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“You shouldn’t go running across a field of ships ready to launch.”
His eyes, at first sparkling like liquid mercury, turn black. The pupils grow and grow until the silver and white is gone. I know what this means; I learned it quickly within my short time among the Kar’Kali. I remember the flutter of appreciation I felt when I saw the Kar’Kali couple in the market. They fell in love in an instant. But I don’t feel whatever he feels. My human heart pounds away, but it’s not love at first sight— it’s alarm.
Before I can come up with a response, a sharp voice interrupts us.
“Koko, you’re joining us, aren’t you?”
It’s the comm on the male’s wrist, so close to my ear that I flinch. They called him Koko, which is technically not a name but a sort of nickname for an older brother or elder male colleague.
A frown. “Apologies,” he says to me. Then into the comm device, “We’ll need to delay.”
“Very well. I’ll await your order.”
“The boy will be found, one way or another,” my apparent mate says, glancing up to scan the field of ships. The air is vibrating with the energy of every engine preparing for launch. “The important thing is that you’re safe when the others take off. Stay here with me and when the field is cleared, you can return to your search. I might even receive notice via comm that he’s been found on a ship once the others leave the dead zone.”
“Oh,” I say, flustered by his accommodations. “Thanks. I don’t mean to hold you up from the rest of the fleet.”
“We’re not members of the fleet. So it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m sorry, did you say what I thought you did a minute ago?”
“Yes… I wonder whether the spirit guided you here to me,” he muses. His eyes have not left me for a moment. He’s fixated on me with a level of attention I’ve never endured before. It’s like being under a microscope.
“More like a very foolish teenager guided me here,” I joke, reaching for any way to cut the thick tension between us.
He chuckles. “How old?”
“Sixteen passings,” I say.
“Mmm, a most foolish period of life.”
An awkward silence passes. Or at least, it’s awkward for me. The silver-eyed giant is at ease, continuing to stare at me with undisguised amazement and desire. I suppose I’m amazed too— amazed that he could be so tall and so frightening, and yet strangely gentle and patient.
“So what does that mean? What are we supposed to do?”
“Nothing can be done now. The spirit has an interesting idea of timing,” he says with a sigh.
“O-okay—”
“Just let me look at you. I want to remember your face well. Let me touch your flaming hair. And the next time I seeThe Rightful Heir, we can discuss the rest.”
His fingers flex as they hover over my curls. I allow it, as he gently caresses a single lock with fascination. I might be stunned and confused about what this means, but part of me doesn’t want to ruin this for him. After all, this is a sacred moment to Kar’Kali. I shouldn’t go shoving him away and telling him I don’t even know him. I also like the way he’s looking at me. I’ve never been so coveted as I am under his gaze. His eyes sparkle on me like I’m a painting in a museum, a masterpiece in his hands.
“I won’t be here,” I explain, swallowing hard. “I’m going home to EC-12. And if I can find Captain Rossa’s brother… he’ll be with me.”
The man freezes. “What?”
“I’m leaving for EC-12 tomorrow,” I say. “It’s an Earth colony on the fringes of Alliance territory— a terraformed moon in their Eight-One-Five system.”
“You’re returning to the same colony you were once snatched from?” He asks, his tone gone from husky to icy in seconds.
“You know about that?”
“It was my understanding that you and the one in regen would be staying here.”
“Why do you know about my business?” I ask, leaning back from him.
“Gossip.”
