In Space With a Junkyard Ship

POV: Princess Verrona

Well, that was a lot easier than I expected it to be. In fact, perhaps a bit too easy. I looked at him as he was still in bed, watching as I was getting dressed. So then why didn’t I have to use anything more to entice him than just a smile and be myself?

“You look to be deep in thought. Don’t tell me you regret what happened. You seemed to enjoy it?”

That arrogant bastard. But damn him, he was right. Never had someone been that good at understanding what I wanted without me ever having to tell him exactly what to do.

I watched him get out of bed, ready to move if he tried to run. Yet he never seemed to be worried. Of course, I did not know where the four skills stones were that he supposedly should have. He shouldn’t have been able to absorb them, but my sixth sense wasn’t warning me about him.

That meant two things: either he wasn’t dangerous, or he had the same skill himself, which would counteract my own skill. Those four skills were part of the six foundational skills all Dominion Knights have, and what made every knight a force to be reckoned with.

But they were also the only ones who could counter another knight. I guess it was time to get more serious. But before I went there, I noticed that he wasn’t getting fully dressed. That seemed like an odd choice.

I watched him move toward the balcony that overlooked the town on the surface of the battle barge. He looked up into space, and then he spoke.

“Are you a ship captain as well?”

“I am, yes, of the Crimson Falcon. She’s a dangerous one,” I said without thinking. Immediately, I was ready to move if that tipped him off to what was happening.

Instead, I saw him light a cigarette. Wait… where did he even get one? As I saw a nonmagical flame burst from one of his fingers, I remembered that a lot of him wasn’t biological.

That should have been disgusting, but somehow it had the opposite effect.

But enough of this waiting around. I had caught my prey; I just needed to question him, then we would see what I’d do with him next. Before I could say anything, he spoke up once again, his back still turned to me.

“Tell me why I get a terrible sense of foreboding whenever I think of leaving this place?”

He then turned around, and those attractive eyes were now not so kind.

“Now, I knew this wasn’t going to end well in some way. But this seems to be a trap specifically to capture me, which I do not understand.”

Before I answered, I finished dressing, making sure that my sabre was still secure on my lower back, hidden from sight.

“Because I have been hunting you for quite a while. You were quite unlucky to have run into me, but now that’s irrelevant. I am here to retrieve my father’s property.”

He looked confused and simply took another drag of the smoke. He seemed too unbothered.

“Don’t even try to hide the truth. I have my ways of making someone talk.”

He actually smiled at that.

“Oh, I believe you. But what skills are you talking about? To my knowledge, I haven’t stolen from anyone living.” He said that last part as an afterthought.

This was strange. Never have I had an interrogation where my target wasn’t strapped down and tortured. But this was its own kind of fun.

“You said you knew that this would end in trouble, but I didn’t even have to use skills to seduce you?”

“My best guess was 50/50 that this was going to end badly enough that I’d have to run. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it coming that you were actually chasing me. There, I was unlucky.”

“Still doesn’t answer why you took the chance. I wouldn’t have.”

“I mean, look at you. Can you blame me? The last time I had this kind of fun was nearly fifteen years ago, when Earth was still alive. You found me at my weakest, and well… I’ve always had a weakness for women like you.”

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My eyes narrowed at that, and I watched him get that small shiver. I had let my true self show, but he still had that smile on his face.

“Oh, you’re not that normal yourself.”

He just shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke. Yet even with that explanation, I still didn’t understand why he took the chance. It didn’t matter; I had already played for too long. I could feel my father’s noose tightening.

“You acquired four skill stones after a fight where pirates tried to take over a station. Where are those skills?” I said, pushing command into my voice while watching him closely. I saw recognition.

“I figured that those skills were special when I noticed that affinities that should have worked with them didn’t. I also knew that those would be dangerous, so they’re gone now.”

I didn’t pick up any lies. So, he didn’t absorb them. Or he could be bending the truth.

“Where are the skills now? What do you mean they’re gone?” This time, I pushed my command skill more.

“I watched them crumble myself. So, they’re gone forever, out of reach. Does that mean we no longer have a problem between us? Can I just leave?”

Once again, no lies, but it shouldn’t be possible that anyone could absorb them. The Dominion tested a lot of affinity combinations and had only found two that worked, and only a few elves seemed to have that particular combination.

“You aren’t telling me something,” I said, walking a bit closer to him while projecting my strength, making him understand that I was a step above him.

“Do you know where I was before this? And how do you think I got the funds to build my ship out there?”

“The dwarves?” I said as I moved in fast, grabbing his throat. “Tell me everything.”

He didn’t seem to struggle with his airway being cut off. And that smile was still on his face. My uncle was right, he was dangerous, and even more… no focus. A moment later, I realised he couldn’t speak and let him go.

“That’s some strength, but there is not much more to tell. You can go and ask the dwarves who run that place. You all have some treaties with them, if I remember correctly.”

Shit. I could feel myself needing to go there now. But I couldn’t; my uncle made sure of that. And when we reached the Duke, it wouldn’t matter anymore.

“So, are we done? Can I leave?”

I should kill him to silence him. Doing otherwise would go against my orders.

