’m not getting on that ship.”

Maddox stared down at me. I expected to see anger or irritation in his eyes. Instead, he shook his head, a half-grin forming on his face. “You are magnificent, Cassie.”

“What? Are you mad?” I was threatening to kill a man, and he stood before me grinning like a fool.

“Yes. For you.” He swooped me up in his arms and I had no chance to resist as he carried me toward his ship. As we neared, the outline of a doorway appeared before a small section of the ship lowered to touch the ground. The ramp had three large platform steps and I punched at Maddox’s chest as he carried me toward the opening.

“Put me down!”

“I vowed to keep you safe, Cassie, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

I kicked and squirmed, to no avail, and within moments we were up the platform and inside the ship, the door closing immediately behind us. I looked around, expecting to see more of the dark gray color on the outside. Instead I saw walls that looked the color of melted caramels. They were smooth, with lights built inside them every few paces making the hallway bright. The floor was a darker brown and textured with a strange crossing pattern that I imagined made it so no one ever slipped and fell. The hallway split off in two directions, but I could see nothing of consequence in either. More hallway. A few doors. It wasn’t that different than the inside of a house and relief flooded me. I’d imagined dark tunnels and scary cages, not a brightly lit hallway that could have been inside any large home.

“Are you finished?”

I looked up to find Maddox watching me, his eyes intense and, for the first time today, solely focused on me. A shiver raced up my spine at the desire I saw there and I nodded my head. “It’s rather plain. You could do with some wallpaper.”

Maddox chuckled and leaned in to kiss me. “How about a bath?”

Maddox

I carried my mate through the ship with an eagerness I’d not felt in years. Relief, too. Earth was crude and not much could harm me—besides a skittish horse—but I’d been uncomfortable in the strange environment. Here, on the ship, I was reassured. Especially now that I had Cassie with me. At last, I had her here, safe. At last, I could claim her.