Unexpected hurt flashes across Lyre’s face. It clears quickly, though, and before I can say anything else, she nods and heads for the engine room. I remain where I am, tapping my fingers on the counter, and realize uneasily how my words imitated phrases Momma often said to me. “Shut up, Scorpia. We’ll talk about it later. Mind your own business.” I think of Lyre helping me to my room when I was stumbling drunk, supporting me when I made a grab at leadership, and sigh, pressing my fingers into my forehead.

By the time this is over, I’m going to have a lot of explanations and apologies to make to my siblings. But until then, I’ll do what I have to do to keep the family together. We can’t afford to break apart right now, and sometimes it feels like I’m the only one trying to stop it from happening. Corvus certainly isn’t stepping up. All he does is brood or pick fights with me, like he’s determined to keep a wall up between himself and the rest of the family.

I pass the day drinking and trying not to think of the planet we’re headed toward and what I’m going to do when we reach it. Luckily for me, none of my siblings are eager to dig into our cargo or inquire about details… except for Corvus, of course. But he’s busy with a long shift at the wheel I assigned to him.

Once the day is gone and I’m sufficiently drunk, I fold myself into bed. My thoughts still plague me. Lyre’s words replay in my head. “Can we trust him?” The truth is, I don’t know. Thus far, I’ve had to remain content that he isn’t trying to steal my title as captain. Corvus might be broken, but he hasn’t seemed to be the kind of broken that endangers us. Just the kind that makes him mope around and make snippy comments.

And apparently get into a Devan bar fight when I needed him to back me up. Maybe Lyre is right—maybe he could be dangerous, to himself and to the rest of us. He does seem to be getting worse. Are my own feelings about my brother preventing me from seeing the threat he poses? I think on that, chewing my thumbnail. Damn Lyre and her suspicions, putting all these doubts in my head. Now, I won’t be able to sleep unless I check on the cargo.