Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
He looked serious and scary and incredibly hot as he uttered the words. Of course it helped that he was wearing his Captain’s uniform—a black fitted suit coat and trousers with bronze stripes up the sides, along with shiny black knee-high boots. The bronze braid on his shoulders gleamed the same color as his eyes and his large, curving horns.
I had heard Turk talk about his ship before, so I knew how serious he was. It was almost like The Illyrian was a woman he was in love with.
I wished I could hear him talk that way about me someday.
Gurflug flushed a muddy greenish brown color.
“My apologies, but I don’t understand how you could possibly value me and that little snot of a boy equally, Captain!”
“Watch it with the name calling,” Turk growled. “I don’t allow my crew to fight. Anyone who starts a fight gets a beating with the pain whip I mentioned. Is that understood?”
“I haven’t agreed to join your crew yet! I could go anywhere!” Gurflug protested.
Turk shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling.
“Then fucking go. You know of any other ships that are looking for a new Cross Dimensional Navigator right now? Because I don’t. But you’re welcome to go try and find one. Or…” His tone got softer, almost coaxing. “Or you can stay here and make twenty thousand for a single mission.”
Gurflug’s wide, rubbery lips pulled down into a frown.
“I was promised thirty thousand until this little…until Cass came along.” Somehow he managed to make my name into a curse as he shot me a sneering glance. He acted like I was something he’d scraped from the bottom of his shoe.
Turk shook his head.
“No, you mentioned thirty thousand but we hadn’t agreed on a price yet. My offer is twenty thousand—take it or leave it.”
Gurflug glared at him, his purple eyes bulging.
“And what does the pup make?” he asked, nodding at me.
“Ten thousand,” Turk said promptly. He looked at me sternly. “Take it or leave it, boy.”
I wanted to protest—why should the big, smelly Galafruxian who couldn’t navigate his way out of a wet paper bag make twice as much as me? Especially when I had proved over and over that I was the superior navigator?
But I reminded myself that I wasn’t aboard The Illyrian for the money. I was here because I needed desperately to get away from my arranged marriage and because I wanted to be near my Fated Mate. So I swallowed my pride and nodded.
“I’ll take it, Captain,” I said humbly.
“Good.” Turk looked pleased. He turned to Gurflug. “And you?”
“I suppose I’ll take your offer as well,” the Galafruxian huffed. “Though it’s a criminal underpayment for one with my vast knowledge and experience,” he added, glaring at me with his bulging purple eyes.
“Good,” Turk said again. “Then I’ll have Snuffy show the two of you to your quarters and get you acquainted with the rest of the crew.” He raised his voice. “Agatha? Call Snuffy up to the bridge please.”
“Who’s Snuffy?” I asked blankly. I had never heard Turk mention any such crewmember before. I thought I would have heard of him—I eavesdropped on Turk’s conversations as much as possible every time he came to visit my big brother.
“He’s the ship’s cabin boy,” Yorrin the sloth-like pilot answered. He smiled at me. “He’s nice—you’ll like him.”
“Oh, uh, thank you.” I smiled back at him, hoping it was the right thing to do. I’d been reining in my temper almost from the moment I had stepped aboard the ship—doing my best to remain calm and collected and project myself as a male. Was it okay to smile? To show any emotion at all? I wasn’t quite sure.
At that moment there was a sound like feet pounding on metal. Up from a vertical tube set back to the far side of the bridge came a strange little figure. He had gray skin, like a Brute, but he didn’t look like any of the Brutal Clan warriors I had ever seen.
After a moment, I realized that his skin color was because he was covered in short, dense gray fur. When he turned to look at me, I saw he had bright black eyes and a long, flexible nose that wiggled in the air, as though he was sniffing everything. He also wasn’t much taller than me which was nice, since everyone else I’d met so far on board The Illyrian towered over me.
“What’s to do, Captain? What’s to do?” he asked in a high, squeaky voice. I had been trying to lower my own voice to appear more male but hearing a crewmember with such a high voice made me feel better.
“Snuffy, these are our two new navigators—Gurflug and Cass. I need you to take them down to the crew deck and get them installed in the navigators’ bunk,” Turk told him. “Oh, and get them both fitted for uniforms, all right?”