Did she?
“It is a trap,” Exxo warned.
“I don’t really belong here, in this world, but it is good to know that I don’t belong elsewhere, either.” A wetness that Ved didn’t understand welled in her eyes. It collected on her curled lashes before spilling over to roll down her cheeks like dew on a leaf.
She took a shaky breath in that had her lips trembling. “Just leave me be, Ved. I’m tired,” she said stuffily before she rolled over on her side, giving her back to him.
Nevskol.Ved had hurt her in some way he didn’t fully comprehend. Her emotions were overwhelming to him—all salt and heaviness. In that moment, she was nothing like the curious, energetic female who’d once thrown a book at his face.
He let out a sound of disgust with himself and moved forward. The room was small, and everything was as delicately crafted as she was. Carefully, he crouched, bringing himself as low as he could. “Isobel Nott,” he rumbled, “look at me.”
She stiffened, and for a moment he thought she was going to ignore him, but she finally rolled over. Her honey eyes gleamed with that odd wetness as they met his gaze.
“What is this?” he murmured, gesturing to her face.
“Tears. From crying. We do it when we are sad, Ved.”
“I had no desire to make you sad.”
She lifted her shoulder up in a shrug.
He wetted his lips beneath his mask. Stars be damned, but he was so far out of his depth that he might as well be drowning beneath the Cascade Fall. The desire to touch her, pull her into his arms and somehow take the sadness away with his bare hands, was unhelpful. That would definitely be on her list.
“It was an honor to have you on my ship and to share your company,” he said instead.
“But it’s dangerous,” she concluded with a sniff.
He grunted.
“I know your world is, Ved, and I know I don’t belong, but…” Her lips wobbled and something tore at his hearts at the sight. “I wanted to.” Her voice broke.
“It isn’t that you don’t belong, it’s that I couldn’t keep you safe from the Kroids,” he confessed, the words rushing out of him in a harsh rasp. The truth of it dug its claws into him. Shame. It was the same shame he felt for having failed Kravis and for being unable to fight in his youth.
That same weakness.
“You did, though,” she said, wiping tears away and revealing the expanse of flesh beneath her throat again. “And I trusted you would. I’m only sorry that I’m not a warrior, so that I didn’t need saving in the first place.”
“You are Isobel Nott. That is enough. I apologize that I made you feel like it wasn’t.” This time, he meant it.
More tears welled in her eyes.
He’d made her sad again? “If your trust in me hasn’t faltered, come back. My ship needs your help, and Exxo needs to be kept sharp,” he said quickly, not wanting her to cry anymore.
“I spoke to Exxo. He wasn’t rude in the least, and he helped save me from that terrifying creature.” A shudder ran through her, and he had to refrain from touching her. Damn her rules.
“Not rude? Don’t let him fool you,” he grumbled.
“Well, he has my undying gratitude. Please let him know.”
“At least someone appreciates me,” Exxo said.
Ved grunted. “Will you come back?”
“I’m not certain,” she murmured as she peered up at him.
With a huff, he searched her gaze. The way she looked at him sometimes, it felt like she could see through his mask. See beneath all his armor—into his very hearts. What more could he say?
“You hurt my feelings. ‘You don’t belong in my world,’” she mocked his deep voice. “And you’re only asking me to return because your ship and Exxo would like it?”
