Thea

“Why does being told to do what we were already planning on doing make me not want to do it anymore?” I asked Bryce as we left Penn’s Pretty Prick.

“Because you have a problem with authority,” she pointed out as we came to a stop a few meters from the entrance, and I scoffed.

“Bullshit. I only have a problem with authority when it tries to tell me what to do.”

“That’s what authority does, Thea. It tells people what to do.”

“Well, I don’t like that.” I crossed my arms and glared back towards the bar.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine most pirates do either. There’s definitely more to this than the obvious.” Bryce paused with a frown, and I gave her time to think. Whatever we ended up doing next would probably determine our reputation on Paradise for the rest of our lives. “We still need to talk to Anali’s fixer. That part hasn’t changed, but let’s distance ourselves from Jax. We also need to build some sort of reputation before people start connecting Sora to Captain Leo’s death, otherwise we’ll have every pirate on the station after us. I was hoping that Captain Penn would be a quick way to do that, but now I’m not convinced.”

“So, what’s the plan, then? Like for right now, tonight. Also, how long do we have until everyone starts trying to kill us?” I didn’t mind fighting a few pirates, but Paradise wasn’t a small place, and I didn’t exactly like our odds if it was us against everybody.

“I’m not sure, but it feels safe to say that it’s probably not long. Although Samira destroying Leo’s ship works out in our favor, especially with this other captain already vying for his position. If we’re really lucky, then maybe she’ll claim the kill and we won’t even have to worry about it. As for what we do tonight, though…” Bryce trailed off in thought for a moment before shaking her head and continuing. “We have about six hours until we need to meet everybody back at the Lost Lass. We might be pushing it, but I think we should try to meet Zen tonight. If it ends up taking too long, then I’ll just send a message to Leila and have her pass it along to the others.”

“Works for me. Do we know which way to go?” I asked as I looked around the area where we were standing. Paradise had come alive since we arrived earlier this morning, and now the streets were packed with the full spectrum of pirate-y people.

“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be hard to find out. We’ll just need to get to a transit station to see a map.”

“Alrighty, lead the way, princess.” Bryce grinned at me before moving in the opposite direction from where I remembered the transit station being. It only took a few minutes of walking for me to realize that we were going the right way. Which made me really glad that I wasn’t having to navigate Paradise by myself.

The transit station was only about a kilometer from the bar, but the streets were busy enough that it took us nearly half an hour to get there. Once we eventually did, Bryce spent all of twenty seconds studying the overly complicated map before nodding to herself and leading the way to the transit pods.

We had to wait in line for about ten minutes for one of the smaller ones, which was just big enough to comfortably fit four people. The door sealed after we stepped in and the sound of the busy station disappeared. Bryce then typed something into the console on the wall, and we were off.

“My guess is that it’ll take the better part of an hour to get to sector eleven, but the trip back to the Lost Lass is going to be close to three. We’ll need to make sure to give ourselves enough time to get back.”

“Daaamn, we’re getting a full tour today, aren’t we?”

Bryce shook her head as she chuckled. “We’ll hardly see the full thing. This station is absolutely massive. There are thirty-six sectors, and I doubt we’ll see more than three of them by the time the night is over.”

I blinked back at her, a little lost for words. “That’s… a lot.”

“Yeah, it is, and I’m not sure how it’s divided up, but there definitely seems to be some system to it. Whoever manages this place is a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.”

“Wait, do you really think it’s just one person?”

“I doubt it, but it’s probably a single faction. It’s too well organized for multiple groups to have come together to create it,” Bryce laughed quietly to herself. “Besides, I doubt pirates would be overly interested in municipal planning. They probably brought in an ex-corporate leader or something to handle all of this.”

“Well, I don’t know, I think it’s kind of romantic to imagine somebody being forced into piracy in order to survive, then one day finding their true calling in the most boring job imaginable.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea. “It’d be like every action movie ever, only in reverse.”

“I’ll have you know that city planning isn’t a boring job. It’s very challenging and extremely rewarding.” Bryce pretended to be offended before laughing with me. “Really, I didn’t handle any of the planning on New Eden myself, but I worked with the people who did, and it was complicated. I can’t even imagine the logistical nightmare that Paradise must be.”

“Babe, we’re on a space station full of pirates, many of which may be hunting us soon, and all you can do is admire the city infrastructure?” I gave her a look, which just caused her to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “I hate to be the one to break this to you, but I think you might be a bit of a nerd. It’s okay though, I still love you.”

