Page 10 of The Delver (The Vrix #2)

Drawing her lips inward, Callie bit down on them and tried to curb her amusement as she picked up the fruit and put it on Lacey’s waiting hand.

Not once did Lacey acknowledge Telok as she curled her fingers around it, brought it to her lips, and calmly took a bite, her tongue sweeping out to catch the red juice at the corner of her mouth.

With those intense green eyes locked on Lacey, Telok snarled. He shifted toward her, mandibles spreading, but seemed to be halted by some invisible force. Lacey continued to ignore him, chewing her food completely unbothered.

“Come,” Telok snapped at Cole with a clack of his fangs before stalking away in the direction from which he’d come.

“Cranky fucker,” Cole grumbled as he picked up his pack and slung it over his shoulders. He pointed at Lacey. “I blame you.”

Lacey’s head snapped up, and she gaped at him. “Me?”

He gathered his bow and arrows. “Yes, you.”

“You’re the one that called him an asshole and a dick! I just agreed with you. So don’t go blaming his shitty attitude on me.”

Cole drew in a deep breath, opened his mouth as though to argue, then let out a grunt.

Callie snickered. “She’s got you there.”

“Damnit.”

“Better run along,” Diego said with a grin.

“Go kiss and make up,” Will said.

Cole flipped them off, turned, and followed Telok across the bridge, keeping his middle finger prominently displayed the entire time.

Callie and the others laughed. They ate, chatted, and worked as the sun crept higher, and Callie couldn’t help but reflect on her time here in Kaldarak.

The last few months had been…odd. Not bad, but odd. Since Ahmya had moved out of her den to share a place with Rekosh, and Ivy had been busy as a new mother, it felt like their little tribe had fractured.

She knew that wasn’t the case. They all remained close, and saw each other all the time, but things had changed.

Their small, tight-knit community was slowly integrating into the larger community of Kaldarak.

They were making friends with the thornskulls, finding their places amongst them. That was a good thing.

Except…Callie didn’t feel like she was finding her place. In some ways, she was more lost than ever. She’d spent most of her life working hard in school to earn her degrees, preparing to build a career. She’d joined the Homeworld Initiative to put her knowledge to use.

Callie had been recruited to be part of a team of scientists tasked with terraforming Xolea and ensuring the prosperity of the colony. She would’ve been working to ensure the safety and security of their food and water supply, while also analyzing native vegetation and chemical compounds.

But all the equipment she would’ve used was lost with the Somnium’s cargo hold.

Maybe it was somewhere on this planet, crashed and forgotten for decades.

Maybe it was still floating somewhere in the vast expanses of space.

Hell, there was even a slim chance that it had reached its intended destination—minus a few compartments full of would-be colonists.

She and her friends knew only that the ship had been hit by something, and that their section had broken off and fallen here. And if Ketahn hadn’t found it and accidentally awoken Ivy… Well, Callie and the other survivors would’ve died when the wreckage inevitably lost power in a couple years.

And we never would’ve known.

They’d been put into stasis, expecting to awaken on Xolea. But they would’ve simply slept for eternity.

She was grateful to be alive, and she always would be, despite the hardships they’d endured and those that would undoubtedly come. Yet she found herself staring at a new problem, one that felt insurmountable.

Where did she fit in this new world? What was expected of her here?

The vrix knew what foods were safe to eat, and with a few exceptions, most of those foods were safe for human consumption.

The water was safe to drink, the air safe to breathe.

And one of the few pieces of technology they’d salvaged from the wreckage was a portable device that could scan food, analyze its components, and determine whether it was dangerous.

It did Callie’s job for her—a job that wasn’t even necessary most of the time.

“Callie, you okay?” Diego asked.

She turned her head toward him. Diego and Will were looking at her with concern in their expressions. It was only then that she realized that she’d been sitting there, staring off into the jungle, with a finished basket sitting on her lap.

When had she completed it? How long had she been spacing out?

“Yeah,” she said, offering them a smile. “I’m good. Just a lot on my mind lately, I guess.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. I’m fine. Really. But thanks, doc.”

Will frowned. “Well, if you ever do need to talk, we’re here.”

“All of us,” Lacey added.

Callie’s eyes stung with the threat of tears. She let out a laugh as she wiped moisture from her eyes. “Damnit, stop. All this love is gonna make me cry.”

“Don’t you dare! I have no intention of crying, but if you do, I’ll be bawling like a baby.”

Diego chuckled. “Just make sure you keep hydrated.”

“You would say that,” Callie said with a smirk. She stacked the finished basket with the others that were piling up. “I’m actually gonna take a break. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“We’ll be here.” Will gestured to the pile of fronds. “Still got lots of work to do.”

Callie pushed herself to her feet. “Make sure to finish the baskets before I get back then.”

Lacey smacked Callie’s calf with a leaf. “Trying to get out of work.”

“Damn right!”

Callie made her escape as her friends laughed behind her. Her bare feet padded across the warm platform as she made her way to the stairway that led up to the second level.

