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Days had passed. The doctors brought in human medics who specialized in critical care of their own species—and arguments erupted in a blur around him. With his eyes fixated on Lucca’s sleeping face, his ears could only pick out the big things. Was she alive? Would she wake up? Neither the Ternetzi doctors nor the human doctors could say.
Now, the Ternetzi doctor looked at Caligher with a face full of concern. A knot lodged in his stomach.
“What?” he asked.
Her eyes scanned over his carapace briefly before she steadied herself. “You’ll never molt again.”
Caligher blinked. His eyes fell on Lucca pointedly. “And… her?” he asked impatiently.
Something on the doctor’s face eased. “The human’s condition is stabilized.” Immense relief washed over him, unknotting the tension in his stomach. “She needs rest. We’ve administered an agent to reverse the calcification your venom caused. She’ll have pain and diminished eyesight, but in time, her body may recover fully on its own.”
Her eyes returned to Caligher’s body. “I’m sorry to tell you this. Your carapace is badly compromised. You can’t hold a steady spark. You won’t be able to… jump.”
He stared at her, not easily processing this frankly devastating, life-altering news.
He would never molt again.
He couldn’t hold a spark.
He wouldn’t be capable of controlling his trajectory through space. Wouldn’t be able to hold his breath for more than a few minutes. His life as a bounty hunter was effectively over, and he felt… very little.
What an odd thing—for something so significant to feel like nothing. The doctor could have informed him that it would be a hot year on Sanmantia. That would have made him feelsomething—even if it was whimsical amusement, or annoyance.
This made him feel nothing.
Maybe he’d never expected to see this side of things. He still couldn’t grasp that he was both alive and free. The human ship was taken care of, and Lucca was in front of him, breathing and safe. It was too many impossible things. The evidence was there; only he was displaced.
The best he could do was incline his head in visible acceptance. The doctor left them alone.
He stared at Lucca, considering what they had lost… and what he had gained. Some desperate piece of him was praying that she saw it the same way.
If she didn’t, he would send her home through the new portal. He would say goodbye.
* * *
Eventually, her eyes came open. Two dark irises peered blankly at the ceiling, sending Caligher to the depths of his anxiety.
Her eyes fell on him, moving around his body without comprehension. That worry deepened.
And then…
Slowly…
Recognition dawned. Her expression softened, and she hummed a contended, “Mm.”
“Lucca,” he said, expelling all that worried tension. A little smile formed on her lips.
“Cal… you’re here.”
“I’m here.”
“Are we alive?”
“I think so.”
“Is this… real?”
More roughly, he said, “I think so…”
