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He sputters, clutching his throat and unable to answer. I climb onto the edge of the balcony, pulling out a stinger and aiming it at him. He manages to pick himself up and face me.
“Let’s chat about it when you wake up, hm?” With my setting to stun, I fire on him, but he’s already launching at me. My stun blast hits the idling speeders as he tackles me with impressive force onto the floor of the balcony. My helmet slaps the stone.
He pins me, straining to press me down with the weight of his body. But he can’t do much else with his focus on wrestling the stinger from my hand. I knock my head into him with all the force I can manage. My visor shatters on contact with his helmet, but it’s enough to loosen my opponent’s hold.
We’re both grunting in anger as I flip him onto his back. He won’t let my weapon go, even as I twist his wrist and pound my knee into his stomach. I’m wondering whether choking him would turn into a kill rather than simply subduing him, but suddenly, the male goes limp.
I pause. Did I somehow hit an organ that made him pass out? How could that be? I don’t even know what species he is—
“K-k—” His voice is hoarse from the hit I dealt to his throat. “Koko.”
A Kar’Kali, then? Or is this some sort of ruse?
“Do I know you?” I ask in our language.
“You did once,” he rasps. “Get off me, will you?”
I lift my weight off and the male sprawls to catch his breath and rub his throat. The neck of his suit pulls down to reveal gray skin. So I’ve attacked my own kind? Well, what was this male doing here, then? If he’s Kar’Kali, he should have no reason to lurk at my female’s window. Perhaps he doesn’t realize she’s mated. I’ll make the fact that she’s well-claimed by the mating bond very clear to this interloper. I pull off my ruined helmet and toss it to the ground. My mate’s balcony is a mess. I hope she isn’t angry with me over all this glass. She mustn’t be home if this racket we’re making didn’t bring her out to check.
“Explain yourself,” I grunt at him, losing patience. “Do you know the female that lives here? Why are you stalking her home in the night from the window?”
“This female,” he says, lifting his own helmet off, “belongs to my kin.”
Silver hair spills out of the helmet. I’m staring at my near reflection.
“Vallaki?” I breathe, unbelieving.
He groans as he props himself into a crouch.
“After all these passings,” he murmurs, “you can still nearly kill me without breaking a sweat.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
KAYE
“Don’t be out too late,”I say firmly, fixing a glare on Raffa. It’s difficult to be intimidating when I have to look up at the boy nowadays. “You promised Banna you’d help them in the gardens tomorrow morning. So if end up letting her down—”
“I know!” he grouches. “Don’t worry. And… you’re not going anywhere tonight, right?”
“Where would I go?”
“Okay, I just—” He frowns. “You’re not lonely because I’ve been going out a lot, are you?”
My shoulders drop. He’s too sweet.
“No, of course not,” I tell him. “I’m really glad you can have more fun out here than you did on EC-12. I did the same thing when I was your age, and now I’m boring so I enjoy a little peace and quiet.”
Half-truth, half-lie. I do get lonely when he’s not around to distract me after dinner with games, or ridiculous stories from his delivery runs, or wild holo-shows that we watch together (mostly the alien equivalent MMA—Raffa’s favorite). But there’s nothing that pleases me more than seeing him form friendships with the Kar’Kali boys his age that live at the Seventh Bright Sun, too. I was worried about his mood when we first arrived here, considering the traumatic experience that occurred before we fled. But the other delivery boys and waiters who work for Lakkavi quickly accepted him.
I bid him goodbye while I help Banna close up the kitchens. Raffa and his gang of fellow troublemakers gather in the lobby just outside Traditions of Kar’Kal, but they’ve disappeared into the night by the time we lock up. I’ve felt more relaxed since Kalla’s brother and his friend assured me that they ‘took care of’ the bounty hunters that had sent that male to Raina’s farm. After finding out more from Lakkavi, I learned that Mori is the mastermind behind a new military-grade weapon design firm. He’s a brilliant man whose efforts have helped turn the tides of the war in more ways than one. That doesn’t preclude him from being a miserable conversationalist, but at least I can trust them at their word.
If the man behind re-engaging Kar’Kal’s defense weaponry says he took care of it, then I guess it’s taken care of.
It’s not far from the restaurant to my cozy room, one of many that Banna herself furnished for helping Kar’Kali in need to get back on their feet. I plan to vacate it soon for someone who might need it more. Now that I can walk the streets of Station City without fearing for my life, Raffa and I can find an apartment.
Maybe something near the stadium?I think to myself as I swipe my keycard over the security pad.That way, I can take Raffa to see those fights he likes so much in person sometimes…
The lights are on.
