Page 17 of Rebirth

I’m shaking my head before she can finish speaking. “No, it’s not that. I’m—I’m not tired. I’m fine.”

I force a smile.

I should tell her about what happened out there. So why is my mouth not moving?

“Oh no…” Her shoulders slump. “Did He’rox say something inappropriate to you? I can assure you he meant no ill will. The Vullan can be rather straight to the point and that can be a bit for us humans to get used to.”

I shake my head again, that lump that formed in my throat on the way here growing larger. “Speaking about him,” I force my smile brighter, “where is he? I’d like to speak with him.”

Mina studies me for a moment before her eyes crinkle.

“I…think he went back to the ship.”

My neck stretches back as I tilt my head to look up at the colossal vessel floating above us.

“I…need to speak to him.” My gaze flicks to the children still playing and an ache develops in my chest. This is their chance at peace. They deserve a childhood that’s not filled with terror.

I can’t create alarm when I don’t know what I’m dealing with. But he does. I’m sure he does.

I need him.

“I don’t think he’ll return to the surface until tomorrow. Can it wai—?”

“No.” I clear my throat. “I’d rather speak to him now, if that’s okay.”

Mina studies me for a moment longer before her shoulders lift in a sigh. “Well, you could go to him, if you’re ready to go into the ship. It’s not off limits.”

I swallow hard. The thought of going up into that thing is the same as imagining myself heading into the mouth of a beast. But there’s no other choice.

“It’s your first day so I understand if that’s too much for you right now.” Mina’s eyes hold curiosity but there’s also warmth there. I sense no negative sentiments from this woman and I lean on that, putting my trust in a stranger I only met this day.

“How do I get inside the ship?”

* * *

HE’ROX

Soh’fee. The first human to stir something within me akin to curiosity. Frail creature though she is, her spirit burned fierce as any warrior’s.

She didn’t run, even when I lost control enough to approach and scare her.

In her, I already see the beginnings of what few of my brethren have found. Females for their own, their ba’clan adapting to hyu’man biology, branding them as mates. Human and Vullan. Together. A new era. Something I hypothesized when we began this journey, but a reality none of us thought truly possible.

Chances were, whatever world we found, the beings would be unlike us. Neither did not know whether this world would have females. And, if they existed, we knew not whether they would be compatible with us. So we focused on the one thing we could count on. Our revenge.

For a moment, I stare ahead, seeing nothing except memories of Edooria. My work. My experiments…

I have not thought of that place in a long time. Why now?

Pulling my attention back to the present, I know there can be only one reason.

The fire-haired female with the stark pale eyes.

One so curious, her thirst for knowledge outweighed her sense of self-preservation. Someone that reminded me so much of myself, I had to draw closer. To scent her. To determine if she is pure. Untouched. Uncorrupted.

Because I am no longer sure where my insanity stems from. The version of me from the beginning, or the one I created.

For a moment, I wondered if she might hold the answers.

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