“Upgraded? What does that mean?”

It sounded like a good thing, but one couldn’t be too sure. The officer’s expression was blank as he replied, “It means you will no longer be sleeping in these quarters. Come with me, and I’ll show you to your new room.”

“All of a sudden?” I asked, my eyebrows raised. “Why me? How did this hap—”

“I’ll explain on the way, as I’ve got other matters to attend to. For now, please pick up the pace.”

I shut my mouth, conceding. Picking up my rucksack, I followed the officer out the door. He seemed to have no intention of speaking as we walked, so I reminded him to.

“Will you tell me how this happened? Was there a mistake in serving out the rooms? Did I pay for more than what I was given? If that is the case, I’d rather you simply return to me the balance. I need the money more than the room.”

“You paid the right amount for your class, Miss Mavis,” said the officer. “However, somebody paid more to have you upgraded. He requested that you be placed in the Shoot Class but unfortunately, there were no more available cabins. Thus, you have been moved to Stem Class.”

He?

“Who is this person you speak of?” I inquired.

“His identity shall remain undisclosed to you.”

I shrugged my shoulders even though they couldn’t see. “That’s alright. I already know who it is. Tristan Devereux, right?”

I got no response, the officer stalking forward as though I’d said nothing.

I ceased my advance. As the good officer reached the end of the hallway and the stairs, he realized I wasn’t following. He turned his questioning gaze unto me.

“I’m not coming with you,” I stated calmly.

That darn Devereux chap. He had made such a big fuss about my decision to join him on this quest. He ignored me, not even bothering to wait for me to board the ship. He was the one who separated himself from me, and now he thought he could give me indirect orders?

I wouldn’t make it easy for him.

Tipping my chin up in defiance, I declared, “If Tristan Devereux wants me to leave these quarters, he’ll have to tell me himself.”

The officer started, “It is why I have come here—”

“I do not care, Officer,” I interjected, a firmness in my tone. “You have other matters to attend to. Rather than standing here arguing with me, I suggest you go back to Tristan Devereux and inform him that I’m staying. Excuse me, sir.”

I turned on my heel and walked back down the hallway.

Anna and Sera were surprised by my prompt return. Thus, I explained the situation in simple terms.

“You know the person who paid for your upgrade?” Anna echoed. “Why not board together in the first place?’

“Because he is an idiotic hard-head,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “His ego is so big, it won’t let him admit to his wrongs and make amends.”

“Ah. So you two had a falling out?”

“Yes.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And our relationship won’t be repaired unless he bows his head and actually talks to me.”

Tristan’s behaviour was downright exasperating. He avoided speaking of the fight that caused all this no matter how many times I oh-so subtly brought it up, merely declaring a new war of silence against me. If he thought he could win this way, he was terribly mistaken. I could be just as much of a hard-head as him.

“Well, I think if it’s a chance to leave this dormitory, you should take it,” Anna opined. “Your husband cares about your wellbeing in spite of everything.”

I nearly choked, releasing a huff of disdain. “He is not my husband.”

She nudged me in the side playfully. “No need to act coy, hey. It’s obvious he is. Only a husband would do this.”

Sera added, “A good husband.”

The two of them giggled, with me failing to understand their giddiness.

Bidding them a good night, I returned to my awful decker at the back of the room. I felt my sleazy neighbour’s gaze on me the whole time I walked there.

“What happened to the upgrade? It was a mistake, wasn’t it?” he taunted.

Annoyance rippled through me as I tossed my rucksack on my bed.

He snickered. “Had to be. You might be cleaner than the rest of this riff-raff, but I’ve seen you eat. You belong down here.”

It was difficult to ignore the insufferable chap with the nonsense he spewed. Luckily, my troublesome decker-mate had fallen asleep. So, I turned and glared at the pervert lying across his bottom bed, a lazy smile on his face.

“Will you keep quiet and go to sleep already?” I requested in my most civil tone. “Or must I listen to you yap all night?”

“I know something else we can do that’s guaranteed to bring you the greatest pleasure.” He bit his lip suggestively, wiggling his bushy eyebrows.

I resisted the urge to gag openly at his lewd insinuation, more over in a smelly bunk room of twenty people.

Placing my hands on my hips, I pinned him with a hot glare. I opened my mouth to spit out a string of insults and threats so venomous, he’d think me a taalmin and wish to switch beds. The retractable ether core blade was tucked away in my boot out of habit, and I wouldn’t hesitate to carry out one of those threats.

