Chapter 72 Noelle
NOELLE
The first thing Noelle noticed the next time she woke was the light.
Soft and golden, it slanted in through a nearby viewport, bathing the small medical room in a warm morning glow.
It must be daytime—real daytime—not that endless cycle of fluorescent nightmare lighting from Thune’s lair.
This was gentle and natural—warm enough to make her feel like she might actually be alive again.
The second thing she noticed was the figure sitting at her bedside—Bright.
The Light Twin’s broad shoulders were hunched slightly, his long arms draped over his thighs, hands clasped loosely between them.
He looked like he hadn’t slept, though his sandy brown hair was brushed and neat.
The shadows beneath his eyes made his tanned skin look a shade paler than usual, and his mouth was tight with worry as he gazed down at her.
The moment she looked at him, his expression changed.
He leaned forward eagerly, a spark of desperate hope lighting his face.
“Hi, sweetheart—how do you feel?”
His voice was soft and tentative—as though he wasn’t sure how she might feel about him.
Noelle opened her mouth to respond, but her tongue felt like it had been rolled in cotton, and the moment she tried to sit up, her temples exploded with pain.
“Oooh,” she moaned, sinking back against the pillows, pressing a hand to her forehead. Her head felt like it had been stuffed with fireworks which had all been set off at once.
“Yeah, that second pink drink he gave us has a mean after-kick,” Bright said, grimacing sympathetically. “Hang on while I get a nurse.”
He rose and strode to the wall panel, pressing a glowing square. Moments later, the door hissed open, and a woman entered the room. She was tall and curvy with dark hair pulled back into a neat braid, dressed in Kindred medical scrubs that shimmered faintly with embedded threads of light.
“Noelle?” she said kindly. “I hear you’ve got a bit of a headache.”
“Ugh…you could say that.” Noelle winced again, eyes squeezing shut.
“I’ve got just the thing,” the nurse said warmly. She came to Noelle’s bedside and swabbed her upper arm with something that smelled clean and sharp—like antiseptic and crushed mint. Then she gave her a gentle injection, barely more than a prick.
Almost instantly, the pain ebbed.
Noelle felt instant relief as the pressure inside her skull dissipated like fog burned off by morning sun. She let out a long sigh and opened her eyes again.
“There. How do you feel now?” Bright asked, coming to sit beside her once more.
“Better.” Noelle sat up cautiously, testing her body. Her limbs still felt a little shaky, but her head was clear. “Dios, Kindred medical technology is amazing.”
“Yes, it is.”
Bright gave her a faint smile, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes.
“How did we get here? I mean, back to the Mother Ship?” she asked, frowning slightly. “And where’s Burn?”
At that, Bright’s expression shuttered completely.
His shoulders slumped and the light in his eyes dimmed.
“He won’t talk to me,” he said quietly.
“He won’t?” Noelle blinked. “But you two are best friends! You have been for years.”
“We used to be. Now, apparently, he never wants to see me again.”
There was no disguising the ache in Bright’s voice. It was raw with sorrow and his whole body seemed to sag, as though the weight of grief and regret was too much to carry upright.
“What? But why not?” Noelle demanded, heart squeezing in sympathy.
Bright looked away, jaw clenched tight. His hazel-green eyes shimmered—just a little—and he blinked rapidly as though trying to chase away tears.
“Because while you were gone upstairs looking for the cleaner bot, Thune made us… do things together,” he said at last, voice strained. “I know you saw some of it. It didn’t bother me too much—I mean, I love Burn and I always have. So what if I had to suck his shaft and swallow his seed?”
“Oh, er…” Noelle cleared her throat delicately, trying not to let her surprise show. “Is that all he made you do?” she asked carefully.
“Not quite.” Bright sighed. “And that’s not the worst part—not from Burn’s point of view. I think he could forgive me for sucking him… but that bastard of a Trollox made him suck me too.”
His voice broke a little on the last word, and he looked away again.
“He did that?” Noelle asked gently, trying to process the information. “But, well… I would have thought that Burn would rather take a shock from the collar rather than do… well, anything he didn’t want to do.”
“I didn’t want to let him do it either. But that fucking pink drink—it got into both of us and, well…
” Bright ran a hand through his hair. “I wanted to let him. And in that moment, I think he wanted to do it too. Of course, the minute the aphrodisiac started wearing off, he wasn’t too happy about it. ”
Noelle exhaled a slow breath and shook her head.
“Well, he needs to get over it,” she said firmly. “The two of you are supposed to form a Twin-Bond, remember? What about going to see that Seer on Therim Five?”
“We’re not going.”
Bright’s voice was flat, defeated.
“But you should—I’ll still go with you,” she promised quickly.
“No, you don’t understand. I called Therim Five—I was hoping the Seer might give me words of wisdom to know how to deal with Burn,” Bright said. “But, well… she passed.”
“Passed?” Noelle frowned. “Madre de Dios, you mean she died?”
He nodded slowly.
“Just last week, in her sleep. She passed very peacefully, according to her granddaughter. So you see…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, blinking again.
“There’s no point in going anymore. And no way that Burn and I can ever form a Twin-Bond together—even if he was talking to me.
Which he’s not, and probably never will again.
He’s already moved out of our suite,” he added bitterly.
“Oh, Bright…”
Noelle reached for his hand, holding it tightly. She felt helpless…hopeless. She had really thought the three of them belonged together. Despite everything—her age, her trauma, their broken pasts—they’d made her believe in something again. In love…in family…in fate.
But now it was all unraveling.
But she wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t.
“I’ll come with you,” she said again, more firmly. “As soon as I get out of here. We’ll go knock on his door together and demand that he talk to us so we can straighten this thing out. There’s no way a few drunken blow jobs should ruin your life together,” she declared, chin up.
Bright let out a rough laugh that was more than a half-sob.
“I don’t know…” he muttered. “The thing about Burn is that he can forgive others, but he can’t forgive himself. I think he still blames himself for his family’s death—even though we both know it wasn’t his fault.”
Noelle nodded slowly, remembering Burn’s story. The pain in his voice…the hollow in his chest that no amount of kindness could seem to fill.
There was a hard core inside the Dark Twin, she thought. Something bitter and cold and unforgiving—but it was turned inward, not out. He wore his pain like armor, and it had kept him alive… but also alone.
“It would take a miracle to get through to him,” Bright said bleakly.
“A Christmas Miracle,” Noelle said, trying to inject a bit of hope.
“Yes, a Christmas Miracle. I’ll see you later, my lady,” he said softly. He leaned down to hug her, brushing a kiss over her cheek with aching tenderness.
Then he left, shoulders still slumped, and Noelle watched him go, her heart aching for both him and Burn.
A Christmas Miracle—that’s what all three of them needed.
If only she could find one.