Page 13

Quinn

I’m glad for a room with no windows, because this headache is killing me. My eyes remain closed and I stay perfectly still in my bed hoping it will go away, but knowing it won’t. Do the Bohnari even have something I can take to get rid of it? I guess that’s a question I should have been asking earlier.

A soft knock on my door makes me groan, which only exacerbates my aching head. I slowly roll off the mattress and grab my robe. I walk out into the seating area—tying the belt as I go—and press the release button. I’m not at all surprised the door slides open to reveal Olivia.

In each of her hands is a steaming mug, no doubt filled with the special morning brew the Bohnari’s drink. It’s not quite coffee, but it’s also not quite tea. We didn’t ask what it was exactly—or at least, I didn’t. It’s good and I don’t want to ruin that by discovering what it might actually be made from.

“For you.” Olivia passes me one of them.

I take a small sip and ignore the pain of my burning tongue. “Thanks.”

“How’d you sleep?” She holds up a hand. “Never mind. I already know. A better question is…how are you holding up?”

“As good as I’m going to get for the day, I think. My head hurts. There’s a throbbing pulse beating right behind my eye.”

Olivia winces. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

I wave off her apology. “Don’t be. Hazards of a night filled with nightmares.”

She plops down on the sofa with a leg tucked underneath and pats the cushion next to her. I sit at her side and rest my head on her shoulder. She leans hers against mine and we sit quietly for a few minutes. Finally, I breathe out and sit upright with my drink.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Olivia asks.

“Not really, no.”

She bobs her head gently. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“I do, thanks, babe.” That’s just one of the many reasons Liv is my best friend. She’s there when I need someone and doesn’t push me to talk about something when I’ve said I’m not ready. She knows exactly when I do and don’t need to be prodded to let things out.

“Of course.”

We take a few more drinks before she sets hers down on the table and turns to me. “Do you want to go get some breakfast?”

Maybe food is what I need to make the headache go away. But the thought of eating anything doesn’t sound good. I’m not really hungry. Except I know from experience that it’s probably the way I feel that’s doing the talking, and the minute I put something in my mouth I’ll be starving.

“Let me brush my teeth quick and throw something on. Then I’ll be ready.” I chug the last few swallows of the beverage and disappear into my bedroom.

I get ready in record time. My hair gets thrown up in a messy bun, because it’s easy. Olivia’s in the kitchen area washing the mugs when I come out.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know? There’s an automatic washer built into the cabinet.”

She shrugs. “I don’t mind. Besides, you know I’m one of those weirdos who actually likes doing dishes.”

I swivel my head slowly, because I will never understand how that’s possible. My mother and I used to joke I was allergic to housework. Of course, I still did it, because I wasn’t going to leave it all for her. Olivia even dries them both and sets them on the counter.

“I’ll grab them when we come back.”

We head out and walk down the hallway toward the lift. “No Devon and Lindsey?” Not that I don’t like our two friends, because I really do. It’s just been a while since it was Olivia and me spending time together without anyone else.

“Devon commed me and said they were both going to stay in this morning, but they might meet up with us later on for lunch.”

It’s a quick ride down to the ground floor. The gathering area is empty except for two women sitting a fair distance from the other, both sipping on a drink. One has a book of some kind—she’s too far away for me to read the title—and the other has a 3D puzzle on the table in front of her.

Outside is cool, but temperate. Two guards stand outside the doors and there are two more at each visible corner of the building. I suspect the other two corners have a man stationed there as well. Bohnari move about the streets, but our surroundings are different than they were when we went to the market square yesterday with Johnna. People had been curious about us and did a lot of staring. Today their heads are down and they walk painfully slow like a boulder is being dragged behind them. Most have a black band wrapped around their upper arm.

I glance at Olivia who returns it. Neither of us speak while we stroll through the somber streets. At least it’s clear the Bohnari are grieving for the person who lost his life last night.

“Maybe we should have stayed in as well.” Is the market even open today?

“If it’s still like this when we reach the food vendors, we’ll go back and have the chef cook something up for us.”

That sounds like a good plan to me. I almost feel guilty for being out and about. Just then the scent of food reaches me. At least now we know businesses are open. At least those that serve food, anyway. We turn a corner and a large cloaked body collides with Olivia. She stumbles back with an oof and he reaches out to keep her from falling. I only get a minor glimpse because of the hood covering his head, but the skin tone and flash of teal hair marks him as Bohnari.

“Pardon me, female,” he says in a gravelly voice, still holding onto her. “I apologize for my distraction. You aren’t hurt are you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” She glances down at his hands. “You can let go of me now.”

“Perhaps I like touching you.”

“Perhaps you’d like my knee to your nuts even less.” Olivia pastes on the fake smile she uses when she was getting harassed by the jackasses back at the sanitation facility.

