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“What the fuck?” There shouldn’t be a passenger. Someone has stowed away on my ship.
I head for the cabin. The only place where anyone could hide.
“Hi, Hyx,” says Libby nervously, one eyebrow raised.
CHAPTER 32
LIBBY
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Hyx demands, not at all pleased to see me.
“I want to know what’s going on!” I yell back. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“Shit, Libby. You shouldn’t be here!” Hyx says, shaking his head.
“No, I gathered that much by the fact that you took a new job and ghosted me. I want to know why.”
“It’s complicated,” he replies.
“Well, I don’t know where we’re going, but I’d say we have a few hours free for you to explain it all to me.”
Hyx runs his hand through his hair, a look of exasperation on his face. “Okay,” he says. “Just let me set this to warp drive, and I’ll come back here and explain everything.”
I smile as I follow him into the cockpit, satisfied that I’m finally going to get some answers. I try not to let my expression show that I still feel super crazy that I’ve had to stow away on his ship to finally get some alone time with him.
My stomach lurches as the ship hits warp speed. I always love this moment, but today I feel a little apprehensive. I’m aware I may not get the answers I like, or want, from Hyx.
I had to dig around a lot at work to figure out where Hyx had transferred to, and I’m sure more than one person thinks I’m his crazy ex-girlfriend now. I figured if he wouldn’t tell me what he was up to, I would just have to find out for myself. Still, now that he knows I’m on board, I suppose that works, too. At least it gives us a chance to talk when he can’t run away.
Once the flight controls are on autopilot, we head back to the tiny cabin.
“Okay, let’s talk,” Hyx says, sitting down on the bed.
“Why the hell have you been avoiding me?” I demand. I don’t sit, I stand with my hands on my hips. The weeks of pent-up frustration erupt from me with force.
“Because you’re in danger,” Hyx tells me earnestly. “I want to keep you safe.”
“I know that. We saw that together, remember? It’s my choice if I want to face that danger. You can’t make the choice for me.”
I feel so hurt that he blew me off. That he won’t open up to me. That he won’t listen to me. That he didn’t even consult me before making decisions on my behalf.
“But if I can just sort it out, then we stand a chance of living a happy life together,” Hyx says in frustration. “I don’t want us to die again.”
“But by not allowing me to be involved, we are being separated. I have told you before that could be worse than whatever fate was intended for us,” I reply, equally as vexed.
The worried look on his face makes me feel bad for yelling at him. I go and sit on the bed next to him. “Come on, you may as well tell me what you’ve been up to,” I say, trying to hold back my anger. “I mean, really? Running supply runs to avoid seeing me? Am I that bad?”
To my relief, Hyx laughs. “Okay, I’ll tell you,” he says. “I’ve had a bit of a crazy time actually. I’ve been dying to talk to you about it all, to see what you think. I think you’d be interested, and it’s killed me to not share it with you.”
“Okay, spill it,” I encourage.
“I was thinking more about fated mates and past lives, so I decided to do some looking into the Precursors. The fated mate legacy is as old as they are, after all. I started wondering if there could be Precursors who have had more than one life, or if these life cycles that seem to carry over in multiple lives were set by something that happened back then. I don’t know, really, it’s just a thought.”
I nod. “No, it’s a good one. I mean, maybe not exactly scientific, but I understand what you’re saying.”
“See, I knew you would. I knew you’d be the only person to find this as interesting as me. Anyway, so I set out to learn more about the Precursors. I was using my time traveling to try to look up information on them and see what other planets and races might know. Someone suggested I go to a planet called Jwoon III. I don’t know what I’ll learn there, if anything, but that’s where I’m heading now as soon as I’ve completed my supply run.”
Hyx looks at me with love in his eyes. I reach out my hand and take his, enjoying how his golden skin is warm against mine.