Thankfully, her den stood nearest to the stairs, and the moment she brushed aside the silk hanging in the doorway and stepped inside, comfortable quiet greeted her. Callie closed her eyes and let out a long, slow exhalation. She could still hear muffled, faraway voices as the others talked below.

Diego had been a nurse on Earth, and he’d naturally fallen into the role of doctor in their group. He’d even been learning more about the vrix in order to help them with their ailments as best he could.

Will, who’d been an information technology tech, had fortunately found his place working alongside Diego as a healer. There weren’t exactly many computers on this planet.

Lacey had run her own business on Earth, selling homemade soaps, shampoos, oils, teas, honey, and baked goods. Her knowledge was being used now to supply the humans with those little necessities and comforts.

Cole had been a construction worker, and his skills had been invaluable in building the human dens here in Kaldarak.

His woodworking projects were beloved by human and vrix alike.

And his experience from hunting and camping for most of his life left him in an excellent position to provide for their community.

Ahmya, who’d been a florist in her former life, had also found purpose here.

The garden she’d established at her new den was already providing the humans with some vegetables, herbs, and ingredients for Lacey’s teas.

On top of that, she was apprenticing under Rekosh, learning to sew and make clothing for the other humans.

And Ivy… Callie couldn’t put into words her admiration for that woman.

Ivy had been introduced to the vrix, to this world, alone.

She’d had to learn an alien language and how to survive in this jungle in real time.

She’d nearly died many times, including once when she’d eaten a food that was safe for vrix but had made her terribly ill.

Everything she’d eaten had been trial and error.

A risk. She hadn’t even had the luxury of the few items the humans had salvaged from the ship—fire starters, extra clothing, rations, boots, lanterns, a food scanner, metal knives.

Ivy had said she was no one on Earth. She’d been lost, homeless, trapped, desperate. Here, she’d become a survivor. A leader. An inspiration. And now she was a mother too. She had a purpose.

I don’t.

Callie helped everywhere she could. She helped Lacey make her soaps, helped with the cooking, helped Diego and Will whenever they needed an extra hand.

She’d helped Cole a couple times, though she usually felt like she was in his way despite how grateful he always was for the assistance.

She’d tended Ahmya’s plants with her before Ahmya had changed dens.

A well of emotions expanded within Callie’s chest, constricting her lungs, and once more, she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

In her old life, she’d never really had anyone there for her. Instead, she’d had those goals, those expectations, and they’d kept her grounded. They’d given her direction. It was easy to know which way to go when the path had been laid out in advance.

But here…here, she was adrift on the open ocean without a sail, without oars.

The goals she’d been chasing when she boarded the Somnium were meaningless now, and the expectations had vanished.

For the first time in memory, she just had to…

be. And though that seemed like it should’ve been laughably simple, she wasn’t even sure how to start.

The growing anxiety crawling under her skin insisted that she should’ve been working toward something.

She was flailing. Floundering. What would give her meaning here? What would fill the chasm left by the absence of those goals, by the loss of that lofty mission?

You’ve got to be the only person on this whole planet who’s crumbling because you don’t have enough pressure on you, Callie.

To her frustration, that thought only sharpened the sting in her eyes.

I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry.

She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly, letting out one calming breath after another.

She swept her gaze around her home—the thick pallet on the floor that was her bed, the earthy tones of the sheer silk decorating the walls, the vase of fresh flowers on the table beneath the window, the clothes hanging neatly on their pegs, and the chest of tools on the floor near the doorway.

Her chest felt even tighter. Because ultimately, despite containing all her possessions, this room was empty. Cold. Lonely.

How she wished there was someone here to just… hold her. To comfort her, to ground her when she felt like she was losing herself. To look at her and see her, to tell her she was Callie…and that Callie was all she needed to be.

Her eyes settled upon the oval limestone bowl sitting atop the nightstand. A shaky smile curved her lips. She walked to the bowl, knelt on the floor, and peered inside. To anyone else, it was just a bowl full of rocks. Nothing special. But to Callie, each one of these stones was a precious gift.

From Urkot.

She ran her fingers over them. There were so many colors, ranging from neutral, earthy browns and grays to vibrant splashes of red, green, blue and purple.

Some possessed stripes, some had swirls, some bore glimmering flecks of minerals.

And mixed in were chunks of crystal both rough and smooth, some of which glowed at night.

Urkot had given each one of these to her simply because they were pretty and he knew she would like them. It was thoughtful and so incredibly sweet. And as far as she knew, he only did this for her.

Once more, her mind turned to the prospect of taking him as her mate.

She knew vrix tended to be forward when it came to matters of mating.

They weren’t shy about declaring themselves and their desires.

Yet while Urkot had made some indications, such as the possessive way he often touched Callie, or how he looked at her like he wanted to devour her, he’d never said anything. He’d never laid claim upon her.

But Callie knew he was interested. Alien or no, there was no mistaking it.

So what was holding Urkot back?