Page 41

Sonja’s expression crinkled into a rueful smile. “Just remember that when you’re stuck coordinating all these projects with Earth.”

“Oh, my God,” Mia groaned. “You had to remind me.”

Jyrak came in a few minutes after Sonja left. “The evening meal hour approaches. Would you like for me to arrange a meal for you?”

Mia set aside the letter she’d been writing and stood. “No, I think I’m done for the day. Unless you’re hungry?”

“Normally, my daughter and I take the evening meal together, but I am at your service for as long as you need me.”

“Nonsense. You need to maintain a routine with her.” Goodness knew those routines had anchored Mia’s own family during her youth. “How old is she?”

“But a toddler.” Jyrak tapped the side of her hand against her thigh roughly halfway down. “This tall already. She will be like her father, a great warrior of immense height and strength.”

“I like the sound of that. Being short has definite drawbacks. Where’s your mate? Is he from thisjutji?”

Jyrak’s expression flickered. “My mate died in the earthquakes some years ago.”

“Oh, Jyrak,” Mia said, horrified at her lack of tact. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you in such a short time?” Jyrak rolled her shoulders in a not-quite-human shrug. “Rejala, my daughter, she escaped the burning fever. The one that claimed my fertility.”

Mia’s heart twisted at the sorrow underlying Jyrak’s words. “Is there any hope that the infertility can be reversed?”

“None that we have found. I pray to the Fates every morning and evening that my daughter was spared this curse.”

“I hope she was.” But now Mia understood some of the looks the humans had been getting. Zoran had told her what happened. It hadn’t seemed real until she met the people who’d been affected. No wonder Raelka and some of the other females had been so abrasive.

“Come,” Jyrak said. “The sun grows dim. I shall accompany you home.”

“I can walk myself. It’s not that far.”

“No, Mia. Your mate has tasked me with protecting you in his absence. I cannot allow you to skirt the jungle unaccompanied, not until you learn to defend yourself properly.”

“Not on Earth,” Mia murmured.

And even on Earth, it wasn’t always wise to run around alone in an unfamiliar locality, something she’d learned at a very young age. Living in California had made her soft. The worst things she had to deal with back home were traffic and office politics. Just because the road leading from Zoran’s apartment to the science center was lined with walking paths didn’t mean it was safe to walk alone.

“Precisely,” Jyrak said flatly. “I do not mean to frighten you, but even here predators occasionally wander into settlements.”

The memory of a starkly white creature slinking through the forest flashed into Mia’s mind and she shuddered. “Ok. No more arguments from me.”

Mia slipped her tablet into her robe’s pocket and closed up her office. Several people were still working, including a few humans. She waved to anyone who looked up as they left, then stepped into a clear, humid evening with Jyrak by her side.

As they walked, Mia prodded Jyrak into discussing her education and training. The more Jyrak talked, the more certain Mia became that she’d been right in her assessment: Jyrak’s talents were being wasted. Nothing for it, then. She’d have to find a proper assistant, preferably someone who wouldn’t mind helping her fellow humans, too.

She was searching for a way to approach Jyrak about hiring such a person when a flash of white caught her eye. Her skin broke out in goosebumps as a chill ran down her spine.

Jyrak turned toward the darkened jungle, her eyes intent on the shadowed foliage. “What is it?”

“I thought I saw—” Mia shook her head. Whatever she’d seen, if anything, it was gone now. “Nothing. Just an, I don’t know. On our way from the spaceport yesterday, I thought I saw an animal in the jungle.”

“There are many animals in the jungle, Mia.”

“I’m aware.” Mia shook her head again. “It’s probably nothing. I just thought it was odd that a pure white animal would—”

A dagger appeared in one of Jyrak’s hands, and she grabbed Mia’s elbow with the other. “You’re certain it was white?”

“Positive.”