Page 55 of A Delicate Conquest

“Or not. You’re the one with the inquiring mind. A little disobedient and angry enough to want to fuck me over a little, but not too much.”

“You know me well enough, but then again, you know everything, don’t you?”

“I donot.” Zharek closed his eyes and tipped his head back, a long sigh escaping through his half-closed teeth.

He looked…tired.

Mavrel had never seen Zharek look tired before.

His long hair was tousled. His normally sharp gaze was dulled.

There were dark circles underneath his eyes.

“You look like shit,” Mavrel said bluntly. “Are you… coping?”

“No.”

His irritation toward Zharekalmostevaporated. “Is there something I can do to assist?”

Zharek’s shoulders slumped, making him appear smaller. “Not really. But since you’re here anyway, I’ll allow you to see—as long as you keep this between us only.”

“You know I’m not in the habit of revealing confidential data.”

“Yes. I know. You’re sufficiently reclusive, tight-lipped, and honorable enough not to break your word.” Zharek walkedtowards the Qualum doors, which opened immediately. “Come on, then.”

Surprised by Zharek’s easy capitulation, Mavrel quietly followed him into the dark chamber.

The doors closed behind them, enveloping them in silence.

His attention was immediately drawn to the stasis chamber in the middle of the room.

A human floated there: limbs suspended in nutrient-rich fluid, long hair drifting upwards, eyes closed.

Spectral, devoid of life, skin depleted of the rich colors usually found in humans.

He glanced at the monitors.

There was no pulse.

No brain activity.

From outward appearances, it was difficult to determine whether there were any traces of life in her at all.

Zharek turned to face him, his expression bleak. “This human is my perfect reproductive match. She was found upon the human passenger transportMalachien route to the jungle planetEiolan—known to the humans asMiridian-8.I have done everything I can to preserve her cellular integrity, but even I can’t bring her back to life.”

Mavrel’s chest tightened. Zharek had been dealing with this torture forthislong? Ever since they discovered that damaged human ship?

“What about the Tharians?”

“You think I hadn’t considered that? I tried to find a second-stage Tharian symbiote that would accept her as a host, but the Tharians tell me her body is too damaged to resurrect.” Zharek’s tone became as cold as the windswept ice-plains of the Vaal.

Mavrel sensed his despair, which threatened to envelop him, too. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t believe you. You always have a plan.”

Zharek looked away, saying nothing.

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