“Come on. Out with it.”
Khar paused, considering. He absently tossed the restart rod into the air, spinning it once before catching it and sliding it into his uniform pocket against his thick thigh.
“Maybe later…” his voice dropped, rough with amusement. “Some secrets are better shown than told.”
Yes, she confirmed. Khar saw her. Not just as a coworker. Not just as a responsibility.
As a woman.
He was not cruel. If he did not want her, he would not play with ambiguity. And if she had misread him, she trusted him enough to believe he would not mock her for it.
Still, the idea of rejection hurt.
But she owed herself honesty.
That resolve burned steadily all the way back to the Vitromium, only to be derailed when Horos intercepted her. Lily barely registered the words he said. Her thoughts were already elsewhere, racing ahead to what she would say to Khar once she escaped. Only Horos’s rusty cough caught her attention briefly, making her consider asking if he had the flu or something, but she thought he would notify her if it was a matter of concern.
At least she left with something tangible. The solar collector for Helios was finally in her hands.
When she returned to Vitro, she found Khar sprawled in the command chair, boots resting against the console. He leaned his head back as she entered, dark hair spilling down the chair like liquid night.
“Hi, Khar.”
“Hi, Lily. Good to see you intact.”
She laughed quietly and took her seat. “It wasn’t that bad. He said they’re satisfied with my work. And that I’m a good influence on you.”
Khar narrowed his eyes. “That diseased feather-thing did not say that.”
She grinned. “True. I lied so you wouldn’t sulk. You’re a lost cause.”
He released the grav-lock and pushed himself closer, tapping the package in her lap.
“What’s that?”
“My solar collector. For Helios.”
“Your ship’s named Helios?”
“Yes. After an ancient Earth sun god. Dead religion. Nice sound.”
“Fits,” he said. “For a sun-loving girl.”
She lifted the package. “Want to help me install it?”
“Absolutely. To Helios.”
They sealed the Vitromium and crossed to Lily’s much smaller ship. Khar paused at the entrance, surveying the interior with a stillness that made her pulse spike.
“Welcome aboard Helios,” she said. “May I… show you my ship more closely?”
She braced herself for confusion. For laughter. For polite rejection.
Instead, the atmosphere shifted.
Khar did not move at first. He studied her, luminous eyes searching her face, her posture, her resolve. Then, without breaking eye contact, he sealed the hatch behind him.
The click echoed too loudly.
