Page 33 of Sway’s Peace (Delivery Service #2)

The door chimed again, and she looked up. Sway?

“Open,” she ordered the door, surprised by how steady her tone was.

It wasn’t Sway or Garnet. Instead, Loyalty’s big, purple body filled the doorway. He looked around curiously before focusing on her.

“Hey,” he greeted. “You alright? The hall is filled with the scent of your fear.”

“Oh, sorry,” she grimaced. “I’m okay.”

“What happened?”

“Erm, well…” She hesitated, not sure she wanted to say. But Loyalty had a right to know if he was around bad guys too. “I, er, just found out that Sway is from Rik-Vane.”

Loyalty’s eyes widened briefly in surprised before he stepped inside. The door shut behind him as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I didn’t know anyone could be from Rik-Vane.”

“He is,” she said, her hands clenching on the edge of her bed. “They all are.”

“I see.”

“He told me he was a murderer.”

Loyalty made a sound. It wasn’t quite good or bad. A totally neutral acknowledgement of what she was saying. “Interesting. Did he threaten you?”

“No.” She frowned as she answered. Because he hadn’t. At all. “He just kind of said it.”

“Why?”

“Because he wanted to be honest with me.”

Was it because she’d just been lectured by Garnet that Grace felt guilty again just saying that? What did she have to feel guilty about? Was she just supposed to smile and say ‘that’s okay’ when someone confessed to murder?

Loyalty made another one of those sounds as he looked her over carefully. “And I take it that you’re not feeling great about that confession.”

“Am I supposed to be happy?”

“Maybe happy isn’t the right word,” he admitted. “But if he wasn’t threatening you, then he just wanted you to know.”

“Why are you so calm about this?” She asked, giving him a look. Needing to know why he hadn’t freaked out like her.

Loyalty didn’t answer immediately. He came around and sat beside her on the bed, arms resting on his knees. A thoughtful look on his face.

“Let me ask you something first.”

She cocked her head.

“Why don’t you think I’m a monster?”

“What?”

Loyalty’s glowing purple eyes glanced over.

They shined brightly, even in the lights of the room.

He looked deliberately at the short distance between them.

“You know, no one else in the Coalition would be comfortable letting me get this close. They fear me. My blood. If I’m hurt, no one will come near me.

I can heal fast, thanks to the control I have over my blood, since it’s just my body.

So, I don’t really need their help. But still, no one would even try.

They’re afraid that a single drop of my blood or saliva, even just touching them, would be enough for me to infect their bloodstream and take over them too. ”

“That’s ridiculous,” Grace rolled her eyes. “If it was that easy for you, we’d be overrun with xenoms already.”

Loyalty chuckled. “True. The process of claiming a new body is more complex than they think. I can’t claim just any body.

It’s not quick or easy. But reality doesn’t matter.

I’m a monster that can infect you with my blood and kill you while you’re helpless to fight back.

That’s all they see. And that’s all that matters. ”

“That doesn’t make you a monster,” she retorted. “That makes you a guy with infectious blood. Now, if you’re going around just purposefully killing folks with your infectious blood, that would make you a monster. But just having it doesn’t mean anything.”

“So, you think Sway is a monster?”

“Well, no, that’s not…” Her voice trailed off, frowning.

“Do you think anyone that kills is a monster? No exceptions?”

“Of course, not. That’s way too narrow of a view. There’s an exception for every rule. Like, er, self-defense? Or protecting someone. T-Those are perfectly reasonable, er, reasons? Ugh. What am I even talking about?”

“So, why did Sway kill the people he did?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I didn’t ask. I… I ran away.”

“Because you’re scared of him?”

“Maybe…?”

“Because you think he’s a monster?”

“No!” She shook her head quickly. “That’s not what I mean. He’s not a monster. Neither of you are monsters.”

“Thank you,” he smiled gently. “You’re probably the first person who wasn’t my own kind to say that to me.”

“That’s terrible.”

“I imagine Sway knows how it feels.”

“Huh?”

“Well, he’s clearly not on Rik-Vane anymore.

And he doesn’t smell at all of blood. The others?

The avanavas especially. They have blood on them.

But not Sway. If he’s killed before, he hasn’t done it recently.

His people are natural pacifists. It’s instinct to them.

If he’s killed in the past, it’s not because he wanted to. Right?”

“I guess,” she admitted softly. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Not too late to find out. Unless you think he’ll hurt you?”

“No,” she said immediately.

Because she absolutely did not believe that. Sway, who had hurt Covor to protect her, who had otherwise treated her with such gentle kindness, wouldn’t hurt her. She never got that feeling from him. Even when he confessed to what he did, she wasn’t actually afraid for herself.

She’d run because…

Just because she’d freaked out. Without giving him a chance to explain. Without waiting to see if he had an exception, an excuse, that would explain what he did.

That’s why she felt guilty. That’s why Garnet’s words hit so hard. Sway had opened up to her, trusted her in a way.

And she’d immediately turned away from him.

At the very least, she owed it to him to listen.

Loyalty smiled. “Made a decision?”

She nodded, smiling back gratefully. Deliberately, she put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not a monster, by the way. Just to make that clear. It’s not a matter of me thinking anything. You just aren’t one. Everyone else are the ones thinking, and they’re wrong.”

Loyalty laughed. “My mate will like you. You should meet her someday.”

“I’d like that.” Getting to her feet, she took a fortifying breath. “Okay. I’m going to go find Sway.”

“ Sway is present on the bridge, ” the ship AI intoned from overhead, their mechanical voice interjecting before she even asked.

“I swear, that AI is fantastic,” she laughed, turning towards the door. It was like it had been listening to the conversation and anticipating what she’d need. It was very advanced for this old ship.

But she only let herself admire it for a moment. Now that she’d made her decision, she was eager to get back to Sway to apologize.

And to listen.