Page 18 of Her Alien Cyborgs (The Drift: Haven Colony #10)

“Thank you,” she finally managed to say. “I’m not good with feelings, but right now?” She touched her chest with her free hand. “My heart is full of them.”

They rose to their feet, their metallic wings hissing slightly as the feather-like structures slid over each other.

“Have you seen everything on here already?” she asked.

Kalan nodded. “We have. It explains a great deal but doesn’t tell us everything.

I can say that it contains damning evidence against the ones who created us, including their names and images of their faces.

We trust you to know who to send this information to.

I want revenge…” He withdrew his hand and clenched it into a fist.

“But we’ll settle for justice,” Fyr’enth finished.

“If we have to,” Kalan said, looking so disgruntled she had to laugh.

“Revenge never feels as good as you think it will,” she told them once she could talk again. Then she held up the hand with the data stick. “This will change things. I know who needs to see it, and I promise, they will find a way to make them pay.”

She tucked the device into a pocket. She’d have to review it all, of course, and she wasn’t looking forward to that. It was necessary, though. As hard as it would be, this wasn’t a scenario where she could choose ignorance. She had to know.

She toyed with the data stick as she considered what it might reveal as well as what potential problems it raised. At the top of the list was the simple fact that if the enemy figured out they had this information, someone would be sent to retrieve it.

They did not need that complication, but when did the universe care about what she wanted?

“Is there anything I should know right now?” she asked.

Kalan growled. “Yes.”

“Details?” she prompted.

“The files revealed the identity of the one in charge of Orio Station,” Fyr’enth answered while Kalan continued to snarl under his breath. “Her name is Detta Ani, and she is Vardarian.”

Holy fraxx . “Vardarian? One of your own did this to you?” She held up a hand in apology.

“Sorry, I know you don’t think of yourselves as Vardarian.

After this, who can blame you? I don’t understand how someone can turn against their own this way.

” She raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“No, I can understand it. Greed. Someone found this bitch’s price and then paid it. ”

Another thought popped into her head, and she looked up at them. “Wait. You didn’t know about this? Didn’t you see her or sense her somehow?”

“We had no idea.” Kalan looked more dangerous than she’d ever seen him. “None of us did. If any of us had known, we’d have shared that information no matter what it might cost us.”

“I bet,” she said, still trying to wrap her head around this revelation.

Fyr’enth looked at her intently. “Do you think the Vardarians will react strongly to this news? When the cyborg project was first revealed, the humans’ response seemed weak.”

“You’ll need to dig deeper to learn about the real outrage and pushback once the project was made public.

The corporations hold too much power, and that means their version of the story is the easiest to find.

There was so much of an outcry that the government had to take a stand and force the corporations to free the remaining cyborgs.

Not to mention handing over unimaginable amounts of money as restitution.

“As for the Vardarians? I know the prince will be incensed. I don’t know much about his sister, though.

She wasn’t happy her brother triggered a diaspora, and I know she doesn’t really approve of Tyran being mated to a human.

Nor is she thrilled that he and his anrik are in love with each other as well as with their mahaya .

” She shrugged. “But when she learns about this? I imagine she will shed her scales.”

They both gave her startled looks. “That can happen?” Fyr’enth asked.

“What? Oh. Not really. It’s an expression I learned back on Haven. At least, I don’t think it actually happens.”

“That’s good.” Fyr’enth lightly tapped his forearm. “It wouldn’t be much use as armor if it could potentially fall off.”

“There’s too much we still don’t know about our bodies,” Kalan agreed and then fixed her with a hot-eyed look. “But we did find out why we’ve been feeling the urge to bite you, zana .”

“I told you about that. It’s part of the sharhal .”

“You didn’t tell us everything,” Fyr’enth said. “We understand it better now. It’s about more than simply giving each other mating marks. It’s how we exchange our nanotech. Since you don’t have any, that would mean you would carry ours.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. The sentiment was right, but her delivery sucked harder than a black hole.

They both glared at her. “Why not? Having nanotech would give you so many advantages,” Fyr’enth said.

“And it would help protect you from harm,” Kalan added. His jaw was tight, and even his wings seemed to quiver with disapproval.

“One. I thought we just agreed that I don’t need your protection. Two, if we do this, there’s no going back.” She scrambled to try and find a way to explain her concerns without making things worse.

“It’s only been a few days. We don’t know if this is a forever thing.”

