Onidus 10
I grab a protein bar from my stash in the ship and lower the ramp, eager to see Solara again. “ION, call if you need me or detect combatants on or within range of the base.”
“Understood. Monitoring scanners.”
I press the Close Ramp button. It flashes over my hand, detects my Vibrance, and seals.
Based on the location of the females walking the hallway on my wristband, I pick the one whose movement suggests she’s searching the rooms for someone specific.
I hike the stairs and take a back passageway to a junction ahead of her path, then I lean against the wall in the shadows, remove my mask, and quickly eat.
Stuffing my wrapper in a pocket of my armored pants, I reattach my mask and brighten my skin as she approaches.
Solara hurries by, then stops and backpedals. When she sees me, she grins. “You’re playing with me.”
I finish chewing and reply, “Maybe.”
She crosses her arms. “Well, I have had more attention from males than I like. I really just wanted to stay close to someone I trust.”
“You shouldn’t trust me.”
“Oh?”
I don’t have to wear a mask that shows me smirking now as I straighten and walk toward her. “Definitely not.” Not with the things I want to do to you.
“Well, I feel safer with you. Had a Lissvisin grab me and tell me I better watch my back.”
“What?”
“Back side.” She rolls her eyes. “I swear all of these males are horny as fuck and less selective about who they get with than I had hoped.”
“Point him out when you see him. I’ll keep him off of you.” I want to touch her, pull her close, and never let go. “Want to sit in the garden and catch up?”
“I’d like that.” She inches closer as we walk through the complex and out into the quiet race grounds beneath the night sky. “Sorry about those girls.”
“Bah.” I stuff my hands in my pockets and stroll alongside her to the garden lit up with spotlights, a radiant fountain in the middle, and glowing blossoms among the hedges. “Not like it’s my first time hearing such things.”
“They don’t know what real beauty marks look like.” Solara stops under a tree that droops clusters of white blossoms, releasing glowing pollen. She reaches for my face. I try to let her, but can’t, so I look away.
She lets out a frustrated breath. “What happened to your eye?”
“Myndrous blade. I was nineteen.”
“Can you see out of it?”
“Yes. I just lost the lens, so I got an augmented one that connects to my ship.”
“So that was your ship?” She looks behind her at a chuckling Ginarigon carrying a female inside. “There’s only one Isonian ship here. So Casion and Nathius came on the transport.”
“I did too. ION Striker just followed me.”
“Why?”
“He’s loyal like that. And because I’m a squad commander now. I have to stay connected.”
She smiles. “I expected no less. But you sure disappeared fast.”
I shrug. “Saw that Leosantian talking with you and didn’t want to interrupt. He’d be a good match.”
“Maybe. Not sure I’m feeling it yet.” Something hides in her gold eyes as she peers up at me. “Why’d you disappear?”
“Had to take a call from my general.”
“Work.” She nods. “Right.”
“It is the reason I’m here.”
She hugs herself and looks away. “I understand.”
I hate the way she hides in her skin. “Something wrong?”
Solara settles onto a bench. “It’s nothing. It’s just the way this universe works, I guess.”
I ease myself down beside her, leaving a little space between us, but still sitting close enough to feel her body heat. I need it to remind myself she isn’t a dream or just a voice in my head. “You mentioned your family. What was it like going home?”
She laces her fingers together and leans her elbows onto her knees.
“They just used my trauma as a ploy for attention. Never asked me what happened or how it affected me. So I buried my feelings. I kept thinking that at least I had a family to go home to.” Her eyes drift to mine for a glance. “But it was hell.”
Solara tells me about college and her mother’s manipulation, the reputation she had to uphold, the stuffy dinners, and the augment addictions of her sisters. Then she opens up about the secret missions she went on to disaster areas around the world.
I love her more with every story she shares. But I don’t know how I could ever care for her like she deserves when I’m still broken.
She has become so good and pure in her soul that I don’t want to be the one to darken her light. I take life for a living.
