He lifted it and pressed his lips to the back of my hand.
“Yes,” he said. “I did.”
A shiver ran through me and a thought flickered across the forefront of my mind.
Am I falling for him?
No, I thought. It wasn’t possible.
Who would find a green alien with horns attractive?
Me! Pick me!
The voice came from deep in my sub-conscious and I tried to stifle it with a pillow.
It didn’t work.
I wanted to listen to it.
I wanted to succumb to it.
“It must get tiresome sometimes,” I said, “being in this tin can, surrounded by technology. Sometimes it’s nice to unwind and surround yourself with nature instead.”
Vai’s attention perked up at the suggestion.
“Look out the window and you’ll see the history of time itself. We’re next to nature at all times.”
I smiled at the notion and wrapped my hair around my finger, watching him and glancing away shyly in equal measure.
He bent down and offered his hand once more.
I was beginning to understand that offering your hand like he did was common in his culture.
I took it and he lifted me onto my feet.
“So, what happens now?” I said.
“Now we continue with our training.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.
“More?”
“With all the advanced machines and computers we have, there are some things we cannot do.”
He stopped and turned to me.
Our noses were almost touching.
But I didn’t back away.
I raised my chin and our lips were so close I could practically taste him.
“Like what?” I said breathily.
His eyes focused on mine and I could barely breathe.
“Like, uh…” he said, smacking his lips and barely able to focus on the thoughts in his mind right now.
He’d forgotten what he was going to say.
“Like… your ability to sense Iav out there,” he finally said. “If I help you better understand the bond you share with him, you’ll be able to lock onto his position and know where he is at all times.”
“I’m not sure I can do that.”
“Of course you can. You were born linked to him. I bet you can sense him even now—even if you don’t really want to. God knows there’s plenty of reason for you not to want him in your head right now. But I’ll show you how to open yourself to him. I’ll show you how you can feel him out there. Then we’ll have a much better chance of defending ourselves.”
He gripped my arms harder, tighter.
It might have been painful if I didn’t have his eyes to stare into.
“Yes,” I said, taking strength from his confidence in me. “Yes. I’ll do it.”
He smiled at me.
It was intoxicating.
He might look like Iav, and yes, he even smiled like him with that incredible dimple forming in the pit of his cheek, the dimple that I wanted to gnaw on like a dog with a bone.
But he was different.
Even I could tell that.
He didn’t have the same sinister darkness cloaking his features the way Iav did.
When he smiled, it was for real.
And although his eyes shone with the same golden intensity, there was no malice there.
Only kindness.
The emotions coursing through me right now might have been caused by that same poison Iav had given me.
But I knew he hadn’t.
Because he wasn’t like his evil twin.
He was good.
He was just.
And I hadn’t ingested so much as a sip of water since I came aboard this ship.
I hadn’t been poisoned and yet I felt the same lightheaded giddy sensation as I had when I had been given a heavy dose by Iav.
“Come with me,” Vai said.
He offered his hand as he had done so twice to me already.
In both cases, I’d taken it without any real desire to follow him.
This time, it was different.
There was nothing but desire.
I wanted to go with him because there was no one else in the galaxy I wanted to be with more than him.
Right here and right now.
“Yes,” I said. “Take me. Show me.”
I am yours.
Vai
I took her to the observation deck.
It provided the best views of the galaxy out the huge window that took up one entire length.
There appeared to be no end to the universe and could have gone on forever.
But it didn’t.
I knew.
I’d been to the edge and peered over it.
And all I saw was another infinite darkness that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The truth was, there was no edge of the universe.
It was ever-expanding, making up more space as it expanded further, without end.
There were only two other elements in the known universe to have a similar ability.
Love and hate.
The two most powerful forces in both the M’rora and A’rorm cannon.
The depth of their hate and our love could cancel each other out and we would each be swept away in the blink of an eye.
I brought Emma to the middle of the room and watched her expression intently.
“Computer,” I said, “disengage all lighting systems.”
The lights powered down, removing the distractions of their bulbs.
They faded from view and gave a breathtaking view of the universe.
Emma gasped and, taking a moment to share a look with me, cupped her hands over her mouth and peered out the windows at the infinity that stretched in each direction, the vast twinkling lights both near and far.
Even the mines were invisible beneath the majesty of the stars and the spiraling arms of the neighboring galaxies.
There were so many points of light it was impossible to pry them apart.
“This is amazing,” Emma said.
Not half as amazing as you.
“I come here sometimes to look out on the galaxy and think about things,” I said. “It’s humbling, isn’t it? With so many stars and lifeforms out there, too numerous to count. All going about their lives, blissfully unaware of us.”
“We’re so small,” Emma said.
“But that doesn’t mean we’re unimportant. Each of us carries a spark, the same as all the other living creatures hidden out there among the distant stars. We’re as connected to them as they are to us.”
I took her hands in mine and led her toward one of the biggest bay windows.
“But
