Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Her hand still in mine, I rub her knuckles against my lips. “We have many things to say, you and I. But I have realized something and I must speak it first.” I gaze up at her. “I will stay here with you.”
“Here? Like in the ship?” Tia’s brows furrow. “Why?”
“No, you misunderstand.” I stroke her soft fingers, marveling at their delicacy. So fragile and yet she is so strong of will. I kiss her fingertips, content with my decision. It will pain me, but the pain of failing my people will be less than the pain of failing this one lone female. “I will stay here. Above. With you.”
I wait for her to be full of happiness. For her to squeal with joy and fling her arms around me. I want to see her joy.
But her mouth flattens into a line and she gives me a troubled look. “We’ll talk more when we’re alone.”
Chapter
Thirty-Three
TIA
Hearing the perfect words from Rem’eb doesn’t ease my mind.
I want to be overjoyed. But I can’t be, not if he’s only staying out of guilt. That wasn’t what I wanted out of this. I wanted him to stay with me because he loved me, but after talking with Gail, I understand how important helping his people is. I can’t keep him if it destroys the lives of others.
I’ve been devastated over the situation, and this doesn’t fix it. I might get what I want, but he doesn’t, and that’s just as bad.
We help everyone down the ladder, a few more wobbly than others. Noj’me seems fine, but Set’nef keeps blinking as if his eyes bother him, so the brothers are separated and tied to Rukh, who patiently makes the climb down over and over again while Harlow tinkers with the computer.
I climb down ahead of Rem’eb, still tied together, and go slowly. When we’re on the ground once more, I breathe a sigh of relief and put my arms around his waist. It’s an automatic reaction, the need to touch him overwhelming. My thoughts are both hopeful and troubled, but I know that right now, Rem’eb is probably suffering from what feels like the worst hangover ever.
“Come on,” I say, patting his hip. “I’ll stoke the fire and put on some tea. You need to eat and drink something and your head will feel better soon.”
Rem’eb nods, silent. That’s fine. I’m guessing there’s a lot to process right now. The brothers Set’nef and Tal’nef also seem a little shell-shocked, so I sit them all by the fire and make tea for everyone. Then, I open up a bag of trail mix and jerky and pass out handfuls while the others work their way down from the ship.
Harlow’s the last one to return, along with her mate. She kisses both her kids on the forehead, ruffles their hair, and then sits down by the fire. “We’ll rest up for the rest of the day and then head back first thing in the morning.”
Chalath takes a bite of jerky, a frown on his feline face. Even though he didn’t get the language-laser like the others, the moment I handed out food, he insisted on some. “That’s it? That’s all we’re doing here?”
“Is there a reason to stay?” Harlow asks him. “The ship interior is fragile, and the less people stomping around on the floors, the better.”
“You ran the tests you needed?” I ask.
She nods, turning to Colleen, who didn’t get the information dump, either. “And you? Are you satisfied?”
Colleen nods glumly. “I wouldn’t trust that thing to go ten feet, much less take me through several solar systems. I guess we’re stuck here.”
“It is not so bad, my friend.” Noj’me flings her arms around Colleen and cuddles the smaller woman against her. “Think of this as a new adventure.”
“Yes, because I’m so darn adventurous,” Colleen gripes, but she remains in Noj’me’s arms and doesn’t seem nearly as grumpy.
The alien woman strokes Colleen’s wispy blonde hair as she looks at the rest of us. “I suppose I am satisfied with what I have learned from the Great Oracle. It is most curious that it has the same answers as my Oracle.”
“That’s because they’re still transmitting to one another. There’s a network of some kind between them that we should be able to tap into,” Harlow continues. She glances at her mate, who nods. “Which is why Rukh and the kids and I are going to go on to Croatoan instead of heading back to Icehome Beach.”
“What?” Chalath looks displeased, and even rather emotionless-seeming Natalie looks concerned.
“I want to talk to Mardok. He knows a lot about old ships and the computer systems they used. I’m afraid to change anything in case I break something irreparable. Mardok might know how we can set up some sort of communication system using the shared signal with the pod in the caves. If that’s the case, we might be able to send messages back and forth from Croatoan to Icehome, and even to Rem’eb and Noj’me’s people.” Harlow’s eyes are bright with excitement at the possibility and her gaze settles on me. “If we can send instant messages to each other, think of how much better that will be for families that are apart. Remember those letters you sent to I’rec? Those took months to go back and forth because Ashtar didn’t visit all that often during the brutal seasons.”