She grimaces. “I guess. It seems like we should leave, but I understand wanting to set a good example for your people. If a lot of them are leaving, they’re going to need some sort of direction. But this still feels risky.”
“Living is risky,” Blaize mutters.
Jovie lifts her hands as if asking for just one more second. “When we know there’s a sign of a fault in an engine component, we check the easiest things first. But if we don’t find anything, we take the whole assembly out and bench-test it. I just feel like being aware isn’t enough. Is there anything we can do to be proactive about these cloaks or let others know something’s up? Don’t you have backup?”
“We’ve contacted everyone we trust,” Blaize says. “No one has the time to help Aura because they’re all trying to survivethe divide.”
“And the cloaks?” Jovie asks.
“Don’t worry about them,” I tell her.
Jovie’s lips part like I’m being unreasonable.
“We don’t need anything to see them.”
Eluni looks at me like I’m nuts. “Sir. It’s a good idea. I could work on a design. We’ve always had ship scanners to tell us, but this facility has blocked some signals.”
“You’re right,” I tell her. “You work on a design then. But I don’t need them.”
Eluni starts to protest.
I sigh. “I canseethem, okay?”
Blaize lifts his eyes from his wristband. “Did you really just say that you…”
“Yes.” I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know why. I just can. So we’re fine.”
“It’s because you’re a—”
I cut Eluni off. “Don’t.”
I don’t want to be different. I just want to be left alone. And right now, I want to leave and travel to literally anywhere Jovie and I can be alone. The memory of her skin against mine comes back to me as I search for a feeling to calm my Storm.
“Sir?” Eluni stops me by the arm. “Are you…”
Jovie and Eluni exchange a glance and seem to have some sort of understanding.
Eluni smiles, then lets me go. “Officially for Secret Security Clearance only. Alright. We’ll stay in touch. Watch your backs. We’ll do what we can from Allele.”
As Jovie guides me toward the knowledge game room, I glance back and see Eluni swat Blaize in the shoulder. He seems surprised by whatever she says. I put it together when we rejoin the others, gathering in the two sides auditorium of seats with buzzers.
Eluni knows Jovie and I are mates. Blaize doesn’t because he isn’t familiar with the soft glow of the Storm. And it has me thinking about Ephinium.
She glows, but Eluni doesn’t. They both had children and mates. So what’s the difference?
Jovie tugs on my arm as we enter the crowded room for the trivia game. “Aura?”
I lean over so I can hear what she says through the hundreds of chatting males and females. But all I get is a quick kiss before she pulls away.
Jovie hikes up the steps of the females’ side of the auditorium and takes a seat behind a pedestal with a button and a screen that switches to her name and a points counter.
“Alright, everyone, find a buzzer, males to one side, females to the other. This is not a battle of the sexes, but a battle of individual wits to learn more about each other and the universe while trying to earn enough points for the prizes.”
I don’t like being away from Jovie and raise my hand as I sit. “I already have the prize I want. May I skip this round?”
Jovie blushes. I wink at her.
“The viewers would like to know what knowledge the first species to enter space might have to offer.” The announcer says as if mocking my intelligence.