The Bohnari’s laugh is deep and gruff. Finger by finger he loosens his hold until, at last, he slowly draws his hands away and his arms hang down at his sides. “You’re a fierce human. I like that.”

“Good for you. And it’s not female or human. We have names.”

He continues grinning. “Of course you have a name. Would you like to share it with me?”

“Not really.”

“I’m Janik, if that will make it easier for you to tell me yours.”

“It won’t. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some place to be.” She walks around him and I do the same.

“Lovely females like you should have an escort,” he says right behind us before he moves up to keep pace with Olivia, completely ignoring the brushoff she’d been trying to give him. “I’ve heard there are rebels in the city. You never know when you might run across one of them.”

There’s obvious amusement with a hint of sarcasm in his statements, but he’s also not wrong. And with the circumstances behind the death that happened last night, signs point to the rebels being the culprits. From everything Johnna and Horek told us, they’re known for sabotaging equipment. Who else could it have been?

“They better hope I don’t run across one of those murderous cowards,” Liv snaps.

The Bohnari jerks back at her vehemence, but quickly recovers. “The rebels have murdered no one.”

I scoff. “Tell that to the dead Bohnari in the mines.”

He shakes his head and takes several steps away from us. “You’re wrong. No one was supposed to be there.”

Olivia crosses her arms. “Well, they were.”

“I must go.” He spins and takes off, nearly colliding with another Bohnari exiting a building.

We stand there for a second and then look at each other. Olivia’s forehead’s wrinkled and there’s a crease between her brows.

“Was that weird or was it just me?”

I nod. “Definitely weird. Even before he took off. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you knock a guy down a peg that fast before. Not that he didn’t deserve it.”

“He was way too full of himself. I hate that shit.”

“I know.”

“Come on. We can restart the conversation after we get some food and sit down.”

We turn another corner and spread out before us is the market. Lining each side are all the various food options to choose from. We passed a place yesterday that Johnna pointed out served really good Bohnari breakfast, although they don’t actually call it that.

“You good with here?” Olivia asks when we reach it.

“Works for me.” I’m actually glad there aren’t too many people bustling around yet and that it’s quiet. My head still aches, but at least the throbbing is dull.

We head inside and are immediately assaulted by the most delicious scents. I haven’t eaten enough of the food yet to be familiar with the smells of specific dishes, but there’s a mix of savory and sweet. When Liv asked me to breakfast I really hadn’t been hungry, but now that I’m here, my stomach’s decided to change its mind. It rumbles in anticipation.

There are a few people seated and eating already. They take us in and return to their meal.

“Greetings, females. Welcome to my establishment.” The Bohnari at the counter grins widely.

He’s one of the few I’ve seen whose horns aren’t completely shorn, although his closely cut hair might also make them appear taller. Kind of like how I heard some men back on Earth a couple hundred years ago used to shave off all their pubic hair to make their dick look bigger.

“Greetings,” Olivia replies.

“What can I get for you this morning?”

“What do you recommend?” I’m not good with making choices when there are too many. I’d prefer someone give me an option to go with and the next time I’ll either get the same thing or try something different.

“You can’t go wrong with the tannek. It’s the best thing on the menu.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll have the same,” Olivia says.

“Wonderful. If you would like to have a seat, I’ll bring it out when it’s ready.” The Bohnari gestures toward the mostly empty seats.

I nod my thanks and we pick a table that’s away from others. Once seated, a different male—one whose race isn’t known to me—brings us something to drink. I try not to stare since I’m uncomfortable when people have done it to us, but it’s hard not to when he’s only the third type of alien I’ve ever seen.

He’s the complete opposite of the Bohnari. Not only in build, but in coloring. After he walks away, Olivia leans across the table.

“He kind of makes me think of a skinny vampire snowman.”

I press my lips together. Maybe not quite how I’d describe the guy, but also not completely inaccurate.

“I am a Njeri, not this…vampire snowman.”

Olivia and I both jerk our heads up to find the man standing only a table away. His back is ramrod straight and he proudly juts his chest out. Liv’s face colors and I can tell she wants to break eye contact with him, but she holds it instead.

“That was unkind of me. I’m sorry.”

There are so many things to love about her, but Olivia’s ability to accept when she’s wrong or has hurt someone’s feelings and apologize—and actually mean it—is one of the biggest ones. The Njeri dips his head.

“I’m Olivia and this is Quinn.”

“Zerim.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you.” He inclines his head again. “You are human, correct?”

“Yes.”The least we can do to make up for our rudeness is try and be friendlier. “Have you lived on Bohna long?”

“I fled my home planet approximately seven anums ago.”

“Do you like it here?” Olivia asks.

Zerim pauses briefly. “There are times I miss my village and tribe, but I do not regret coming to Bohna.”

The door opens and a towering Bohnari walks in. My stomach does a little flip flop. It’s Horek.