“Well, as long as you love me, then I guess I’ll be okay.” We sat in silence for a few minutes, just watching the station zoom by the transit pod windows, before Bryce spoke up again in a more serious tone. “After you fought Aris, you mentioned that there was something you wanted to talk about once we had a chance to catch our breath. Would now be a good time for it? We don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’m not sure how many more opportunities we’re going to have to just sit down and talk like this in the near future.”

“You did say it was a three-hour ride back, right?” I half-joked, but when her concerned expression didn’t change, I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a tired sigh. “No, you’re right, there was something I wanted to talk about, and now’s probably as good a time as any.”

Bryce waited patiently as I tried to get my thoughts in order, and when I eventually did, I continued. “Something happened when I fought Aris. Somehow, I was able to absorb the mana from his attack, and once I managed to pull in everything from that, I started pulling it from Aris directly. Then when his body ran out, I started, like, eating his soul. I don’t know how I did it, it just kind of happened. I would’ve eaten it all without even realizing, but Lilith stopped me half-way through.”

“That’s…. Concerning.” Bryce was rubbing her chin while frowning at me after making her amazingly unhelpful deduction.

“I know it’s concerning! That’s why I’m concerned!” I might have shouted a little, but in my defense, I was really kind of freaking out.

“I’m sorry, Thea. I know that was unhelpful. Would you mind answering a few questions about what happened?” Bryce asked, and I nodded. “It feels safe to assume that this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to you, correct?” I nodded again, so she continued. “In that case, it could be any number of things. Maybe it was just a latent ability that you never thought to try before, or maybe you were able to do it specifically because Aris was your brother and your mana was similar enough to be compatible.”

Bryce shook her head as if to dismiss all of her own theories. “Honestly, with the information we have, I think the most likely cause would have to be what I did to bring you back. I was only able to decipher maybe seventy percent of the magic surrounding your lost core, and I did my best to replicate the bits that I couldn’t, but there’s a good chance I missed something.” She added one last idea, almost as an afterthought. “If it were just the mana from his attack, then we could attribute it to your heritage. I mean, there are plenty of stories about a phoenix absorbing power from fire, but this definitely feels like more than that.”

I let out a sigh as I deflated into my seat. “I think Aurora can absorb fire like that, but I never could. Besides, we aren’t exactly phoenixes, just celestials that were made by a phoenix. There’s a pretty big difference…” I trailed off before remembering an important detail. “Wait! I stabbed Aris with my sword right before it happened. His soul was leaking out and everything. Maybe that plus learning to absorb fire mid-fight caused it?”

“It’s possible, but we’d need to experiment to be sure,” Bryce responded, more than a little lost in thought. “Let’s speak with Aurora when we get back and see if she’s willing to demonstrate her fire absorption. That way we could try comparing her ability to yours. The circumstances with your sword is going to be harder to replicate, though. Unless there’s someone around here you’re willing to kill just to test a theory.”

I shook my head. “Nobody comes to mind, and even if I could think of someone, it wouldn't matter. Aris broke my sword.”

“That’s… problematic. You don’t have a backup weapon, do you?” Bryce asked, and I just kinda shrugged.

“Technically, I still have that rifle I took from your human friend forever ago, but that’s really it.”

“Which human friend?” she frowned at me, but then suddenly seemed to realize who I was talking about. “You mean Aiden? The guy who helped kidnap me back on New Eden?”

“Yeah, that’s the guy. I still have his gun.”

“Thea, you wound up on your ass the last time you fired that. There’s no way you can fight with it.”

I didn’t disagree with her. There was a reason I hadn’t really used it since I rescued Bryce, and besides, I was better off fighting in close quarters where I could make use of my strength and speed. After all, no matter how hard you pulled the trigger of a big dumb rifle, it would still shoot exactly the same. Well, probably. I wasn’t exactly what you'd call a gun expert.

“Any chance you could make me a new sword, then? Maybe one that’s fireproof this time?” I asked with a half-grin, but Bryce shook her head.

“Sorry, that’s a bit beyond my ability. If you want a new one, you’ll have to buy it. Although, it’s been about a week since we adjusted the mana you’re receiving. It’s probably about time to look for any damage, and if everything looks good, then maybe we could consider increasing the amount. It’s not quite a soul-destroying sword, but it would help if we end up in a fight.”

“Sure, inspect away.” I stood up from the seat and lifted my arms into the air before spinning in a circle. “Like what you see? Or maybe you need a closer look? I can strip if you want.”

I started to lift my shirt while continuing to spin, but Bryce stood up with a smile to catch me by the shoulders and stop me in my tracks. “Hold still, you dork.”

“Sorry, no can do. I’ve been told that I have a problem with authority.” I grinned up at her and stood on my tippy-toes to steal a kiss.