Page 65 of Enslak

Her eyes widened. "You remember your father?"

I nodded, trying to focus on the memory instead of her proximity. "And brothers. Charick. Kavak." The names came easier this time, more solid on my tongue. "Hunted together."

"Oh, Enslak." Her smile was brilliant, the kind that reached all the way to her eyes. "That's wonderful. You're really remembering."

She squeezed my arm.

That innocent touch sent electricity up through my shoulder and straight into my chest. I locked my muscles to keep from trembling.

I wanted to tell her more. Describe the forest, the feel of my father's hand, the sound of my brothers arguing over who'd made the better shot. But the words were still too difficult to organize, and I was too distracted by her thumb moving in a small, unconscious circle against my forearm.

I forced myself to dig deeper. Tried to pull forward other details. Where had we hunted? What planet?

The answer hovered just beyond my reach, and when I stretched toward it, it slipped away.

Frustration surged through me. I made a sound, half growl, half groan, and my claws tore through the fowl before I could stop them.

"Hey." Niki's hand stroked my arm, steady and warm. "It's okay. You don't have to remember everything at once."

Her touch was fire on my skin, burning through what little composure I had left.

"Want to," I said, the words rough with emotion and with something else I didn't have a name for yet. "Want to remember."

"I know." Her fingers traced gentle patterns on my bicep, completely unaware of what she was doing to me. "And you will. It's coming back, Enslak. Every day, more comes back." Her voice softened further. "Your brothers would be so proud of you. They love you."

I closed my eyes. Focused on breathing.

Her hand on my arm was innocent. Comforting. She had no idea what it did to me, how desperately I was working to keep myself still and careful.

"They look for me?" I asked. Partly because I wanted to know. Partly because I needed to focus on something, anything, other than the heat of her palm.

Niki nodded. "Your whole family did. Your mother, the Alliance Prime, she never stopped hoping you were alive. When they finally found out where you were, she was desperate to get you back."

The words triggered something. A flash, quick and sharp. A female with kind eyes and a voice like music. Singing. A lullaby, maybe, low and rhythmic.

Gone before I could hold it.

"Why we away?" I asked, struggling to shape the full question. "From family?"

Her expression shifted. She set down the tubers and turned to face me fully, which put her even closer. Close enough that I could see the gold flecks in her dark eyes. Close enough that her breath ghosted warm across my chest when she exhaled.

I swallowed hard.

She took a breath. "When we brought you back to the Bardaga, the ship where your family was, George fixed your body. Reversed most of the augmentations. But your mind..." She paused. "Your mind was still fractured. When they tried to wake you, you had rages. You couldn't speak. You couldn't recognize anyone."

I listened, something cold and heavy settling in my chest.

Another memory surfaced, hazy and distorted at the edges.

Waking up. Bright lights overhead. The sharp antiseptic smell of a medical bay.

Thrashing. Restraints on my wrists and ankles. Panic consuming me in a wave, the absolute certainty that I was back in that place of pain and darkness, that the collar would come back, that it would all start again.

Roaring. Faces appearing above me, concerned and frightened. The violence of tearing free of the restraints. Attacking anyone who came near because I couldn't tell friend from enemy anymore, couldn't hold onto anything long enough to know.

"I saw faces," I said slowly, working through it. "Males. Warriors."

"Your brothers," Niki confirmed, her voice gentle. "Charick and Kavak. They were both there."