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“What makes you say so?” Nox asked her.
“Well, remember I was looking at it and I found that weird verse on the inside of its metal case? Here—here it is.”
She leaned over to reach for the Far Box and its metal case still sitting in the other seat. Nox steadied her—his hands on her hips so she could grab it.
“Okay, look here,” she said straightening up. Slowly, she read the text again.
Nox remembered it now that she had mentioned it and had it stored in his memory—his recall abilities were nearly perfect. But he listened to her anyway as he contemplated the meaning of the verse found on the inner lid of the Far Box’s metal carrying case.
“Half to do
Whole to undo
Whatever was wished
To make it untrue
Whole it must be
Through and through,”
Seline read. She frowned indignantly. “But I never said I wished the Kindred hadn’t come to get rid of the Scourge! That’s not fair!”
“I doubt the Far Box considers ‘fair’ or ‘unfair’ when it changes reality or sends its user to a parallel universe,” Nox told her. “More likely it simply listens to the words being spoken by the one holding it and sends them to a place where the things they are expressing are possible.”
“Well, whatever.” Seline waved a hand dismissively. “But it’s saying that we need the whole Far Box in order to reverse anything we do with the half box—do you see?”
“I do. And I think your reasoning is sound,” Nox told her. He frowned thoughtfully. “Which means the first thing we have to do is find the other half of the Far Box.”
“Do you think it’s still owned by Mistress Lendrex in this universe?” Seline asked anxiously.
Nox shook his head.
“I don’t know—there may be significant differences between this universe and our own. We can only start with the information we have and see if it’s still accurate.”
“In other words, we need to go to Beselex Station just like we planned, to get the second half of the cube,” Seline said. “Oh—but will the cred chips Commander Sylvan gave me still work in this universe?”
Nox shook his head again.
“We won’t know unless we try. Perhaps we can try to spend some on Beselex to verify that they’re still a valid form of currency here.”
“But how do we get there, since there’s no Mother Ship here to fold space for us?” Seline asked.
This was an easier question to answer.
“Remember that I told you there were plenty of stable wormholes to travel through?” Nox asked her.
She nodded.
“So…we can get there—to Beselex—using wormholes?”
“We should be able to,” Nox told her. “I will need to plot a course.”
“Oh…so I guess I need to get off your lap, now?”
She still looked troubled, Nox thought. Her lovely face was worried and uncertain.
“Not immediately,” he said and pulled her back to his chest. “I can comfort you a little while longer if you would like.”
“I would like that. Thank you, Nox.” She nestled against him and he put his arms around her, holding her close. She sighed contentedly and he felt that strong sensation in his midsection again—a fierce longing to keep her safe and protected and to make her feel happy and well. Though, since he had never felt happy himself, it was difficult to know how to go about that, Nox thought.
After a moment, a thought occurred to him.
“I believe we are doing what you humans call ‘snuggling’—is that right?” he murmured.
“Mmm, yes. I guess so.” Seline looked up at him. “Though most snuggling is done on the couch or in the bed,” she added.
Nox raised an eyebrow at her.
“Do you wish for me to take you back to the sleeping compartment and ‘snuggle’ you on the sleeping platform?”
“That does sound nice.” She gave him a little smile. “Normally I would say ‘yes’ right away. But…” She sighed. “I guess you need to get on with charting us a path to Beselex Station.”
“I do,” Nox admitted. “Normally I could plot our course in my head and snuggle you at the same time, but since we find ourselves in a new universe, I need to check and see if the star charts I have in my memory are still accurate or not.”
“I understand.” Seline sat up, though she remained on his lap a moment more. “Thank you for comforting and snuggling me, Nox,” she murmured.
And placing her small hands on his shoulders, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek—or she would have if Nox hadn’t turned his head. Which meant that her soft lips landed on the corner of his mouth.
“Oh, sorry.” She was blushing slightly as she sat up. “I just meant to kiss your cheek—to thank you for being so sweet.”
“That is…quite all right,” Nox murmured. He could still feel the place where her soft lips had landed—it tingled for some reason. Also, his shaft was getting hard again and he wasn’t sure what Seline would think if she felt it pressing against her full, rounded bottom. “I should…get to work,” he told her.
