CHAPTER9
TANYA
The simulation chamber's sleek walls mocked us with their perfect curves as the exit sealed for the fifth time in twenty minutes.I slammed my palm against the sensor panel, only to be rewarded with the same infuriatingly calm voice: "Compatibility incomplete."Fucking technology.I whirled on Silvyr, whose silver skin flickered with what looked suspiciously like embarrassment, his emoji drones hovering at half their usual brightness around his head.
"What the hell does that even mean?"I hissed, keeping my voice low despite the soundproofing.The last thing I needed was for the entire Intergalactic Matching Exhibition to hear me losing my shit."We passed all their stupid compatibility tests before they let us in here!"
Silvyr's form glitched slightly, a telltale sign of his discomfort.His eyes, normally scrolling with information, fixed on a point just over my shoulder.
"The simulator requires a deeper analysis than preliminary scans."His voice modulated between synthetic and organic tones, another giveaway."It's measuring real-time neural and physiological responses to determine true compatibility beyond surface algorithms."
I narrowed my eyes."And why are you suddenly an expert on how this works?"
The faintest pulse of pink rippled across his silver skin.Tiny emoji drones manifested around his head, displaying microscopic embarrassed faces before he swatted them away like digital mosquitos.
"I may have prior knowledge of the requirements."He tapped his fingers in an oddly nervous human kind-of-way.
"Spill it."I crossed my arms, my patience evaporating."What aren't you telling me?"
Silvyr's eyes finally met mine, his irises brightening with something like resignation mixed with another emotion I couldn't quite place.He stepped closer, voice dropping to a whisper.
"The chamber apparently requires proof of deeper bonding to release the exit locks."
My body went rigid."Define 'deeper bonding.'"
His skin rippled with nervous code patterns."Physical compatibility confirmation."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"My voice shot up before I could control it.I clapped a hand over my mouth, glancing frantically at the walls around us."They expect us to—to?—"
"Yes."His voice barely registered above the ambient hum of the chamber.
My face burned hot enough to fry circuits."And they're what, watching us?Recording us?Is this some kind of sick alien peep show?"
Silvyr's hands found mine, surprisingly warm for someone with metallic skin.The touch sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with his hybrid circuitry.
"I didn't realize the chamber would detect our unbonded match status."
"Fantastic."I slumped against the wall, sliding down until I sat on the floor."So we're trapped unless we..."
"Yes."His voice remained steady, but his skin flickered with emotions… flashes of silver code racing along his forearms.
"Can't you hack it?"I gestured to the control panel."You're part computer!"
"The chamber operates on biological protocols, not digital ones."He knelt before me, his movements fluid despite his mechanical components."It's reading our chemistry, our compatibility signals.I can't falsify organic responses."
I stared up at him, taking in the strange beauty of his hybrid form, the silver-toned skin that rippled with code, the perfectly engineered features that somehow retained humanity, the eyes that shifted between streaming data and warm silver irises.Despite everything, my heart gave a treacherous flutter.
"So we're stuck here until..."I trailed off again, unable to say it aloud.
Silvyr moved closer, his form casting shadows that danced across my skin.His hand reached out, hesitating just shy of touching my face.
"Nothing outside this room matters right now," he murmured, his voice dropping to that register that made my stomach tighten."Only what we feel together."
My breath caught as his fingers finally made contact, cupping my cheek with a gentleness that seemed impossible for someone partially constructed of metal and circuitry.His touch was warm and carried a subtle vibration that sent tingles down my spine.
"I've wanted you since the moment I crashed through your datastream," he confessed, his thumb tracing the curve of my jawline."But I would never force this.We can wait until the exhibition ends and someone overrides the lock."
The sincerity in his voice struck something deep inside me.Behind the sarcastic quips and digital facade he usually maintained, I glimpsed something vulnerable and achingly real.
