Page 81

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said, trying to calm him. “You know Garret.”

“Niset, do not like.”

“He’s harmless.”

Kryxis didn’t look convinced as he continued to glare at the door. “Don’t want him near, Dani.”

Gently, she pushed him away from the door. He stared daggers at it but allowed her to lead him back to the bedroom. “Harmless,” she repeated. “Now come shower with me and forget all about it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Dani

A soft chime rang out, waking her from a deep, dreamless sleep. She groaned, rubbing her arm against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing her dark ceiling above. She looked over at her digital clock on the wall and saw it read 0800 am ship standard time. She’d nearly slept ten hours, a record for the last few months.

She rolled over, reaching out for Kryxis, and found his side of the bed empty. Confused, she looked across to the bathroom and saw it was dark. Rising to a sitting position, she blinked away the sleep.

“Kryxis?” she called. Her heart flipped as she reached for her robe. Wrapping it around her, she padded into the kitchen. “Hey.”

He was sitting, clothed, by the window, a giant blue gas planet behind him out in the distance with several moons close by. On his lap was her cat, Chowder, purring as he dug his claws into Kryxis’ pantleg while Kryxis scratched along his back.

Dani leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. “I’m glad you two are getting along so quickly.”

“Xa,” Kryxis said, petting Chowder’s head.

She wanted to ask him how long he had been sitting there but figured it didn’t matter much. He had spent enough time in her bed. She couldn’t blame him if he wasn’t as tired as her. They had stayed up for a little while before, finishing the meal she made, teaching each other more words as she was desperate to understand everything he said, and she suspected he felt the same. When they did lie down, she fell asleep quicker than usual, curled up against him. It was the best sleep she’d had in a long time.

She went over to her coffee machine and started making a cup for them both. Feeling his eyes on her made her feel warm and giddy as she tapped on the screen. She was going to make a call to Tom after, see if he’d heard anything back yet. Another thing she’d done before they went to sleep was tell Kryxis about her plans.

“If we can get a hold of the alliance, they might be able to help,” she’d said as they sat at the table, finishing the dinner she’d made. “You can’t be stuck in here forever.”

“Don’t mind,” he said. “As long as—”

“Don’t say as long as it’s with me. That’s cheesy, for one.”

“Chees…ey?”

“Yes, and another, you’ll go insane. No matter how much you want to be near, you need to be able to be free to go where you like. You don’t deserve to be caged or forced to hide away. If everything works out…maybe you’ll be able to roam wherever you like.”

“Wherever…”

“Maybe even go to the vrisha home world.”

He grunted, then looked at her gravely. “As long as I’m with you. Don’t care how cheessssy that sounds.”

She laughed. “We will figure it out.” She leaned over and kissed his brow. “You and me.”

There was a soft chime coming from her computer, and she realized she had a new message. She went over to her computer, bringing up the log screen.

It was another message from Nadine. She and the heads wanted to see her straight away.

Damn, they wouldn’t give her a break.

“I have to go out,” she said, closing out the log. “The ship-heads want to see me again. Probably to try and convince me to give up the datachip again.” She grabbed it off the desk and showed it to him. “But this is our ticket to your freedom. We can’t lose it. So, don’t let Chowder accidentally bat it under one of the cabinets. Got it?” It was a silly request, but Kryxis bowed his head and promised to guard it anyway.

She went to the bedroom and slipped on a shirt and pair of pants. “I shouldn’t be long again. It’ll actually be good to talk to them after the dust has settle from that last meeting.” Unless they were calling her out to fire her, which was very possible. She tried to stay positive as she slipped on her belt. She went over to Kryxis and pressed her forehead to his. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon,” he said.