Page 20 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)

CHAPTER 20

NEEV

* * *

A soft hand lands on my shoulder, gently shaking me awake. My eyes flutter open to the distinctively empty and bright white space of my inner world. Eryx kneels beside me, a look of deep concern mars his face. His fingers trace the side of my face, even his light touch sends a shock wave of pain through me. I try to sit up, but shooting pains rips through my side at the attempt.

“Don’t move,” he says quietly. “Just lie back and relax. How did this happen to you?”

“I was attacked.”

“By whom?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t see anything identifying.” I look into his eyes, such a weird mirror image of my own. “How are you here?”

He shrugs. “It’s your mind. You tell me.”

“Are you real?”

“As real as you are.”

“What are you?”

He gives me an enigmatic smile. “Many things. Mostly concerned for you at the moment. Where are you?”

“I don’t know. Am I even alive? Last I knew I was drowning at the bottom of the ocean.”

“You are alive.” His eyes narrow. “What ocean?”

“How do you know I’m alive?” Two can play the answer a question with a question game. I haven’t forgotten Raiz’s response to knowing this person was in my head. I don’t trust that he’s actually concerned about me, whereas I know Raiz cares.

“We don’t have much time. Tell me, where you are.”

Eryx glances over his shoulder, as if someone is drawing his attention. It’s not Raiz, I’d know his presence anywhere.

“I promise you, I’m not trying to hurt you,” his voice implores me, what feels like sincerity infused into every word. “I’m trying to help you. Tell me where you are.” A muscle ticks in his jaw when he looks back over his shoulder.

“I’m not telling you anything until you tell me who you are.”

He moves his hand down to my jaw and runs his thumb under my lower lip. The movement is so attentive, so caring, for a moment I’m disarmed. I feel like he might be telling me the truth. Maybe he does just care about my safety.

But why would he? And if he did, why not be honest about who and what he is? The cagey responses don’t inspire trust. Especially when Raiz has earned my trust completely.

“You need to be careful, Neev. Remember that whoever has you, isn’t taking care of you the way you should be.” He stands and holds a hand out for mine. As he pulls me to my feet, I realize how tall he is. “I’m going to find you.”

* * *

The dim red backlighting of the med bay comes into focus as I open my eyes and look around. They must have had to bring me back on the ship to treat me. How did they even find my body? My fingers brush against something soft, and I realize with a start that it’s Raiz’s hair. His head rests on the bed near my hip while he dozes.

I don’t see Hyva or anyone else, so I run my fingers through the silvery white strands until he wakes. He blinks a few times and then looks up, realizing I’m awake. He straightens, wincing the slightest bit.

“Hi.” My voice is scratchy from disuse. “How long have I been out?”

“Three days.”

My brows shoot up. “Really?”

He nods and moves closer to me. “Hyva kept you sedated while he reset your broken bones and gave you a stimulant to speed healing.”

“Am I good as new?”

“I’ll go grab him,” is his response. He stands and looks down at me, relief easing the lines of tension on his face.

While he’s gone to find Hyva, my mind drifts to whether I had another episode or if it was just a dream, seeing Eryx again. I didn’t feel the panic or hear the whispers that usually coincide with it. Should I tell Raiz?

He was clearly concerned about me. Do I risk upsetting him further or just hold back until I figure out whether it was real?

“Hello, Neev.” Hyva crosses the room and scrolls through a few readings on the monitors before pulling out his handheld sensor and running it slowly over my body. “How are you feeling?”

“Stiff and sore.”

“That sounds about right for fighting off an attack and then falling into the sea.” He hovers over my ribs and frowns. “Take a deep breath for me.”

Pain shoots through my chest as I inhale. Tears prick my eyes as I freeze and try to work through the pain. Raiz joins us on the other side of the bed and reaches down, threading our hands.

“Kodia and his mate pulled you from the water. I think you might have a soul-tied bond forming with her. She barely let me approach you, she was protecting you so fiercely.” Raiz shares the story so nonchalantly, as if it’s an everyday occurrence.

I look up at him. “Is that possible?”

“The soul tie?” His thumb strokes over my knuckles. “I don’t see how it wouldn’t be possible. They choose us, not the other way around. Kodia’s mate has never interacted with me before you were in the water with me. I had a feeling she was drawn to you, but her protectiveness confirmed it.”

“Does she have a name?”

“No. We only name our soul-tied creatures. It’ll be up to you to give her a name.”

