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“I believe you.”
“I had forgotten what it was like to fly. But I could fly in my dream. I always fly when I dream this way. It feels wonderful.”
“You’ve had this dream before then?”
“Sometimes. It's a little different every time. I had ignored it, thinking it was just something I was making up in my imagination. But this time felt different. It was more real than my life now.”
“What do you think it means?” I ask.
“It's like something unlocked inside of me,” he replies. “Maybe it was the crash. But not because I'm making this up now. I'm finally remembering what I had forgotten.”
“Being Ishani?”
He nods. “We all were, the Reapers. I think over time our Reaper selves pushed out whatever part of ourselves remained. We changed when we fled our home planet until we couldn't even recall what we had once been.”
I’m stunned. “So every Reaper that you know has the same faulty memory?” I ask him. “None of you remembered this?”
“No.” He shrugs. “Or if they do, they do not mention it. To be a Reaper is to be angry. To be angry at everything they took from you. To put everything into growing the monster they made you become.”
He looks up at the stars. “I do not think, perhaps, there is any energy left to remember the before times. Or any desire to learn how much angrier we would be if we recalled what we had lost.”
Again we fall into silence. The stars look strange from here. When I was on Gur I could barely see them because of the light pollution and clouds, but when I did, their configuration was very different. Here I can see every one of them blazing a trail across the cold dark heavens. It is a magnificent site, but it also makes me feel very small and insignificant.
Somewhere out in the bleak rocky landscape, an animal screams its call out into the night. The noise chills me. “Let’s go back to our room,” I suggest.
Karvex sighs. “Come on then,” he says, standing up. His arm remains protectively around my shoulder until we are safely back in our warm room.
So much has changed so quickly. I study the pattern of horny growths that cover his body as he gets undressed. At first, they appeared fearsome and ugly. But now we’ve become intimate, and I'm viewing them differently. They form intricate symmetrical patterns down his back and over his shoulders.
He catches me looking at him and smiles. It makes the lines on his face fold around the growths that cover it. “Are you checking me out?” he asks as he climbs onto the bed.
“Your body is amazing,” I tell him, running my fingers over the patterns.
“I think you’re the first person to tell me that in those words.”
I study him, trying to memorize all the lines, letting my fingers wander along his cheekbone. Following the line of spikes up to his hairline and over his head. He lays back and lets me take in every detail of him.
Life is so strange. How can I be in love with a Reaper? A Reaper who swears he was once an Ishani?
CHAPTER 11
KARVEX
The next morning, we’re greeted by the local leader of the asteroid town as we eat in the courtyard. She appears middle-aged and has a voice like silk. And from the moment she opens her mouth, I know I don’t trust her.
“Greetings, dear visitors,” the mayor said sweetly. “I am Eznine, and I am happy to see that you survived that horrible crash that happened just outside our town. I wanted to come in person to welcome you and make sure you are comfortable.”
I grit my teeth in an effort to keep my face straight. This woman might be in charge, but she has the demeanor of a grifter. But it’s also none of my concern whether or not this little asteroid town is run by someone shady or not. Right now, we just need to get off this rock as soon as possible.
And so, I bite back any remarks I have and try to sound as pleasant as a Reaper can. “Thank you. Your hospitality has been most generous so far. We do not mean to take advantage of your kindness for long, though, so if you would be so kind as to assist us in finding a ship out of here.”
If I had a ship of my own, I’d be out of here already.
A very practiced look of remorse crosses the woman’s face. “We would be most happy to assist. I’m afraid, however, that we do not have any ships currently worthy of space travel.”
I want to snarl at the woman. But even if Alana were good in a fight, we’re outnumbered. Reapers heal rather quickly, but humans do not. When she’s ready for the challenge, we’ll commandeer another ship, even if we have to steal it.
Right now, though, I can’t put Alana through that. She needs another day or two of rest. I tell myself it’s best for all of my crew to take a few days off for the various injuries.
