Kayal was shocked.
“You knew all this time?”
“Of course I did.”
“And Dad…?”
“Is happier not knowing. Some minds are… less imaginative than others.”
She looked over her shoulder at her husband and son playing their board game.
“They look very happy, don’t they? Tell me one thing. Are you happy in your time?”
Kayal looked over at me and squeezed my hand.
“I am now.”
“Then that’s all that matters. Think no more on this silliness. Focus on what you need to do. Everything else will work itself out.”
We took our leave and headed over to the ship.
The entire time, I couldn’t help but think about what would happen to Pana, Yoath, and little Kayal and the tragedy that would befall them.
And there wasn’t a thing we could do about it.
The ride up the escalator was a quiet one and seemed to stretch on for hours.
We harbored the same desire to let his family know what would happen to them but lacked the will to break Pana’s desires.
As Kayal pushed his bedroom door open, he mumbled:
“I’ll… take a shower.”
I looked after him as he entered the bathroom and turned on the taps.
It must have been difficult.
Having to live through this ordeal once was bad enough, but to have to do it twice, this time knowing exactly how things would turn out…
It made the event even worse.
His family had been given back to him, and soon, they would be stripped away again.
Was there anything worse than that?
I didn’t think so.
The water sloshed from his body and pounded the shower floor.
I could picture him there now, eyes shut, head in the hot spray, cascading down his muscular torso.
I tried to shake the sudden spike in lust and tried to identify with the turmoil rushing through his mind.
It was impossible.
There was no way I could get into that headspace.
I wasn’t sure I even wanted to.
I turned my logic on its head.
What if I was in his position, what would I need?
What would calm and soothe me?
What would I need?
The answer came easily.
Even better, I realized it wouldn’t only help him, it would help me because it was also what I wanted.
I approached the bathroom and stripped off my clothes one item after another.
By the time I reached the door, I was as naked as the day I was born.
Tendrils of steam crept around the doorframe.
The soft light illuminated the mist and made it glow, hiding him from view.
I braced myself, preparing for the case that he might deny my affections.
Just because this was how I would have dealt with these overwrought emotions, didn’t mean he would need the same.
This was about him, not me.
A shadowy figure swam from the mist, and I drifted toward it.
He really was a fine specimen of his species.
That day at his younger self’s birthday party, I witnessed the diversity of the Qyah species.
They were heavily built and muscular creatures.
Some sported bent and twisted horns, others snapped off and broken.
A handful were portly, their waistbands stretching.
The Qyah were striking, but when coupled with Kayal’s gleaming golden gaze and his dangerous stance, it was a beguiling mix none of the others possessed.
The water pounded the rough tile floor, concealing my approach.
I stepped into the shower stall behind him.
He stood as I expected him to.
His head was bowed down, beaten, and the water cascaded over his body.
I reached out, fully aware of his lightning-fast reactions and dangerous fighting skills.
I prodded him and immediately leaped back.
He spun around and adopted an aggressive stance.
I was already out of range.
I caught the lingering haunted expression in his eyes.
He relaxed and saw it was me.
Instead of the aggressive lust I had seen in the cave, his eyes drifted to the floor.
Yes, he was hurting.
And for good reason.
Without a word, I dropped to my knees before him.
The water cascaded down his shoulders and neck and over my head and snaked around my swollen breasts.
I took him in my mouth and he quivered, already growing rock hard.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said in a voice little more than a croak.
“I want to.”
He leaned his head back as I got to work.
His powerful hands found my head and guided me harder onto his thick shaft.
He groaned pleasingly.
I promised myself to take my time with him.
The longer I distracted him, the better it would be for him.
And for me.
Two hours after the vigorous workout session, I awoke.
My treatment had done its job.
Kayal lay beside me, fast asleep.
Occasionally, he tossed and turned, grumbling unintelligible words at the back of his throat.
I placed a hand on his cheek and the tense stress lines on his brow eased.
Then he rolled over and returned to his deep slumber.
I stepped out of bed and approached the window that looked down on the farmhouse below.
Tomorrow we would be gone.
And tomorrow, this planet would cease to be home to the peaceful Qyah.
It would belong to the Shadow.
The downstairs farmhouse lights were still on.
The kitchen, I thought.
Was Pana down there now, drinking a cup of tea and second-guessing her earlier response about not wanting to know the truth about their future?
The light flicked off and the house turned dark.
Kayal and his mother were cut from the same cloth.
More stubborn than old mules.
If only there was a way to tell her what would happen without taking away her desire not to know.
I respected her wishes, but I respected Kayal even more.
I reached for the desk drawer and pulled it open.
Someone had to do something, and that someone, it turned out, was me.
Kayal
Computer performed a full diagnostic check and discovered a slight reduction in thruster efficiency.
It was due to the defunct panel Yoath had given me to replace the damaged one but otherwise, all systems were fully operational.
The engine hummed and the ship vibrated gently beneath my hands.
“How are we looking?” Ava said.
She hadn’t left my side all morning.
I took her by the hand and felt that now-familiar rush of completeness in my heart.
I smiled up into her adoring face.
“We’re ready.”
She gripped my