My attention is jolted away from Raiz when I feel a sharp prick in my side. I look up at Hyva who gives me a brief tight-lipped smile. He sets aside the needle and wipes an antiseptic pad over the place where he injected me.

“What was that?” I ask.

“The serum to boost bone healing. For Zeahirians it usually only takes one dose, but you might require one or two more for your ribs.”

“Can you remember what happened?” Raiz sits back down beside me while Hyva pulls a rolling stool over.

“I was in the library and heard a loud noise coming from the hall. When I stepped out to check I saw,” my voice cracks as I remember everything with Uzold. The sight of his head resting in a pool of blood, severed from his body. Tears stream from my eyes. “I saw…”

“If it’s too hard to talk about, you don’t have to,” Raiz wipes a tear from my cheek. “We know what happened to Uzold.”

“Did you see who did it?”

I shake my head. “They were covered in all black head to toe. They had on helmets and gloves. I don’t remember seeing any skin at all. Who even knows if they were Zeahirian, although they were as big as you.” I look at Raiz. “Maybe even taller.”

“They were Zeahirian, based on the blood sample I pulled from a blade in Raiz’s room.” Hyva’s gaze meets Raiz’s over me.

“Good. I aimed for the spot Vynia showed me. Where you are vulnerable to attack.”

Raiz smiles down at me, pride gleaming in his eyes. “Good job. You saved yourself.”

“He still managed to throw me over the balcony. I don’t know if that counts as saving myself.”

“We’ll never know for sure, but had you not put up a fight, undoubtedly you would have been killed.”

Heaviness washes over me as I think about how Uzold put up a fight and he’s still not here. It doesn’t seem fair that I lived and he didn’t. Especially when he was truly fighting back, not whatever it was that I did with barely any training. How could luck have been on my side and not on his? He was such an honorable and kind male.

Whether it’s weariness or a side effect of the medication Hyva just gave me, my eyelids begin to droop. I blink slowly a few times, trying to stay awake knowing I’ve been out for days. Hyva’s hand falls lightly to my shoulder and squeezes.

“It’s okay to fall back asleep. You need to rest while the serum speeds your healing.”

I nod forcing the movement even though my head feels heavy. Hyva glances at Raiz and walks off toward his office leaving us alone. Raiz stands and cups my cheek, his thumb tracing my cheekbone as he stares into my eyes.

“I’m proud of you, little human, for being such a fierce fighter. You bring honor to your kind and family.”

“I don’t have a family.”

“Yes.” He presses a light kiss to my lips. “You do.”

My eyes drift closed before he even pulls his hand from my face.

* * *

The next time I wake, Hyva is sitting beside me, his feet resting on the empty bed beside me and his back against the railing of mine. In his lap is a tablet that he’s scrolling through, lines of text that I can read but not understand pass as he flips through the document. I shift my weight, trying to move to a more comfortable position, and he immediately turns his head.

“You’re awake.” He drops his feet, sets the tablet aside and stands over me. “How are you feeling?”

“Groggy.” I try to sit up, but he stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

“Here.” He presses a button, and the back of the mattress lifts me into a reclined but upright sitting position.

“Thank you.” I draw a deep breath, bracing myself for the pain I experienced last time but nothing happens. “That didn’t hurt.”

“Good. The serum must have worked.” He grabs his sensor. “I’m going to take a look, is that okay?”

“Yes.”

He pulls the sheet covering me down and slides the gown I’m wearing to the side, exposing my side. A greenish bruise covers the side of my body from my ribs to the curve of my hip. He frowns, pulling the sheet up to just below my belly button and shifts the gown until my entire abdomen is bare. I wince when he presses against my ribs, and a growl reverberates through the room.

Hyva’s lips twitch at the sound, but he doesn’t stop. “Sorry,” he says to me. “How bad does it hurt? Compared to before?”

“A lot less.” My eyes meet Raiz’s gaze from over Hyva’s shoulder.

Raiz glares down at Hyva’s hand on my skin. He looks as though he could tear him apart for hurting me. Warmth travels through me at how protective he is after only knowing me a short time. It speaks volumes about the type of male he is.

“Can’t the readings from the scanner do a better job than poking at her yourself?” he asks.

“Nothing is better than the touch of a medic.” Hyva winks at me, thoroughly amused at his friend’s irritation.

“It’s okay. It doesn't hurt much.”

“Is that normal for humans?” Raiz points at the bruises. “The color changing skin?”

