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“This is my ship. I will do with your ‘cargo’ as I see fit. And I see fit to tend their wounds and see to their needs. If you take issue, speak to the king when we arrive on Thorzan.” Then he turned to the rest of us and motioned toward a hall, opposite the way Crux had come in. “This way to the medical bay. Once everyone is seen to, and has an interpreter implant if they wish,”—Crux huffed and said something in an irritated tone, but Kaelum ignored him entirely—“we will find you a place to rest for the remainder of the journey.”
Interpreter implant? Now that sounded like just what the doctor ordered. I turned and led the way, pretending as much confidence as I could, and trying not to tremble so hard that I made Genevieve’s teeth chatter.
CHAPTER6
KAELUM
Leaving Crux there staring after us was deeply satisfying, but a grin over such a small victory would be seen as a celebration. I could not have him believe I’d be satisfied with so little as the right to command my own ship.
The humans had mostly superficial injuries, easily tended by our medical officer, Tyber. But I had seen them tremble in the cold. They were so small, so delicate. Often, I forgot. My father had made the palace a place where my mother could always remain comfortable.
It was no wonder Thorzi doubted the strength of hybrids, when these soft creatures were so vulnerable.
They clung to each other as they awaited treatment, and I was pleased to give them that paltry comfort. The man who had stepped up to me first, who had touched my shoulder and sparked that warm tingle that flew all the way to my fingertips, was also the first to present himself to our medical officer.
He did not look harmed, though he had shaken from the cold. Instead, he seemed determined to prove to his companions that they were safe in the hands of a Thorzi who had chosen a life of healing rather than a life of battle. There were none gentler on this ship than Tyber, including Aldor with his pink skin.
Tyber scanned the man head to toe, checking for internal injuries. “Nothing wrong,” he said, cheerful, ready to move to the next.
I held up my hand to stop him, staring the human in his light gray eyes. “Do you desire an interpreter implant at this time?”
He frowned my way, his skin paling a shade lighter. After a shaky breath, he swallowed. The muscles of his throat contracted, the single ridge in front bobbing up and down.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. He looked again at Tyber. “Yeah. I do.”
It was a shot, quick, behind the ear. The little pink man flinched, but it was over so quickly that his wide eyes blinked, staring in surprise at Tyber’s back as he moved to care for the next human.
He hopped off the treatment table, rubbing the spot behind his ear, a little line puckering the smooth skin of his brow.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, struggling to keep the smirk off my face. I did not know for certain—I did not think it would hurt; mine hadn’t, but I did not know what it felt like, to have human skin. Naturally, my mother spoke English and Thorzi, and I knew both. As for other Earth languages? It was not my business to tend the humans Crux brought to our home world, but my own interpreter implant would assist when necessary.
“Nah. Just feels weird.” He dropped his hand and leaned back against the floor-mounted table beside me.
“I am Kaelum,” I said in Thorzi, to see if it worked.
He frowned at me again, sucking his cheeks in so they hollowed beneath his eyes, the corners of his lips tight and pinched.
“I know. You said before.”
I could not master my grin then. When I spoke again, I did so in his language. No reason to push too fast. “I did. But you did not share what I call you.”
“Oh. My name?” His expression only got smaller, took up less of his face as his features scrunched in. Perhaps Crux had not bothered to ask these humans’ names aloud. Lyr had blessed him with the ability to see others’ minds. He would not need to ask, but it was still the polite way to comport himself. “I’m Lucas.”
He turned to me then, stuck out his hand.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, voice pleasant and mild like this was a phrase he used often.
I stared down at him, at his tentative smile and his offered hand. I was not sure what he wanted, but he did not seem to mind touching, so I pressed my palm to his and gripped him gently.
“May the stars light your path, Lucas.”
Again, he blinked. Spots of a darker shade of pink rose below his eyes. “Right. Yeah.”
I looked over to his companions. Tyber had cleared the girl who had clung to Lucas before, but the one with the wound on his head, he seemed concerned for. Though he lingered, he was not outwardly distressed, so I left them to it.
“The one in the tall pointy shoes—”
Lucas cocked his head to the side. His gaze settled on the curvy human in the red dress before his attention returned to me. “Her name’s Ree.”
