Encrypted by Lindsay Buroker

she
neared them, the captain thrust his arm out, pointing his index
finger at her. She stopped, feeling self-conscious when both men,
and everyone else in the area, turned to stare at her.
    Only Five’s gaze was friendly. The right
side of his mouth quirked up in a bemused half smile, and she felt
the need to brace herself on a nearby weapons rack.
    Bocrest growled, “Convince her,” just loud
enough for her to hear.
    Though Five did not acknowledge the order,
those words drove wariness into Tikaya’s heart. Presuming Bocrest’s
relationship with Five was entirely antagonistic may have been a
mistake.
    He left the captain’s side
and strolled toward her, his smile widening as he approached. A few
strands of silver threaded his black hair, laugh lines crinkled the
corners of his brown eyes, and a narrow scar bisected one eyebrow,
but Tikaya had no doubt women of all ages swooned at his feet.
Experience made her stifle her own urge to swoon. Handsome men did
not look at her and smile; they looked through her, usually not noticing
when they bumped her out of the way to close in on some buxom
damsel with cleavage like the Inarraska Canyon. Most likely, he had
an ulterior reason for that smile.
    Tikaya folded her arms across her chest and
kept her face neutral as he closed the distance.
    Five’s first words destroyed her attempt at
equanimity. “You’re the cryptomancer?”
    “ What? I, uhm, no. I
mean—”
    Tikaya winced. Even if he had no ulterior
motives, her almost-ally would surely turn against her if he knew.
Like the rest of the marines, he would resent her, hate her, glare
at her and...
    He was staring, not glaring, at her, and not
with hatred. Was that—her eyebrows arched—awe?
    “ It’s your people’s term,”
she said, “not what the name plaque on my desk says.”
    Hoping for nonchalance, Tikaya stuck out a
hand to lean casually on the weapons rack, but her focus was on
him, and those gold flecks in his brown eyes, and she missed the
target. Her fingers clipped the corner and slid off, giving her no
support. She pitched sideways with a startled, “Errkt,” and would
have landed on the deck, but Five lunged and caught her.
    Chortles burst from the surrounding marines,
and flames torched her cheeks. Five straightened and released her
with a pat on the shoulder. She groaned and avoided his eyes. If
there had been awe there before, that was surely gone now. In
avoiding his gaze, she had a clear view of the marines pointing at
her and nudging each other. Even Bocrest’s rock-eating jaw flapped
with guffaws.
    “ Walk?” Five suggested
gently.
    “ Dear Akahe,
yes.”
    She departed the scene at a vigorous pace,
and Five, with his long legs, easily matched her. His guards fell
in behind. At least they proved stolid and silent save for the
clatter of gear and synchronized thump of boots on the deck.
    “ I must thank you for
this.” Five gestured at himself, encompassing the clean uniform and
haircut. “I got the story from Corporal Agarik. It was kind of you
to include me in the reward for your wager.”
    “ You’re welcome,” she
muttered, knowing her thinking had not been purely altruistic.
“Though I’m surprised the captain let you out, lost bet or
not.”
    “ He made me promise not to
make trouble during the exercise periods.”
    “ Ah.” Interesting that
Five’s word was enough for the captain to trust him. She glanced at
the guards. To some extent anyway.
    “ It was worth it.” He
stretched his arms overhead, then windmilled them, something the
confines of his cell would make impossible. “I almost feel like a
human being again.”
    It had certainly improved his mood. She
thought of the silent, brooding man she had spoken to the first day
and could not help but feel pleased her request had lightened his
spirit. She gave him a smile and missed a step when he smiled back.
Oh, that was nice.
    Stop it, Tikaya, she chastised herself.
Prisoner or not, he was one of them. That uniform fit