“Well, shit… and here I hoped that the Dominion was a civilised place?” His words stopped me.

Damn it. Killing him would bring a lot of trouble, especially from my uncle. Wait… he could still help me deal with the dwarves. I could bring him with me. We can have a lot more fun.

“Fine. I won’t kill you. But you will still be coming with me.”

“That lip bite is way too hot… but it also promises too much danger. So then why do I still feel like I would die if I tried to escape this room of yours? It doesn’t make sense to me, as I hate being owned more than being dead.”

There was anger in his voice now, but also confusion. I could see he meant every word. There shouldn’t be any danger out there for him, only from me if he tried to escape, which he seemed confident he could do.

I tried to sense what was out there, and then I felt them, but they also understood that I knew.

The doors burst open with two shadows rushing in. Who the hell sent actual assassins against me at this time?

Two more jumped down from a higher balcony. I pulled Remi into the room, saving him from being impaled by one of the daggers wielded by a shadow.

Four of them, that was problematic even for me. I activated my alarms to notify my uncle, but they didn’t seem to work.

Immediately, I pinpointed an isolation device on one of the shadows. Leaving Remi behind, as I didn’t have time for him, I headed straight for that shadow, as disabling that device was the only way for me to live.

My sabre ignited, colouring the room in red, but a moment later, a string wrapped around that wrist from one of the shadows that came from the balcony. The other one engaged Remi, who was desperately dodging, barely able to keep those daggers from killing him.

With my other hand, I prepared to use my telekinesis to pull that shadow towards me, but my other hand was seized by another shadow, and a third one quickly disarmed me of my sabre, which flew halfway across the room, winking out as it flew.

Before I could use my lightning, they had a dagger at my throat.

“Well done, my shadows,” a fifth person said. I was shocked to see a shadow matriarch walk into the room. Who the hell could be wealthy enough to hire her?

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked.

“You should have known that your father would reach too far. That marriage of yours. It is too dangerous for us. So, you must die, Pirate Princess Verrona.”

All of us were distracted by the fact that Remi and the shadow were still fighting. We all looked in disbelief as Remi managed to get a chair leg to defend himself with.

We all expected the chair leg to be cut apart by the dagger, but it actually held up. How was that possible? Then the next moment we saw the other dagger almost cut through the chair leg, but then stop, getting stuck in it. Remi used it to pull the shadow off balance, delivering a devastating punch that actually seemed to affect the shadow.

The matriarch seemed annoyed, but then all of our attention was drawn to another shadow that had the isolation device, which was now smoking. Then I remembered who Remi was, but so did the Matriarch.

“Go kill him,” she ordered. The shadows let go of the rope that held my hand and moved to kill Remi. Unfortunately, there was still a dagger at my throat.

Then I heard my sabre igniting again. To my utter surprise, he was able to activate it, which should not have been possible. The result was two shadows cut in half, and the matriarch furious.

“Damn, this is a good weapon,” Remi said, utterly transfixed by it.

You idiot, but the matriarch didn’t let that opportunity go, charging in. As if Remi had purposely planned it, he moved his hand as fast as he could, pointing it straight toward where the matriarch would have come from.

Unfortunately for him, he was simply too slow. The matriarch dodged easily, with her dagger now buried in Remi’s chest.

The poison immediately turned a lot of the skin green. He should have been completely immobilised, but once again, he surprised us all, managing to move his hand incredibly fast and cut one of the matriarch’s hands off.

Yet strength failed him the next moment as he fell to the ground. He actually let go of the sabre, which quickly went out. The next moment, the isolation device broke, my alarms went through, which sent panic through everyone and gave me a chance to grab hold of the dagger at my throat, allowing me to pull the sabre to me.

Feeling its familiar weight, I quickly ignited it, cutting the heads off the two shadows in front of me. I barely managed to dodge the matriarch’s attack, damn, she was so fast. My sabre was the only thing keeping me alive, but every moment her attacks got closer and closer to nicking me.

Alarms were blaring. I just needed to hold on a little bit longer. But I didn’t know if I could manage. The ship started to accelerate, but that distracted me.

Damn it, I should have remembered that.

In slow motion, I watched as the dagger got closer and closer, and that vicious look on the matriarch’s face. But the attack never landed. A dagger hit the matriarch’s side, which caused her to seize up almost immediately as the poison started to spread.

The next moment, her head was pierced by my sabre, ending her. She was the same rank as me, but those self-buff skills she was using were too overpowered. I should have died here.

I looked towards Remi, who was somehow still alive.

“By chance, would she be carrying something to counteract this poison?” he managed to get out while coughing out blood.

“You know it wouldn’t be too bad for me if I just let you die… You know that, right?”

“Well, shit.”

He didn’t seem upset about dying, but he was still crawling toward the matriarch. Backup should be arriving any moment now.

I moved to the matriarch and quickly found the antidote. Moving towards Remi, I stood over him. Letting him die would make things a lot easier.

“You are mine now. You understand that, right?”

He managed to give a small nod, so I fed him the antidote. The next moment, my uncle rushed through the door, looking furious as hell.

“Niece, what has happened?”