Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“Hello, Commander,” he said, nodding at her. “It’s good to see you as well.”
“And this must be Sonya! The female you went searching through the Multiverse to find,” she said, smiling at Sonya, who was still looking around with wide eyes. His own Sonya had been used to the Mother Ship—they had lived there most of their married life. But this Sonya had never been aboard such a large starship and she was rather awed by the Mother Ship’s interior and the Kindred technology on display.
“Yes, this is Sonya.” Davrik tried to smile but it was difficult since his heart felt like it had been dipped in lead. Sonya was still keeping her emotional distance from him and it didn’t seem like anything he said could change her mind. “She has a pain chip implanted in her right ankle,” he added. “We were hoping you could remove it—I promised Sonya it would be a painless procedure,” he added.
“Yes, of course—we can manage that. A simple extraction should be no problem.” Commander Sylvania smiled reassuringly at Sonya, who smiled tentatively back—it was the first smile Davrik had seen from her since the revelation that she was the doppelganger of the mate he had lost.
“And…it really won’t hurt?” she asked Sylvania. “Because when this thing activates, it feels like my skeleton is melting—literally.”
“That sounds extremely unpleasant.” The Kindred Commander shook her head sympathetically. “But don’t worry—we can remove it without activating it. We might need to give you some medication to make you sleepy and numb the area before we begin though. Is that all right?”
“As long as I don’t feel anything,” Sonya said. “That pain is awful.” She shivered.
“You won’t feel a thing,” Commander Sylvania said comfortingly, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Would you like your mate, to come with you?” she added, nodding at Davrik.
“Oh, he’s not my mate or my husband or anything,” Sonya said quickly, shooting him a glance that felt like a dagger in his heart.
“No?” Sylvania looked surprised. “Forgive me—I just assumed that since Commander Davrik was so anxious to find you, the two of you would be together by now.”
“Afraid not.” Sonya’s voice was tight and this time she wouldn’t meet Davrik’s eyes.
“I can come with you if you want, though—if you feel nervous?” he offered, hoping she would want him by her side.
But Sonya shook her head.
“That’s okay—I’ll be fine.”
“Very well.” Davrik shrugged as though he didn’t care, even though her rejection was cutting him up inside.
“Well…” Commander Sylvania was looking back and forth between them, an uncertain expression on her face. At last she seemed to decide that whatever was going on was none of her business. “Very well,” she said to Sonya. “Come with me and let’s get that chip taken out.”
“Thank you.” Sonya nodded and went with her without a single backwards glance.
She’s never going to forgive me—she fucking hates me now!
Davrik’s heart ached and despair filled him like liquid darkness. Alone—he needed to be alone! He couldn’t hold his feelings inside for one more moment. He needed to shout or punch something or weep or all three and he couldn’t do any of those things in the middle of the busy Med Center.
He took a left and strode down the corridor until he came to a dark and seemingly empty exam room. Ducking inside, he shut the door firmly, clenched his fists, and let out a long, growling cry that came from deep in his soul.
“Goddess!” gasped a familiar voice and Davrik realized, to his embarrassment, that he was not alone as he had thought.
“Lights!” he called and the exam room lit up to reveal Lan’ara, the Empath Kindred he had met on their mutual search for their human mates. “Lan’ara!” he exclaimed at the same time she said,
“Davrik!”
“What are you doing here?” he asked her. She was sitting on the edge of the exam bed and her purple eyes were bloodshot. She looked like she had been crying.
“I’m here because of Nate,” she said and sniffed. “And you? Why are you here and why did you shout just now? You nearly deafened me! I can feel your hurt and rage even though I’m not touching you.”
“Forgive me for that.” Davrik let out a long breath, trying to calm himself. “I just needed to ‘let off some steam’ as the humans say.”
“I understand.” She sniffed again and swiped at her eyes. Davrik reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a clean soothing cloth—he always kept one with him because of his tendency to get allergies in some alien habitats. “Here.” He held it out to Lan’ara.
“Thank you.” She took the cloth gratefully and blotted her eyes.
“I would ask if everything is all right with you and Nate, but I’m guessing it’s not,” Davrik said dryly.
“No, it’s not,” Lan’ara admitted. “Nate’s…well, not exactly sick. He’s in a state of extreme, persistent and possibly incurable fatigue. And it’s all my fault.”