“Anyway, stopped by to see Chris, my dad’s old friend, before I finished my last rounds of humanitarian aid. Said my goodbyes. If I can’t find a male who will take me, I’m on the roster for Abr outreach to worlds in need of medical assistance. What about you?”
I lean back and stretch my legs. “Besides freeing Aegeris pack from their world, helping them build a fleet, taking out Myndrous ships in space, hunting Nebs, assisting Caligno with recovering abducted females…” I circle a finger in the air.
“Kind of hard to list everything when all you have to do is look around.”
“What do you know about Ksions?”
“The portal jumpers struggle to stop the Myndrous, who now abuse portals to invade worlds. Ksions were always the protectors of the universe’s gateways.”
“And Vlinari?”
I hum a note in disappointment. She’s asking about the species I considered acceptable for her.
“You’d think their mind-reading ability would be enough to keep them safe.
But they’re not pre-cogs. They can’t predict the future.
It’s like my aural discernment and telepathy.
I can read their minds, open minds. But Myndrous are still bigger, stronger, and far more ruthless.
The Vulturous faction of the empire isn’t the isolated cell we thought it was.
They’re everywhere. And they keep trying to steal gifted beings to replicate special skills on their ships through their helarina machines. ”
Solara covers her mouth. “And I’ve been playing diamond doctor. Damn.”
“It’s alright. That is your world.”
“Was.” She turns toward me. “Tell me how I can help.”
I don’t want her to get involved in the war.
A snarl beyond the hedge border makes me look.
Solara, to my surprise, tucks herself against me. “What was that?”
I draw her close and search the area for the source of the noise. Encouraging her up, I keep her behind me and scout closer.
A knobby and armor-plated brown Derorsin smashes into an orange Ginarigon.
“She’s mine!”
“She doesn’t want you!” the Derorsin remarks under strain as he catches and controls the Ginarigon’s attack. A cameradrone hums closer, and I immediately guide Solara away, hiding her face against my chest. Her arms wrap around my waist.
I soak in her warmth against me and encourage her inside. It’s not my place to stop that. I’m here to keep Solara safe.
Solara sighs wearily. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
“I’ll walk you to your room, make sure you get inside without trouble.”
“Thanks.”
Solara leads me to the second floor and a door that opens for her with a swipe of her armband.
I stop in the doorway and scan the room.
I don’t see anything concerning. But I’m just distracting myself, trying not to think about the bed and how desperately I want to lie on it with her and hold her like I did in the caves of Delsfein.
Solara turns around and tilts her head as she peers up at me. “So respectful, waiting for permission. I see that hasn’t changed.”
“It’s not my place to assume what you want.”
She closes in until I can feel her breath through my mask. “I know you’re more than just a Pyronic Master. You were that at fourteen. You’re really going to tell me you can’t read my mind?”
I could. “I don’t want to. I save that skill for people I don’t trust or respect. Now, why don’t you get some rest? It’s your first day off of Earth. It’s a lot to process. Give yourself time to think about things.”
“All of my propositions?” she asks with a snort.
“How many have you had?” I ask.
“Six. Three for sex. Three from interested parties.”
“Why hang out with me?”
“You’re safe.”
I look down at the floor. “I am probably more dangerous than anyone here, save for maybe Amphirans.”
She giggles. “I do not have the desire to be electrocuted.”
“Our Afterburn isn’t much better.”
She lifts a shoulder. “Ginarigons have drugging bites. Nytheralians have mating scales on their dicks. Helsvians have spined tethers. Every one of you has something dangerous. I know what I can handle.”
“You can take a lot.”
She looks away like she’s suddenly uncomfortable.
“You haven’t been with anyone?”
She slumps, and the fire in her eyes fades. “Hard to date when I don’t like opening up to anyone. No one understands. I can’t tell anyone my whole truth. Delsfein is a kind of trauma only you know.”