“You’ve said that before, but we’ve read all we could. So far every match between our species has resulted in a permanent bond,” Fyr’enth said.

“That’s the thing, though. You’ve already pointed out that you are not Vardarian. Not completely. What if something happens that changes things? We could end up like some of the other species that are compatible. You’ve read about those?”

“We have,” Kalan said.

She relaxed a little. If they’d already learned about this, they’d know it was a real concern. “Then you know that matings between your species and others happen, complete with the sharhal , but it doesn’t always stick. Sometimes the bond fades away.”

Fyr’enth spoke next. “What we have will not fade away, Alyssa. You’ll see it when you review the files yourself.

They tried to change us, to block that response so we’d never experience the sharhal.

It didn’t work. That’s one of the reasons they deemed us to be failures.

Killing machines are supposed to obey orders without question, and they cannot be allowed to have feelings… or find their mates.”

“That’s not who you are!” she protested.

“It’s not,” Fyr’enth agreed and moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with his clone.

“We are your mahoyen . You are ours, zana . And we are yours. Always. Why don’t you believe this?”

Kalan’s question pierced her heart and left her bleeding inside. Her first instinct was to argue, but she waited for one heartbeat and then another. She exhaled a breath she’d held too long and felt some of the tension leave with it.

Were they right? She let herself consider that for a moment and found herself smiling. Yeah, they were. This was happening. Then she stopped and reworded that thought. This had happened. She was mated to these two breathtaking males.

“I do believe it.” She took a deep breath. “I’m your mahaya .”

For one sweet, perfect moment she was suffused with joy. But of course it didn’t last, because reality reared its ugly head and intruded with yet another issue.

They both moved toward her at the same moment, but she threw a hand up to stop them. “But that still leaves us with a problem to solve.”

“Why are you still finding reasons to deny this?” Kalan demanded, his tone sharp.

“I’m not. But this is…” she waved her hands as she tried to find the right words.

“I believe we are fated to be together. That’s not the issue.

The nanotech is a problem, though. I don’t know anyone my age with that kind of upgrade.

I’m not young. What will it do to me? How long will I live once I have it?

Will I get all the benefits or just some of them because parts of me will be too old or worn out to repair?

We don’t know. I’m sure someone at the colony does, but we can’t talk to them right now. ”

Kalan still looked grumpy, but he didn’t interject.

“You want to wait until we know more?” Fyr’enth asked.

“I do. Hells, we don’t even know what kind of nanotech you’re carrying. Is it a Vardarian or a human design? Was there any mention of that in the files you gave me?”

They both went still and their eyes unfocused, which she’d learned meant they were accessing their onboard databanks.

“There’s no mention of it,” Fyr’enth confirmed.

“Does it matter?” Kalan asked.

“I think it does.” Hezza organized her thoughts for a second before explaining further.

“There are differences, though not as many as there were at first. From what I understand, Vardarian tech has a sort of countdown clock that lets them live a long time but not forever. They age, but it’s a slow process without a lot of the aches and illnesses that beings like me have to deal with. ”

She smiled ruefully. “In case I haven’t mentioned this yet, aging sucks.”

“But if you took the nanotech, you’d be free of all that,” Kalan said.

“Maybe. There’s no way to be sure until we talk to beings who know a lot more about this stuff.

And that’s just the Vardarian tech. For the human cyborgs, it’s different.

No one knows how long they’ll live. Some theorize they could go on for centuries, maybe even longer.

They’re working on changing that, but I don’t know how far they’ve gotten. ”

She took their hands in hers and squeezed. “I want to have a long life with you both. I really do. But before I make this decision, I need more information.”

Fyr’enth sighed. “I would still prefer it if you had the healing and abilities the nanotech would provide, but I understand.”

Kalan pulled his hand away. “I don’t.”

“Kal,” she said his name softly.

He shook his head. “I understand that this is another consent thing. I cannot force you to do this, but I don’t like it.”

He turned and stalked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” she called after him, even knowing she should just let him go. He needed time. So did she.

“I need a shower.”

Well, at least he answered her.

Fyr’enth raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers softly. “I’ll talk to him. This has all been…”

She finished the sentence for him. “A lot. I know. You go. I’ve got reading to do.”

After Fyr’enth left, she stayed in the cargo bay. The place felt empty now, and to a small degree, so did she. Unsettled, she set off for her quarters. For the first time since meeting her mates, she felt alone.

It wasn’t a good feeling. Hopefully it wouldn’t last long.

Hopefully .