“Listen here, you filthy mongrel—”

“Mavis.”

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of that voice, my tongue stuttering.

I lifted my head to the side, where I found Tristan’s very cold, very displeased face.

“You…you actually came…” I breathed in disbelief, as though he were an apparition. An apparition I’d cast away to protect myself, but secretly wished for its return once it was gone from my sight. And now that the apparition…the fiend appeared before me, dare I say a twinge—just a twinge of excitement sparked within me.

Leaning down, Tristan picked up my rucksack onto his shoulder, then grabbed my wrist. “Let’s go.”

Before I could protest—as if I even wanted to—the pervert neighbour hoisted himself off the bed, staggering a bit on his feet. “Now, now, you aren’t going anywhere. I staked my claim on her first, brother.”

Tristan cast him a glare so frosty it could as well cause the Riddens Sea to freeze over. He pulled me behind him, placing himself between me and the sleazebag.

“Claim? You think she’s a piece of meat?”

“She’s—”

“Shut your damn mouth,” Tristan snarled, something almost primal beneath his tone—something he barely held back. “Come near my betrothed again, and I will toss you off this ship to the sea serpents. Understood?”

The man didn’t answer, his face paling. He gulped, wordlessly stepping back.

Tristan pulled me through the middle aisle of the deathly silent bunk room and out into the hallway.

“Let me go,” I said.

He paid me no heed, continuing to drag me down the hallway.

Anger surged through me. “I said, let me go.” I wrung my wrist free from his grasp, shuffling back from him.

He rotated and glowered at me, his jaw ticking, but said nothing. Still.

It infuriated me.

“Is this how you’ll be?” I questioned, the anger causing my voice to wobble. “Will you not listen to me at all?”

“All you’ve done so far is talk, Mavis.”

“Only for you to ignore me,” I asserted, seething. “You lashed out and pushed me away. Now, you come looking for me and demand that I follow you wherever. You said you didn’t wish to see me again.”

“Yet you showed up in front of me,” he retorted, his glare burning like coals. “You cannot blame me for that.”

“What of this ship?” I nodded at him. “What of now? You left me behind, didn’t you? You and I boarded separately. So what gives you the right to have my class upgraded? Me—an outsider; a stranger. What gives you the right to come down here and stand up for me? To call me your betrothed in front of everyone?” My voice lowered at the last statement, the words piercing me sharper than I thought.

Tristan seemed taken aback, not expecting my hostile reaction.

But I pressed on, facing him with ferocity. “Answer me, Tristan. Answer me.”

“What do you expect me to say?” he exploded. “You asked that I pretend you’re not here, but how can I when you’re right in front of me? In lands far from home and unbeknownst to you, how can you expect me to not think about your safety and wellbeing? Of course, I will worry. Of course, I will think about you. And of course, I will not let you sleep in a dingy bunk room around scummy bastards that could hurt you!”

His voice lowered to a rasp, “ It’s because I care about you.”

There was a flutter in my chest; soft yet delightful, watering down my anger and coaxing out a fondness towards him.

I knew he cared for me, but hearing him actually say it carved it onto reality. Behind his scowl, and within his eyes, I saw pain mixed with something else; longing, maybe.

My lips parted to speak, but he raised his palm to silence me.

“Do not.” It was an order. “Do not make this any harder than it has to be and just come with me.”

There was a pause—thick, heavy with mixed emotions and unspoken words. He broke it with one word.

“Please.”

I was done in; defeated into complete silence and submission. When he turned to walk away, I followed him. Watched his back as we climbed the stairs and turned into a new hallway.

We stopped in front of a door labelled 35B. Tristan knocked on the door, which was answered by a female greftyr.

She smiled brightly at me. “Ah! You must be my roommate. Mavis, right?”

“Pardon the intrusion,” I said, coming closer to her.

“It’s no problem at all!” she assured me, opening the door wider for my entry. “Come in!”

I smiled. “Thank you. My bag—” I turned around to receive it from Tristan, only to find it on the floor.

Tristan was already walking back the direction we’d come.

Author’s chit-chat:

Aw, my star-crossed lovers. For how long will they be swinging in this in-between?

Next chapter will be in Tristan’s P.O.V!

Thank you for reading😊 and don't forget to vote⭐️