When Solara covers her mouth, and her eyes redden, I ease inside and shut the door so the passing racers don’t see her and stir up more drama. I scoop Solara into my arms and hold her tightly. “Hey. I’m here.”
She cries for several minutes, but as she does, I sense a shell cracking around her aura. She has been strong for a long time, and alone.
Solara breathes deeper and softens into my arms. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m going to be wandering forever, like this little black hole because I’m so empty after seeing that kind of devastation.”
I nestle my mask in against the side of her head. “I know that feeling. But you are not a dark star. You are a shining light to all those you help. I want you to think about them tonight, not the past.”
This is where I want to be. I don’t want to leave. The plushness of her body beneath her blue race suit is addicting. I want more. My heart begs me to stay, but I won’t. Because taking anything from her that she isn’t ready or willing to give would be the ultimate crime to me.
“Think about your plans after this week. Focus on the power you have now and what you can do with it to counter the enemy. Then get some rest, and try again tomorrow.”
She sniffles and nods as she leans back. “Sorry to be a drag on your night.”
I can’t leave her in such a mess. Lifting her chin with a finger, I meet her eyes. “Solara, you are more powerful than you know. This has been the best day I’ve had in years.”
When she nods, I grab the door handle and force myself to back into the hallway. “Take a nice long, hot shower. Put on some comfy clothes, and rest easy. You’re safe tonight.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow?”
“Count on it.”
She gives me a shaky smile and turns for the shower.
The moment I shut the door, I lean back against her wall and slide to sit on the floor.
I want to stay with her, but I now know how pushy and controlling her family was, how they manipulated her into doing things she didn’t want to do.
I don’t want to be that way with her. I want her to choose me if I’m the one she wants.
Hearing voices at the end of the hallway, I Mask myself so no one can see me.
Two males stalk down the hallway: a Thorian who breaks off and knocks on a door near the end, and the Leosantian who spoke with Solara at the party. They chat about the Derorsin and Ginarigon fight until the door the Thorian waits beside opens.
As the Leosantian approaches Solara’s door, I get to my feet and plaster myself against the wall. From the stairwell, a Xarthrin exits and targets him.
Of course. Xarthrin live in crystal castles. They have as lavish a lifestyle as Leosantians.
“What are you doing here?” the winged Leosantian male challenges. “All you want her for is sex. I heard your conversation.”
The dark green Xarthrin grins. “You only want her because she’s good for business, and you can make money off of her.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
I quietly watch their exchange. They’re completely oblivious to the fact that I’m listening to everything. I agree that Solara has value and her hips are a pair of delicious curves I want to get my hands on, but not in the way these two idiots are talking about.
“Fine. Whatever.” The Leosantian backs up. “I don’t want to fight.”
The Xarthrin sucks a tooth. “That’s more like your passive kind. You hide behind your high tech. But when it comes to blood and bone, you shy away.”
As the Leosantian walks off, the Xarthrin starts for Solara’s door.
I’m about to unmask myself and step in his way when someone calls to him from a stairwell.
A pink-banded female leans seductively against the wall, swipes her wristband over a keypad, and opens a door.
“Heard you’re a big boy. I’d love to see it. ”
He rumbles a note in lust and stalks down the hallway to her, disappearing into her room.
I slump back to sit on the floor. Soft footsteps walk away from the door, and I think Solara has heard everything.
ION Striker, you good?
“Yes, sir. Can I help with anything?”
No. I’m sitting on guard outside Solara’s room. These males want to use her, not love her.
“I am sorry to hear that. You need rest too.”
I’m fine, ION. See you in the morning.
“Goodnight, sir.”
I tuck my knees up, brace my elbows on them, and settle my head into my hands. I drift into a half-awake state, a practiced skill of partial sleep while I open my senses to sounds and auras I don’t like.
But one thing lingers with me. Solara hasn’t dated anyone either because she doesn’t want to open up. At least that’s something that we have in common. I rake my fingers through my hair. I wonder if she’s holding back like I am, here and now, because she still isn’t…ready.