Page 21

He grabs the omenotau by a foot and drags it with all his findings back toward the ship. I’m sure the sled helps, but I’m still in awe of his strength.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“Sha’opqui? It means female warrior of Lazario. You killed an omenotau without a gun. They are called omenotau for a reason. My people believe they show us who the leaders are.”

“Have you killed one?”

He grins back at me. “Yes. I am Sho ’opqui many times over. But I tend to let them overshoot me and get in scuffles with themselves. Then I don’t have to keep doing it.”

“How many times have you been back?”

“A few. Do you want me to skin it?”

“What?”

“It is important to not waste life, even a deadly one.” He lugs the beast up to the ramp that MONA lowers for us. Elix sets the parts inside. “Go warm up. I’ll take care of everything.”

He extends a hand toward the iceblade. “While I would never have asked that of you, I am glad you came to help. That was an exceptionally large pack. Their population grows because mine has died off.”

I hand him the sword and watch as he lays the animal back and guts it. I’m curious how he survived a place as harsh as this. So as much as it is a struggle to watch him work, I respect that he’s doing it.

He works fast, but still, the pelt and the slabs of meat he cuts free are frozen in minutes. He has me carry the fur inside, while he lugs the meat in, seals it in a vacuum bag, and slings it in a cold cabinet.

“Can I help with repairs or anything?” I ask.

He motions to a cabinet. “Grab the blue bottle. Soak the inside of the fur and then lay it out in the drying room.”

I tap the cabinet, and it opens for me. I take the bottle and cart the skin to the drying room. After soaking the skin, I spread it around with my gloves and then switch on the dryer.

After the bottle is back in the cabinet, I find Elix outside, salvaging organs and other parts. He brings everything inside, sets it on a table in the medical bay, and closes the ramp.

“You want to know why we heal so fast?” He lines out the organs from the heart to the liver and tendons. “We adapted to our environment, to our predators like omenotau, but it’s also because of the nutrients in the algae in the ice.

“Is that why everything is such a dark green?” I ask.

“Yeah. And any time I get these parts, I always save them for emergency medical solutions like the one I used to save you.”

“You made that?”

“Someone has to engineer these things. My people were advanced in technology, specifically medical. Then we were forced to focus on militaristic advancements when everyone started invading to steal what we had when we didn’t want to give away what was precious. We didn’t want to just help those who could afford it. We wanted to help those who needed it most. As I am on my own, I have to do all of the things. Like you.

“You don’t resent your kind for what they did to you?” I finally ask.

Elix’s breath fogs the air as he works. “My love for my people is stronger than my frustration with the actions of the tribal leaders. Yes, they made me feel unwanted by my kind, but that doesn’t change what I am or am capable of.”

“Zariah,” MONA says to me. “Your suit will run out of life support in thirty minutes. I recommend returning to the cockpit and saving that thirty minutes in case you need it later.”

Elix motions me to the front of the ship. “I’ll finish everything and join you in a few hours. Get some rest while you can.”

I don’t like the idea of him doing everything on his own. “This isn’t fair to you.”

“Let me help because I can,” he says, already unloading parts to rebuild the heater core. “I could not help my kind because they refused me. And they died.”

“You may have perished with them.”

“A sacrifice well-earned.”

I remove my helmet and am greeted with frigid air that prickles my skin. He doesn’t get it. “But then I never would’ve met you, and I would’ve died back there at the lunar base. I am glad you are here and that you are who you are. I’m sorry about what happened to your people. But don’t dwell on what you could have done. Learn from it and use that for the future. Otherwise, those regrets and memories will become a natural poison. Trust me.”

He sets the parts down, gently braces my jaw in his hands, draws me close, and kisses me hard. His face tenses with a pain that eases the longer his lips caress mine. “Go warm up. I’ll come nestle with you later.”

I giggle at the word.

“What?”

“So you did build a nest in the cockpit?”

Elix’s face darkens. His eyes shine as he returns to his work. “I would’ve preferred furs for you. But blankets are all I have. I thought you would like it. It was a sign of care my father did for my mother. He always primped the nest for her.”

“I’ve never heard you mention them before.”

He shakes his head and looks away. I’m left to assume they died in one of the invasions, and that’s why Elix was left to be sorted out by the remaining tribal leaders.

“Hey.” I summon his gold eyes to mine despite the shivers that consume me as the cold air snakes inside my suit. “I am here for you. You don’t have to endure this alone. I know how hard that can be.”

He kisses me once more with warm lips. He really is adapted to this place. Elix nods toward the front of the ship.

I reluctantly leave him to do all the repairs by himself. MONA lets me into the cockpit and then closes the door behind me. I kick out of the heavy suit, set the gear aside, and climb into the swirled pile of blankets Elix arranged.

“MONA, can I talk to Elix?”

“I can open coms, yes.” The system beeps. “Just say his name in the future and I will relay your feed.”

Seems simple enough. “Elix?”

“Yes, Zariah?”

I love the gentle way he says my name. I curl up in the blankets until I feel like I’m melting into them. “The nest is perfect, with one exception.”

“What’s that?”

“It needs you.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“MONA, what is he doing?”

The screen closest to me blinks on, showing Elix standing still beside his workbench and looking toward the cockpit.

“If I may,” MONA says. “I think he’s trying to decide if he wants to finish or join you.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“I must get the heater core working so the rest of the ship can be safe for you. When I am done, I will come,” Elix says.

“You better,” I reply, chewing a thumbnail to keep myself from laughing. “I don’t like things being one-sided.”

A heavy breath comes over the speakers. I watch him set down what he’s holding and run a hand over his stomach as if it hurts.

“MONA?” I ask. “Is he okay?”

“His core has been acting up for about a year.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s entering the main mating phase of a Lazariot’s life span. But he’s not used to it. We have been working together for nearly a decade now. He has been focused on others and surviving.”

“So he’s fighting it.” Exhaustion grips me as I watch him continue working in the back.

“I believe so. He doesn’t like taking things for himself.”

“Scared he’ll lose them?” I tuck an arm under my head and feel the healing spot on my chest stretch.

MONA doesn’t respond.

“MONA?”

“Sorry, Elix was making a request.” It pauses. “You are correct.”

I pull a blanket over my shoulders, quickly sinking into a deep, weighted rest, wishing I could find a way to show him I could help him the way he’s helped me. Thinking back to the thick mounds of his abs and the way his body moved over mine as he pleasured me in the shower, gives me an idea.

Maybe all he needs is a little encouragement.