Chapter 7 #3
Irena’s stare grew wider and then, most confusingly, it abruptly morphed into a grin full of mirth.
I had not made a joke; I’d been sincere with every word I spoke, but her smile…
it was beautiful. I’d take it. “Did you just call me homely, Flack?” she sputtered as her grin morphed into laughter.
My eyes widened in horror and I began shaking my head rapidly, but much to my relief, she was still laughing as she climbed onto her knees on the cot next to me and pulled the tray of food toward her.
“I’d never, sweetheart. You’re anything but homely.
I meant…” I was never lost for words, but I was now.
How had that backfired? But I couldn’t complain when the result was that smile, her laugh, and the final relaxing of her tense shoulders.
I found myself just taking the hit, smiling ruefully as she began dividing the food on the plate into two portions—one slightly bigger than the other.
As I chewed on the first bite she offered me, I forced myself back under rigid control and approached this conversation with a more practical mind.
She was trusting me, I knew she was, but I wanted more.
I wanted to know everything about her. Was now the time to ask?
Would she be receptive? I’d start off easy; that was the only way.
“Tell me what happened when you tried calling my ship, please?” She froze when I asked, but her gaze turned contemplative as she considered her answer, still slowly chewing on a small bite of food.
Today, it appeared she was trying to savor each little nibble and make it last as long as possible.
I tried not to hope this meant she wanted my company a little longer. Tried and failed.
“I guess… in hindsight it wasn’t so bad.
Just very intense. I didn’t mean to wait for the call to connect, but I wasn’t sure how long it took to go out.
” Ah, so that’s how she’d ended up actually speaking to someone on the Varakartoom.
I hadn’t wanted to expose her to that, because I knew exactly how intense those manning the bridge could be.
Aramon in particular, and the Sineater was even worse.
I held a vague hope she’d gotten Mitnick instead, but then she said: “He said fuck a lot.” Aramon—our pilot—had to be.
Asrai was the only language that used an equivalent swearword to fuck like the humans were so fond of. It translated perfectly.
Her eyes lifted from the plate, her fingers fidgeting with the smudged gray hem of her once-white dress.
“I tried to explain that you were on the Vidu and that you were being forced to steal a diamond for the pirates. I’m not quite sure if he understood…
He, uh… kept asking me if I was your mate.
What does that mean?” It was my turn to feel heat curl through my flesh, though I was certain my pinks did not turn pink the way hers had.
Aramon and his blazing big mouth, he always stuck his nose where it did not belong.
“They didn’t explain much about this quadrant, about aliens, did they?
” I said rather than answering outright.
She shrugged casually, but I knew what it meant.
They hadn’t explained anything at all. I could only guess how she’d gotten here, but there were only three options.
Given her lack of knowledge, that ruled out being part of the shipment of current-day humans that had wound up on Ker, or voluntary travel from the Alpha Quadrant to the Zeta Quadrant.
Which meant she’d been abducted long ago, then slumbered in stasis for years, if not centuries, before waking on the wrong side of the galaxy.
“Most alien species mate for life. The Asrai, the Xurtal, the Tarkans, and even the Kertinal all do.” I ignored the bite she offered me, as if she feared where this was going and wanted to shut me up.
I pierced her with a stare I hoped conveyed that I was serious, that this was important, and that I trusted her to handle it.
“And the Sune as well, like me.” I didn’t want to scare her again by telling her I knew she was mine, but I never lied, and I wasn’t going to start now.
“Ah, I see,” she whispered, and then she shoved the last bite meant for me into her own mouth and rushed to gather the tray.
She was retreating, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.
I could call out to say that Aramon just wanted me happy like he was with his human mate, but I doubted his motivations were so altruistic; he simply thrived on chaos.
The words were on my lips to tell her that she did not need to worry about such things now.
I still had more questions than answers, and all I could do was watch her run away.
The cell locked behind her, the door slamming shut with an ominous click.
It wasn’t until she’d darted out of the brig area and that door had sealed behind her too that disappointment gave way to fear.
Out of my reach again, alone and in constant danger.
Within reach of a crew with far too many males who would not care about such a thing as consent.
Would they see her healed face and see how truly beautiful she was now?
I bucked against the chains, fought even harder against the slowly fading chemical block that bound my shifting ability. I had to get out, now! Then the scream echoed across the deck, and the whole world turned red.