It was after this that I stopped talking so much. I had tried to talk to my cousins, to get them to search for the finger. I yelled and screamed, desperate to be heard. For once, I really wanted people to listen to me.
But I might as well have been screaming into the void for all the good it did. What’s the point in talking if no one listens? If no one hears you?
I was eight, my injured cousin six.
Ever since, I’ve been quiet and reserved. I’ve always been shy, but it became worse after that.
Before the person can knock again, I rush over to the door and open it. The largest, most muscular Novan I've ever seen looms before me. He's so very tall, and I back away. My heart is hammering in my chest, but he remains by the door after he shuts it, whereas I cross over to the far side of my bed.
“You are Callie, aren’t you?” he asks, his voice booming, echoing in the small room.
I nod.
“You are the one who was involved with a guard, weren’t you?”
“I…” Who is he? Why is he asking?
“You do not need to fear me. I am Overlord Nestrol. I perhaps should have introduced myself first before starting to question you.”
“Why…”
“Why am I questioning you?” He flashes his teeth. It’s almost a smile, but he appears too agitated for that.
I suck in a breath and nod. He makes me anxious, and my stomach twists into knots. He's here because of Adir. He found out about what Adir did. What is he going to do to Adir? Their leader is an overlord. He's basically a dictator. What he says goes, and I know a lot of the Novan, if not all of them, are willing to do whatever the overlord requires of them. They feel loyal to him because of his keeping them together and surviving two years in space after the Grots destroyed their planet. Not only did they survive, but they were able to develop technology to destroy the Grots once and for all. He is the reason why they're alive. Why wouldn't they want to listen to him?
But Adir didn’t listen. What’s to become of him now?
“I seek answers,” the overlord states. “Are you willing to talk to me?”
As if I have a choice in the matter.
My gaze falls to the ground. For the most part, the Novans wear feet coverings that are rather similar to shoes. They don't have laces, and they're made from animal hides, but they're basically shoes for all intents and purposes. It's almost amusing to me that two species would be so similar in so many ways. A head, two eyes, two ears, a mouth, a nose, two arms and legs… with clothing that covers the body and footwear the feet… There have to be countless other species. Are they all humans? Are there some out there with three eyes? With horns?
I don’t know, but I would much rather talk about other species than to talk about Adir. Not that I have a choice in the matter.
There have been times when my room has felt like a cage. Now is one of those times.
“You look a bit pale,” he says. “Are you feeling all right?”
I eye him curiously. His skin is a very deep blue color. Would I be able to tell if he went pale? Or would his skin turn an even darker shade? How observant is he to notice that a woman pales when she’s not feeling well or when something is wrong?
Err, not a woman. Or not every woman. Earthling women.
He lifts his eyebrows, and I grimace.
“I am fine.”
“You don’t like to talk, do you?”
“I talk.”
“Then you’ll answer my questions?”
I flare my nostrils and give a curt nod.
If he notices that I’m less than pleased, he makes no mention of it as he starts to pace back and forth along the wall with my door. “You and Adir… Would you mind telling me how that came about?”
“He came to see me. He was kind. He wasn’t like the others.”
“The others meaning…”
“The breeders.”
“How so?”
“Adir listened to me. He was sweet and kind and—”
“He did that to deceive you.”
I look away. “He… I knew he was a guard. He didn’t lie to me.”
“Never? Not once?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“But he slept with others.”
“At least one, yes. Two. He was… Two.”
“Maybe a lot more,” the overlord says dryly.
“You don’t know?” I ask. “Have you talked to him? Did you question him?”
“We spoke, but I did not need to know every detail of his… actions.”
I flinch.
“You do not have to worry,” the overlord continues. “I don’t know what exactly Adir did, but I do know that he can’t be trusted.”
My stomach twists at that. “You aren’t…” I can’t bring myself to ask the question burning my mind.
You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?
Because, despite everything, I don’t want Adir to be hurt.
“He is no longer a guard,” the overlord continues. “He has left the building already. You do not need to fear that he will return and try to be… What was it? Sweet and kind in an effort to lure you to bed again.”
I wince and squeeze my eyes shut. Adir is gone.
“Did he… What did he say to you?” I ask haltingly.
"Adir did not say much at all. He accepted his new position, but then again, he had accepted being a guard too, and he overstepped his authority there. I am so sorry about what happened to you. He took advantage…"
I just shake my head. Yes, Adir had sex with other women and me,
