Page 16

Calyx recognized the soft hum of a med pod before he opened his eyes. He startled and pushed against the enclosure until a cream-colored Molzaed appeared.

“Calm yourself, please.”

“Renjik? Traik? The rest of my team?” His voice came out in a harsh croak.

The Molzaed nodded. “All are well. The Azar is just there,” a cream arm waved behind Calyx, “and the Rucieth in a med pod on a passing Trade vessel.”

Calyx scrunched his brows. “Trade vessel?”

“Yes, one in employ of Vaphrir, the Trade captain who supports the Alliance. They are following us to Corix 23, where he will be transferred for further treatment.”

“He’ll live?”

The Molzaed dipped its head. “The loss of his arm was unfortunately necessary, but he will live.”

Calyx relaxed back into the soft surface of the pod. His nanites were quiet. No doubt running diagnostics on all his systems. “How much longer will I be in here?”

The healer hummed. “Until the pod decides you are well enough, of course. I will sedate you so the wait is easier.”

He didn’t object.

A scream bubbled up his chest and out of his throat. Alarms blared. The pod cover sprang open with a hiss, and long, slender fingers gripped his wrists.

“What’s… happening?” His teeth clenched and his back bowed as his veins seared like lava through his body.

He felt a pinprick on his bicep and then blessed, cool relief spread from that point up his arm and cascaded like a wave until it reached his toes. He slumped, barely aware of the Molzaed standing over him.

“We believe your nanites are malfunctioning. We have suppressed their function for now and are searching for a solution.”

“Malfunctioning?” His mouth felt like it was full of sludge, his tongue struggling to form the word through the mire.

“We understand you acted as a conduit for a large amount of energy. The nanites seem unable to recalibrate after the damage done.”

If he could have rolled his eyes, he would have, but his eyelids were too heavy to lift.

His parents always said the nanites were both a blessing and a curse.

He just now understood. He tried to call them up, but they were eerily silent.

It was strange. His whole life, he could control every function, pull up any known data, calculate at dizzying speeds and now… Nothing.

Another prick in the opposite arm, and darkness swallowed him.

He regained consciousness slowly, awareness returned in minute degrees.

He felt the warm med pod beneath him. His fingertips prickled and the sensation moved up his arms. The shush shush of machinery almost blocked out the sound of an argument.

He thought first it might be far away, but realized whoever argued was doing so in heated whispers.

“No, I will not.”

“It could be days…”

“It has been weeks!”

“We need you in the lab.”

“Uv’ex is perfectly capable of handling the synthesizing process.”

Razili? Calyx fought the depths that seemed to pull him under even as he struggled to surface.

“Give up, doc. She’s not going anywhere.”

Renjik? The last he remembered, the Rucieth was still in recovery.

“You need to tend to your health. The baby…”

Calyx’s eyes shot open and he sat up gasping like he’d plunged into the waters on Kocylite.

“Calyx!” Razili’s cry was strangled.

He turned his head, his neck protesting like his muscles forgot how to work. “Razili?” He croaked, his throat dry and raw.

She was by his side in an instant. She reached for him, but pulled back in hesitation. He wanted nothing more than to grab her, pull her into his arms, and never let her go. A wave of dizziness hit him and she was there, helping him lie back down.

Tears streamed down her face and though his hand felt like lead, he managed to lift it and caress her cheek. She grabbed his wrist and leaned into the touch.

She smiled at him, and it was the most beautiful sight in the known galaxies.

“I’m here.”

A pale green Molzaed looking at a tablet grumbled, “She’s been here.”

Calyx couldn’t tear his eyes from Razili. She looked exhausted. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, her hair limp where it escaped her braid. He swept his gaze from her head to her toes, lingering on her abdomen. She seemed unhurt, just tired.

“I want to sit up.” Calyx struggled to get his free hand beneath him, but he was too weak and too unwilling to let go of Razili to free both hands.

“I got you.”

His head tilted back as he was slowly lifted. His view filled with Traik’s smirking face.

The Molzaed fussed over him for several more minutes, telling him to move slowly. It had taken two weeks for his nanites to repair themselves. He was told he’d woken several times in intense pain, though thankfully, he didn’t remember.

The unusually bossy Molzaed shoved a straw into his mouth and ordered him to drink.

He did as told, and almost instantly felt better.

The healer droned on about follow up therapies to strengthen his muscles.

The healer tested his nanites by asking him a litany of questions, and they performed perfectly.

