Page 117 of The Edge of Dawn

“For a big alien military station, it’s surprisingly homely.”

Noa laughed softly. “I’m glad you think so. They’ve made a lot of modifications to make the place livable for us. It’s still a work in progress, though. We add new bits and pieces all the time as we think of them. As for your question, see these blue lights here?”

Jade stared at the small constellation of blue lights set into the wall. They were arranged in a pattern, reminding Jade a little of braille, of all things. “I was wondering about those. Kordolians can see in almost total darkness, can’t they? That’s what I’ve heard, anyway. So I’d imagine they aren’t for helping them to see.”

“You’re right, and it’s true. They’ve evolved to live in the cold and darkness. That’s what the environment on their planet is like. These lights here are used to convey information. They can even project holos or record movement. This particular arrangement tells me that these doors lead to the library. Fortunately for us, they actually provide some form of illumination around the ship. It might not be the brightest, but it’s enough to see by. There are all kinds of devices we can use to help light the way, but I generally feel okay with this amount of light. I’m told Tarak ordered them to turn up the brightness a lot in our areas. Kordolians don’t like a great amount of light. They tolerate it, but their natural element is darkness.”

“Makes sense.” Jade rolled her eyes as she thought about Dragek and how easily he’d stalked through the underground mines. Kordolians were so obviously suited to cold and darkness. They were like deities or mythical creatures from another world—beautiful, dangerous, aloof until one got to know them.

She followed Noa through a small entrance room that opened up into a vast space. Like the cozy dining and lounge area they’d just left, this room was illuminated with the warm glow of proper lighting.

So, this was a human-friendly space.

Jade’s eyes were immediately drawn to a floor-to-ceiling window that allowed a stunning view of the stars. It was a treat for her senses, a surreal overload that almost stole away her remaining capacity for logic.

She could drown in that sight, staring at it for hours.

But she had enough of her wits about her to notice the deep-winged armchairs in the corners and the shelves along the dark walls, stacked with what looked like a combination of human and alien texts. She even recognized some of the titles from Earth.

Other books, however, were completely alien. Made from unfamiliar materials, the spines were embossed with indecipherable alien glyphs.

“I didn’t know Kordolians had books,” she whispered in awe.

“They don’t, really. They probably switched to digital long before we started putting pen to paper. These are either replicas, or they’re very, very old.”

“Oh.” Jade didn’t know why, but unease rippled through her. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? This is all linked to something ancient. You mentioned something about an artifact.”

“You catch on quickly.”

“I’m a details-oriented person. My former profession demanded it.”

“You were a lawyer, right?”

“Why am I not surprised that you know everything about me already?” Jade rolled her eyes in an unserious way. At least this small talk helped relieve some of the tension inside her. Being able to feel the tendril of Dragek’s presence without knowing what he was up to was a subtle kind of torture.

“Sorry.” Noa spread her hands wide in an apologetic gesture. “You’re new here, and they’re Kordolians. They can access pretty much any database on Earth.”

“We humans didn’t ever stand a chance, did we?”

“Not really.”

“All right.” Jade let out a puff of exasperation and steeled herself. She could easily feel upset and violated right now, like her world had been upended and control snatched out of her hands. But when had she ever been truly in control? At least now, she could do something about it. Noa and the Kordolians were giving her that option. “Where’s this artifact, then? And what am I expected to do?”

“Have a seat.” Noa gestured toward one of the winged armchairs. “Please make yourself comfortable. I don’t want you to feel any sense of pressure. It’s just a theory we’re going to test out. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, that’s okay, too. Elgon and I will make sure nothing dangerous happens.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to explain it to me like I’m five.” Jade sat down, grateful for the comfort of soft velvet cushioning. She could understand why Noa and the other humans had insisted on them. These small creature comforts made the place feel less alien and closer to Earth.

They were a little dose of sanity.

Noa walked across and took a seat in the armchair opposite. “When you first encountered Dragek, something big happened. Neither of you would have been aware of it at the time, but that meeting triggered a reaction in your bodies. Not a normal attraction. Something far greater than that, potentiated by the fact that your raw, unrecognized Talent came into contact with his. That’s why you were both magnetically drawn to one another. Why you so easily stepped out of your comfort zone and went along with him. Why things escalated so… fast. It’s in our genes, apparently. There’s something that makes some of us highly, highly compatible with certain Kordolians. The fact that you’re his match both genetically and psychically makes you even rarer. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why your Talent started kicking off in the first place. Not necessarily because of your injury.”

“Okay.” Jade made a slow-down gesture with her hands. “I get it. I’m going to need a month or so to process all of this, but I understand what you’re saying. The impossibility of it all. My life’s never going to be the same again, and all of that.” And I just want to see him again.

“Given that the two of you are still in that rare state of heightened senses and physical enhancement, we thought it might be a good opportunity to test one of Elgon’s theories and teach you more about your abilities along the way because the Mating Fever won’t last forever. Tarak also thought it would be useful if you could speak to Dragek. We don’t know what he’s going to encounter. He’s a disciplined and incredibly skilled fighter, but he’s fairly new to this kind of thing, and all of them go to a dark place from time to time. We figured he’d probably benefit from having an anchor.”

“And you think that anchor is me?”

“Nothing else can affect him as powerfully as you.”

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