Page 23 of HaL

“I want to say yes, but the truth is ... it’s always going to be your choice, even if it destroys me.”

“What if I told you that I want to stay?”

“Then we will find a way. I will not pretend to know what our next step is. I ask that you have patience with me Roja, as I have no idea what to do with you … us.”

“HaL, the fact that you are willing to try is all that matters. And when you finally figure it out, you can tell me what this ‘Roja’ means. Until then, we will be clueless together. I am not a mind reader, and I have no idea how to live in your world. All I ask for is some patience with my ignorance and that you never go to bed mad at me. Mom used to say that was the key, to remember you were friends before you were lovers. Will you be my friend HaL?”

“I will be anything you need.”

My communicator keeps pinging to the point that I am ready to take it off and throw it across the room. With a small smile on her face, Dawn pulls her heated covers higher and scoots down into the bed, her eyes heavy as she fights the sleep her body desperately needs.

“HaL, I know you have responsibilities you need to tend to. You don’t need to stay here with me every moment. Go do your thing. I’ll be here when you get back.”

I am torn, my beast is roaring inside my head at the very thought of leaving her, but I know Bane and Oset are trying to get a hold of me for a reason. Because I cannot stop myself, I run my finger down her silky cheek. My entire body shivers as if I am cold, stimulated by the connection pulling me toward her all the time. Within a tic, she is asleep, and when I hear Troza slide the door open, I make myself step back.

“You will stay with her until I can return?”

“I will not leave, HaL.”

Leaning down, I kiss Troza on the top of the head, earning a gasp from her as I’ve rarely done that since I was a youngling.

CHAPTER 7

DAWN

I can count on one hand how many times in my life I’ve awakened on my own, feeling rested. My eyes quickly scan the room, finding no one else around as I awkwardly push myself up with one arm. Glancing under the covers, I’m shocked to see most of my bruising gone and the catch that was in my side also missing. The arm that I’d broken is strapped tightly against my chest, and I swear I feel little fingers massaging the skin randomly. However, a new problem is letting itself be known, and I am naked and have no idea where the bathroom is.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

My words seem to echo around me, and just as I’m about to wrap this blanket around me and go exploring on my own, a door I hadn’t noticed off to the side opens, and Troza walks in.

“I thought I heard a voice … where are you heading, youngling?”

“I need to pee.”

“Well, that is good news and it means your body is waking up. Let us get you on your feet, and if you feel like it, maybe a nice hot ablution?”

“Is that a fancy word for a bath or shower?”

She tilts her head sideways like she is having to think about what my words mean. “Hmm, possibly … if those are your Earth words for a body cleansing? We have ionizers, but nothing gets the nerves reactivated like water. HaL had all of our translators updated with your language, but some things do not always interpret correctly.”

She helps me slide off the side of the bed, and just as my toes touch the floor, I look over at her concerned face. “The floor is warm!”

“We may prefer the cold, but most of the floors throughout the facility are heated by the hot springs that lie only a few feet beneath its surface. We may prefer and were designed to survive in the cold, but everything enjoys warmth from time to time.”

“No way … talk about an oxymoron!”

She shakes her head, her long silver braids moving slightly. “Your words are quite confusing, young one.” Her tilted smile makes me look at her twice, instantly reminding me of HaL. Before I can ask her if they are related, another door slides open, and I gasp due to the cold coming out of it.

“Forgive me. Let me reset the temperature in this room. It will heat up in a tic. I will speak with HaL about installing sensors in your main rooms, so the temperatures never drop below freezing, at least.”

By the time I relieve myself, I’m shivering so hard that my teeth are chattering. My legs are unsteady, but I still stop long enough to pull one foot up, happy to see that only a few red marks remain where the grates on that ship had shredded them. Troza motions to me as steam rises from a large gray object that looks like a bowl instead of a tub.

“I do not enjoy the warmth at my age as my skin and fur are too thin to provide any protection, so you will have to check the temperature before getting in. The steam can be deceiving because it is still quite cold in here.”

“Are all the rooms normally this cold?”

“This is the warmest section in the compound as it is the deepest under the mountain. The market area is open to the elements, and if I understand your temperature conversion correctly, at its highest, it would be around negative thirty. This close to the frost, it is closer to negative fifty, and that is when we are usually the busiest.”