Reproach

ON THE OUTWORLD FRONTIER, GOOD MEN ARE SCARCE AND FRIENDS ARE EXPECTED TO SHARE. The Far Outworlds: an endless frontier of uncharted worlds and alien stars. A vast, unsettled stretch of space where generations can pass without outside contact and colonists can live out their lives without seeing anyone from the outside universe. That prospect terrifies Mariya more than anything else. She's one of the only Deltans on a colony ship where no one understands her religion or culture. She was supposed to marry a good Deltan boy and raise a family with the help of her many relatives, but now she's headed for an unsettled world on the Outworld frontier. Twice a starbound refugee, every last shred of security has been stripped from her life, leaving her future prospects uncertain. There is one man who can change all that, but he's married to her best friend. Mariya doesn't need to steal him, though—she's perfectly willing to share. Whether or not her friend is willing is something else entirely, but in the end, she may not have a choice.