Page 82 of Victoria's Discovery

Except, to muddy the waters further, right about the time she managed to convince herself he was just feeling particularly cheerful, he had to go and open up a little and undo all her hard work of telling herself she was happy to be just friends.

They’d been working together, injecting people with the chip and repeating the same phrase, when someone asked about progress on the spaceship. She’d said it was coming along nicely and should be fully repaired within days if everything stayed on track, then turned and caught the tense look on Thegan’s face.

Caught off guard that he’d looked upset at what should’ve been good news, she’d asked what was wrong, but in typical Thegan style, as soon as she spoke, he hid whatever he’d been feeling behind a smile. She sighed, knowing he was about to brush her off.

“Hmm? I—” He paused and seemed to really look at her. Instead of waving her concern away, he’d echoed her sigh and let his falsely cheerful smile fall away. “The ship is almost ready and, yet, I remain of two minds.”

“What do you mean?”

He turned to face her fully, eyes troubled. “I do not want to leave. You are here, I am curious to learn about this world, and the mission here is honorable. I have purpose, and my work is meaningful. Yet, I have guilt for feeling this way, for even thinking of staying. My people… ” He hesitated, his frown deepening. “There is much strife on my world. We are under endless threat of war with neighboring clans. I do not think so highly of myself as to assume my absence would make the difference between their safety or peril, but it feels… wrong to think of abandoning them.”

Her heart squeezed. She hadn’t known about any of that, and even though that wasn’t her fault, it still made her feel like a terrible friend.

He went still when she laid her hand on his arm, as though surprised at her touch, which made her feel like an even worse friend. She hadn’t thought he was aware that she’d been avoiding touching him—any of them—even by accident, since they moved out, but apparently, he was.

“I’m so sorry, Thegan, I didn’t know. Maybe… maybe you don’t have to pick just one?”

He frowned and cocked his head.

Letting her hand fall back to her side, she’d cleared her throat and waved the next person forward.

“What I mean is, when they get the ship fixed, maybe you could go back to your homeworld and... I don’t know. Relocate your clan to a safe place where they aren't under constant threat of war, maybe? That way you’d know your people are safe, and you could feel more at ease knowing you’d done something to help them stay that way.”

She paused to wave the next person forward, repeating the speech of what the chip was and why they were getting it, then kept going.

“You wouldn’t have to decide between going back forever and never returning here, because it would be a visit. Maybe some of your people might even want to come back with you. I know it’s not safe here right now, but Aria has plans to change that, and I really believe she’ll succeed. It might take a bit to get your planet, though. I don’t know where it’s located, but I’m sure they’d want to return as many people as possible along the way. Actually, maybe if you just told them what was going on, they might take you there first. Even if they agreed, you’d still be on the ship for a spell while they returned that group of people afterward, but… ”

She’d trailed off when she looked up to find him gazing down at her in amazed wonder. Victoria had shifted a little uncomfortably under that stare, but she felt pretty damn pleased with herself that she’d helped. It wasn’t a perfect plan, of course, but it was something and sometimes that’s all you needed. A spark of hope.

“You are… incredible, Vee.”

Scoffing lightly, she’d looked away, only to go perfectly still when he guided her eyes back to his with a finger under her chin.

“Truly.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek, voice dropping to a whisper, “Incredible.”

The way he’d said it still had her heart pounding hours later, but, in accordance with her usual luck, someone chose that moment to chirp, loudly, “I am next! Graciously said.”

The moment was broken, but Victoria felt the ghost of his touch on her face for the rest of the day.

Chapter 41

Victoria jerked to a stop when she turned the corner to find Thorn sitting next to the door to her room, his stretched-out legs taking up half the width of the hallway.

When he heard her, he stopped fiddling with whatever he was holding in his hands and turned to stare at her. It was a simple look, but damned if it didn’t have her heart skipping a beat. There was none of the false cheer Thegan usually wore to conceal whatever else he might be feeling, none of the angst she always saw in Vi’kail’s eyes when he looked at her.

Thorn was simply, breathtakingly happy to see her.

“Hi.”

His smile widened. “Good eve, my Vee.”

Pretending she wasn’t blushing, she walked to him then slid down the wall to sit at his side. Snitch promptly flew off her shoulder, landed on Thorn’s shin, then began regaling him with his tale of… something.

Thorn smirked but nodded along with him, listening intently as he blurped and warbled up a storm, indulging the little critter as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

I bet he’d be amazing with kids.

The unexpected thought startled her, but she quickly blamed it on conversation with Aria the day before.

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