“Yes. It’s blood pooling beneath my skin from broken blood vessels. It happens rather easily.”

“From what I’ve read, it’s as she says,” Hyva confirms. “Humans are delicate, but there’s an intriguing resilience to them as well. The fractures are all healed. I’m going to go grab a couple things from my office, and then she could probably move back into her quarters for a few more days of rest in a more comfortable environment.”

Raiz takes his place as he walks away. His hand settles over the bare skin of my stomach, his fingertips tracing small circles over my skin. Goosebumps ripple out from where he caresses me, and his eyes move from them to my eyes.

“Are you cold?” His voice is low.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Does this tickle?” His lips lift in the slightest of smiles.

“I wouldn’t call it a tickle, it just feels good.”

The way he looks at me, so much like he did when I straddled him in the springs, makes heat flood my body. It starts at the point where he makes contact with my skin and spreads out from there. His nostrils flare, and he yanks his hand from my flesh. He turns quickly on his heel and strides into Hyva’s office, closing the door behind him.

I’m left behind, reeling, as the effects of his touch on my body linger. I press my thighs together and take a deep breath. I’m literally laying here in a med bay and just the touch of this male has me thinking and feeling dirty thoughts. I can see Raiz through the window as he paces, his hand running through his hair while Hyva smirks at him.

I wish I could hear what they’re saying. I know it has to be about me. He’s probably stressed out because I’m so easily turned on by his touch. It’s a problem. One we’ll have to find a solution for before it comes time for me to leave.

As always, the thought of leaving forms a pit in my stomach. It’s like my body rejects the idea of being parted from him. In fact, the first thing I looked for upon waking was Raiz. He’s who I seek in every room, and I don’t even remember when it started. Maybe the first moment I woke after being taken?

That can’t be right, though, can it? It doesn’t make sense. The pull I feel to him must have an explanation that makes sense. I just have to figure it out before I get attached.

* * *

My entire body aches with the effort of walking to my quarters on the ship. Raiz wanted to carry me, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. Had I realized that being vertical would differ so much from laying on a bed in med bay, I might have reconsidered. But it’s too late now, I don’t want him worrying anymore about me than he has been.

As it is, I can feel his eyes on me as he paces himself slowly beside me. Hyva is on my other side, but he isn’t hovering like Raiz. The two of them lead me down to Raiz’s quarters where I stayed while on the ship.

The doors slide open with a quiet whoosh as we cross the threshold. Everything looks the same as it did when we docked last week but now every surface in the room holds arrangements of the beautiful wildflowers I saw on the surface of Zeahiri. The long black stems and pale pink petals bring a softness to the room that I didn’t realize it was missing.

“Are these for me?” I look up into Raiz’s vivid green eyes with wonder.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” I tip my nose into one bundle of blooms and inhale their light scent. I don’t even have a frame of reference for what they smell like. Thank the stars for the dim lighting on board because I know I’m blushing. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.

“I’ll help you get settled in and do a quick vitals check before I go for the night.” Hyva takes my arm and leads me into the bedroom.

Raiz follows us in and pulls the covers down for me. He draws them over my legs as I lean back against the headboard and then moves away for Hyva. Once I’m given the all clear and Hyva says goodnight, I turn my attention toward Raiz.

“Do you have any information on who attacked me? Or why they did it?”

“No, Altis and Vynia are scouring the territory but haven’t gotten any specific information, just rumors and thirdhand sightings.”

“Are you going to go back down and help them now that you know I’m okay?”

His eyes darken briefly. I can’t tell if it’s anger about the attack or wanting to get down there and figure out who is responsible. Either way, I don’t want him to feel like he has to stay with me while I heal. He has so much on his plate, I don’t want to be a burden for him.

“I trust them to investigate on my behalf,” he says.

“So you’re going to stay here?”

“Yes.”

Relief rushes through me. I know it shouldn’t. I should encourage him to do what he needs to, but I want him here. With me.

“Is that alright with you?” he asks when I don’t say anything.

“Yes, of course.” I pick up the glass of water Hyva left on the table and take a drink. “Where are you sleeping?”

“Wherever you want me to.”

Instead of answering out loud, I reach over and pull the covers on the other side of the bed down. His lips lift into a smile as the thrumming from his chest begins to fill the air. He pushes off the wall he was leaning against and walks over to me. I feel his long fingers move lightly over a bruise slowly fading on my cheek.

“Let me get cleaned up and then we can go to bed.”

