open, taking Brax’s breath away as they revealed her warm eyes. A crease appeared between her brow as she tried to remember where she was exactly.
Then suddenly the girl shot up. “You!” she cried out. Sweat beaded across her forehead from fear and hunger.
Brax slowly raised a hand in front of him in a calm, passive manner. Moving with deliberate slowness, he reached behind him to pull out a covered tray. Removing the domed cover, he revealed a fragrant stew accompanied by a hunk of bread.
“I’ve brought you some food,” Brax said slowly. He placed the tray by her side. But the girl couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Finally he said, “Eat.” When she seemed to paralyzed to move, he sighed. He took the spoon and scooped up some stew. Holding the spoon aloft, he raised an eyebrow at her. She seemed too stunned by his actions to make a move. His lips twitching, Brax pushed the spoon into her slightly open mouth in one sure move.
The move seemed to snap the girl out of her shocked trance. Brax tried not to laugh as he watched her try to sputter something at him while chewing. Clearly hunger was too strong. She sighed in relief as she swallowed the hearty stew.
“Who-Who are you?” she finally said as she swallowed her mouthful.
Brax quickly shoved in another spoonful of stew. The girl made a sound of protest before chewing. She tried to reach for the spoon but Brax waved her hand away. She had had her chance and now he was now enjoying himself too much to hand over the spoon.
“My name is Brax ek Pykon. I’m the Head Overseer of the docks you landed on,” he said, pushing in another spoonful into her mouth. He watched as she began to eat more enthusiastically. This girl had clearly been starved. Brax tried to tamp down his anger at whoever had done this to her. “Who are you?”
The girl chewed slowly. He could see her thinking over her answer and the possible consequences it may incur. He tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. He knew it would be impossible for him to not seem at least a little menacing since he was just so much larger than her but that was something he couldn’t control.
“Sarah,” she finally said. Her voice held a little note of defeat as if she had decided she really was trapped. “My name is Sarah Peyton.”
Brax nodded. He fed her another spoonful. She didn’t fight him this time, allowing him to gently feed her. Brax felt a small glow of warmth knowing she trusted him enough to feed her.
“Ok, Sarah,” Brax said slowly, feeling as if he needed to talk slowly so as not to alarm this small creature. “I have called one of my maids to come here and take you back to my home.” Brax raised a hand to stop Sarah before she could protest. “I could guess your plans for today, little one. Hide out as long as you could and hop onto the first outward-bound ship you could find. Correct?”
Sarah sat quietly but by her uncomfortable fidgeting, Brax knew he had guessed correctly.
“Well, unfortunately all the ships coming today are from your sector—small human colonies very similar to the one you just left on Europa. Your luck there as a woman with nothing to your name except a very fragile body would not be safe.” Brax pushed in another spoonful of stew before she could argue. Sarah glared resentfully adorably over the spoon. Brax coughed to smother a laugh.
“So please, allow my maid to escort you to my home. You can rest and wash there. Then I will help you find a suitable ship to take you to a place where you can carve out a safer life for yourself.”
Sarah