It seemed hours before he was released; the Molzaed keeping a close eye on him as he walked the perimeter of the med bay to prove he was stable on his feet. Satisfied he wouldn’t fall on his face the instant he stepped through the doors, the doctor sighed and shook his head, waving them out.

He was grateful for Traik’s presence on his right shoulder. No one said anything, but Calyx knew he flanked him just in case. Razili walked on his left, and Renjik trailed behind. It was a slow procession to his quarters. The door slid open and he stepped inside, feeling disconnected from reality.

Even without noting the passage of time, it seemed like something should have changed while he was gone. He felt monumentally altered. He turned in the doorway and his eyes fell on Renjik. A swell of guilt filled his chest. “I’m sorry.”

His friend glanced at his arm where it ended halfway between his shoulder and where his elbow had been.

“It sucks, but it’s not your fault.” Renjik met his eyes. “I’m glad I was with you. You saved me, Calyx. The Molzaed say I had minutes before the med pod couldn’t save my life. I’m alive because of you.”

He shook his head. “I should have accounted for the possibility of active Scozid presence.”

Renjik clasped his shoulder with his remaining hand. “Don’t carry guilt over me, Calyx.”

He released him and stepped back. Before he turned to leave, Renjik gave him a lopsided smile. “Besides, now you owe me.”

Traik grunted a laugh. “Didn’t you just get through telling him not to carry guilt?”

Renjik laughed as he disappeared around a corner.

Traik turned to Calyx, then Razili. “Will you be okay getting settled? I can help if you need.”

She shook her head. “No, thank you, Traik. I think we can manage from here.”

The Azar nodded, squeezed Calyx’s bicep in farewell, and disappeared the same direction as Renjik.

Calyx made it to his couch before collapsing. He stared at Razili as she leaned against the door to his quarters.

After a dozen long heartbeats, he gathered the courage to speak one word.

“Baby?”

Razili grinned, unable to contain her joy. Calyx was awake. He seemed whole, if weak, which was understandable given how long he’d been in the med pod.

Every time he’d woken up screaming, her heart twisted. They weren’t sure his nanites could repair the damage, and even if they were, the healers couldn’t tell her if they would be fundamentally altered. She didn’t know if she would get him back—even if he woke, he may not be the person she knew.

She kneeled at his feet, grinning up at him. “Surprise!”

He shook his head, his eyes wide with wonder. He reached for her and she straddled his lap and settled in his arms.

“I thought I’d lost you.” She told his neck, holding on tight, afraid he might disappear if she let go.

“Never. I told you I would always come back to you.”

She pulled away to look into his eyes. “I love you.”

He brushed his lips to hers in a featherlight caress. “It was worth almost dying to hear those words.”

She laughed. “I knew the moment they told me you’d been captured. I think I’ve loved you from the first day you stepped foot in my lab bare chested and demanding I hurry.”

He grinned. “You noticed my chest?”

“Is that really what you want to ask?”

“Are you truly pregnant?”

She nodded as an impossibly wide grin split her face. “We fulfilled rhun .”

A look of sheer panic overtook his features. She cradled his face in her hands and kissed him. “I hope you still love me, too. I never intend to give you up.”

He relaxed beneath her. “I loved you from the moment I stood outside your lab for the first time, my skin on fire as rhun flared. It took me three days to work up the courage to enter.”

“You stalked me for three days?”

A lecture was gathering steam in her head when Cora’s voice rang from the door. “Incoming!”

A shadow flew around the room before settling on the end of the couch to reveal Irul. She chittered and squeaked, eyes slanted, obviously giving her own lecture. Razili decided hers could wait.

Calyx chuckled beneath her. “I missed you, too.”

Irul hopped across the cushions and leaned into their sides. Cora bounced onto their other side.

“Group hug!”

A steady stream of visitors flowed in and out for the next few hours. Razili noticed Calyx’s eyes droop, his movements slow. She declared visiting hours over and locked the door.

Calyx moved up behind her as she turned. He brushed his thumbs under her eyes. “You look tired.”

She smiled. “Just what a girl wants to hear.”

He shook his head as his thumbs morphed into his fingers and trailed down her neck and shoulders. “I’m sure I look ten times worse. I feel like I could sleep for a year. Will you stay with me?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Thank you for reading! I hope you loved Razili and Calyx’s story. The next (and final!) book in the Ka’atari Warriors series is coming soon!