Page 140 of Alien Haven

“Mother of All,” Mitag breathed, gaping in horror. “Why haven’t I heard of this?”

“I was on a spyship in a place a Kalquorian presence wasn’t supposed to be.”

He watched as the pieces clicked together for Mitag. “Bi’is? You were there when…when they were killed off?”

“Maybe. I’m uncertain what was happening on the planet while my ship was under the Darks’ domination.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone of your mission.”

“Honestly, I no longer care who knows what the fleet was doing.”

Mitag gazed at him, compassion pouring from his eyes. “You were among the first to witness the presence of the Darks, weren’t you?”

“Unfortunately. I watched men I knew and trusted become utter strangers. I was surrounded by the Darks’ shadows. If my rank hadn’t been so low, my job so unimportant, they would have grabbed me too. Instead, I was forced to see things that made no sense.”

“To have encountered the unknown, to have watched commanding officers and shipmates turn into hostile people draped in shadows…” Mitag shook his head. “You must have thought you were going insane.”

He got it. Ilid relaxed at his reaction.

“Obviously, I managed to escape. Mostly. A part of me is still on my former vessel though. Maybe it always will be.”

“How did you get away?”

“An Imdiko orderly helped. They got him when we were caught trying to reveal the Darks to the empire, to warn Kalquor of the hostile presence.” He swallowed, remembering Darir disappearing under a tide of furious Darks. “My ship blew up as I raced off in a shuttle. I was the only survivor.”

Fresh horror dawned on Mitag’s features. “I’m so sorry, Ilid.”

“I have nightmares, some worse than tonight’s. When I’m awake, I can’t stop searching for the damned Darks no matter where I go.” Even as he spoke, Ilid’s gaze swept the well-furnished room displaying Mitag’s good taste. The initial hint of morning had begun to gray the sky beyond the Imdiko’s window. The room had a few shadows, but they were mundane. Nonthreatening. He stared at each in turn anyway.

Mitag moved so his face filled Ilid’s view. “Darks haven’t infiltrated Haven. The officials here have protocols to keep them out, people standing guard. The women can hear them and wehave those like you who can see them. We’re always on alert. No one comes to the planet unless they’ve been thoroughly vetted.”

“I understand that. It’s why my parents brought me here, why they hope to open a bakery for me to manage. This is all so I won’t try again to kill myself because I can’t handle what the Darks did to me.”

Mitag’s eyes brightened. Tears slid down his cheeks. He whispered Ilid’s name.

Ilid’s thumbs rubbed them dry. “I’m no real Dramok. I’m weak, Mitag. So terribly weak. Certainly not a Dramok any Imdiko should be the clanmate of.”

Mitag’s heart ached. It physically hurt to learn the pain this beautiful, haunted man lived with and the confidence he’d lost.

“I don’t see weakness.” He scooted closer to Ilid. “I see a survivor. An incredibly strong survivor who’s finding his way back after going through a horror I can’t imagine.”

“You wouldn’t say so after a few weeks of being woken by my screams.” Ilid’s gaze shifted for a moment to a point beyond Mitag’s shoulder. Checking for Darks.

Those who can see them do so in their peripheral vision.It cleared up the mystery of why Ilid struggled to meet Mitag’s gaze for more than a few seconds at a time.

“Ilid, listen. I have bad nightmares too. Hell, I sleepwalk on occasion. You have no idea how often I wake in my closet, thanks to my silly brain sending me into hiding from night terrors.” He debated saying more, but it was wrong to talk about himself when his friend suffered. “Waking me up screaming isn’t as big a deal as you worrying yourself sick.”

“I upset you. Admit it; I scared the hell out of you.”

“I’ve had worse scares. Believe me.”

Again, it wasn’t right to discuss his own issues at the moment. Ilid had revealed his secret to Mitag. He’d trusted him with raw wounds in need of healing.

Mitag kissed his suffering bedmate, pouring care in it. He did so passionately to show Ilid he was all the Dramok he needed to be. A Dramok deserving of love and respect and happily-ever-after.

Mitag wasn’t sure he’d get to be this man’s clanmate. He wasn’t sure he’d was someone Ilid would want once he emerged from the fog of trauma blinding him to his worth. It didn’t matter. Mitag was an Imdiko, a man built to care and assist. He’d do so for the despairing Ilid as long as he was allowed.

A therapist had once told Mitag damaged hearts called to damaged hearts, especially where Imdikos were concerned. “Our breed tends to put others before ourselves. When an Imdiko feels someone hurts as he does, it isn’t merely an opportunity to help him. It can serve as a mirror image of our own pain and loss. Therefore, if an Imdiko can aid another sufferer, his subconscious might tell him it’ll bring him comfort too.”

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