I watch him as he walks into the bathroom. His broad shoulders barely clear both sides of the doorway. I hear the water begin to run and roll onto my side, wincing at the pain it puts on my ribs.

Closing my eyes while I have a moment of solitude, I rack my brain for something, any clue, to help figure out who was behind the attack. What did they want? Were they there for me? Did someone find out what Raiz is planning on doing?

I hope not because that would mean he was betrayed by someone he trusts. In all likelihood, someone who works on this ship. From what I understand, everyone on board knows the ultimate goal and agrees. Vynia explained how carefully curated the crew is, how meticulous Raiz has been in choosing who is promoted onto the ship.

The male who chased me down was entirely covered, head to toe, in the same type of clothing Raiz wore when he abducted me, so it stands to reason it had to be a Zeahirian male. Although, that could be a cover. If it wasn’t a Zeahirian male, then it had to be someone of a similar species due to the size.

Could the males who attacked have had something to do with the one who keeps entering my mind? He’s much smaller than a Zeahirian but who is to say that’s actually what he looks like? He could be changing his appearance. At least I assume he could, if he’s strong enough to enter my thoughts from afar unbidden. But the thing about that doesn’t entirely make sense is that he’s extremely concerned with my safety. He wants to know where I am so he can come rescue me. Or at least his people can.

I just don’t know what to think right now.

The door to the bathroom opens, and Raiz walks out in a cloud of steam. A towel is wrapped low on his hips showing off his muscular physique, including two lines of muscle running in a V shape before disappearing beneath the terrycloth. He walks over to one of the armoires and pulls out a pair of the lounge pants he regularly wore around his house.

I’ll never get used to how casual he is about nudity. But I am going to allow myself to enjoy it. In fact, now that I’ve given myself permission to stare and study his body, I realize that just above his waist he has a small fin-like shape protruding along his spine.

“Do you have a fin on your back?”

He looks over his shoulder. “Yes. They’re of no use, really.” He reaches back, his long fingers stroking over the tip. “They'll probably be gone in a thousand years since we’re mostly land dwellers now.”

I turn my head as he bends to pull his pants up. My cheeks warm at the thought of him catching me checking him out. Though, he did admit to reading up on human pleasure, so maybe I shouldn’t worry about it.

I shouldn’t have let my mind wander down that road. Now I can’t stop thinking about how good it felt to ride his fingers. How natural losing myself to him came to me. Especially when the orgasm he milked me from was the strongest I’ve ever felt.

Instead of just my cheeks warming, now my core is pulsing with heat. His body goes rigid while he pauses what he’s doing. Then he slowly turns, his eyes a burning green when they lock on mine.

“You should stop thinking whatever it is you’re thinking about.” His voice is low and raspy. “Otherwise, I’m going to have a hard time keeping my hands off you.”

Maybe I don’t want you to.

I bite my lip as soon as I think it. I hope he didn’t hear that. He said he blocks me out when he doesn’t have permission to listen in on my thoughts. I trust him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He tilts his head and inhales deeply through his nostrils. “Yeah, you do.”

I melt back into the mattress, wishing it could swallow me whole. How did I forget he can smell when I’m turned on? “That’s an unfair advantage. Not all of us have superior senses.”

“I wouldn’t be superior if everyone else did.” He slides under the covers beside me, warmth radiating from his body.

I pat around the bed between us. “Is the bed going to be big enough for you, your ego, and me?”

He flashes one of his rare full smiles, drawing my attention to his pointed incisors. “I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to joke with me.”

“Who says I was joking?” I roll onto my side before I think better of it and wince at the sharp pain in my ribs.

His demeanor changes instantly. He sets his hand over my hip, gently pushing me onto my back again. “Should I call Hyva?”

“No.” I take a slow breath. “I’m okay, just forgot I shouldn’t lay on that side.”

“When I find who did this to you, I’m going to tear them apart. Limb from limb until they beg for mercy which they will never receive.”

“That’s intense.”

“My desire to keep you safe is intense.”

When our eyes lock it feels like all the air has been sucked out into space. It’s just him and me connected by an electric current of attraction. The way that I crave him, the call to be near him is confusing. When I’m healed, before I decide where I’m going to, I know one thing for certain. I’ll be fucking Raiz Asterean until we get whatever this is out of our system.

He turns to shut off the lights, breaking the gaze held between us first. With that freedom I can breathe again. I let my eyes drift closed, knowing regardless of the danger I face, I’m safe as long as he’s by my side.