Page 62 of Ava Stargazer

“Do you now? You have loyalty to him, but why has he not marked you yet?”

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. “The thing that Orla did with Erox at the ceremony?”

“Yes. Your scent and mind is still of one that is unmated.”

Quietly she said, “He told me about it, but said I wasn’t ready. He said that it was a link between minds, usually before having children.”

Zeed took a dubious tone with her, crossing his arms across his muscular torso. “Yes, you usually mate before kits, but having young is not needed to have that union.”

Ava looked to the side, tears suddenly threatening. “Vox said my mind was not ready. I don’t know how it would work with a Human either; Vox said I am compatible, but there is so much not known.”

She felt awkward discussing this with Zeed, who was only an acquaintance at this point. Doubt moved into her mind.Or maybe Vox is still uncertain of me, and the rest was just an excuse.Her gaze snagged on her very Human hands.So different.

Zeed put a finger under her chin until her head raised and he looked at her flatly. “You are compatible with us. I’ve looked at the scans Erox took of you with Pyra during our travels, as the quorum's opinion is changing and they wanted more data. Our genes are heavily dominant, and our young would take after Vorbax almost exclusively. They would fit in fine with others.”

Ava startled and moved out of his reach. She remembered the children in the women's hall and her question of what hers would look like. “Would fit in? Be like you?”

“Yes, the genetics were quite clear in theory.”

Ava’s hand went to her fertility blocker, imagining a miniature Vox.

Zeed continued, “As to the mind mark . . . even our coars can carry our marks within their minds to show their owner. I can see how your mind works and how easily it could be imprinted on.”

“Oh. It would be easy?”There must be another reason Vox hasn’t explained any of this.Her heart fell inside, followed by a drop in her stomach.I need to talk with him. Maybe he is uncertain.

He nodded. “At the very least, he could mark your mind, even if you can not do his in return. Kits do not necessarily need to come for that to take place.” Zeed continued in a gentler voice, angling his head down and regarding her with light amber eyes that gleamed in the fluorescent lighting, “You are committed to him.” Frustration on his face, he huffed and stepped away. “That is fine. It was worth telling you my interest, just in case, and to let you know there are options. It is rare to find one with as soft a mind as yours.” His eyes closed then opened again, with an intensity that seemed otherworldly. “Your thoughts feel like a harmony within mine, something I never expected to find.”

“A harmony?”Ava just spun her hands around each other.

Zeed sighed and turned away. “Yes. Your mind. It comes up with pictures and things that are not real sometimes. Like an ever-changing song.”

Awareness came over her as she recognized Zeed’s fascination with her mind.My imagination.It was like Lirell while she dreamed, and Vox in general with her thoughts.

Zeed's low voice brought her attention back to him, her eyes settling on his IO mineral necklace. “I would ask him why he has not claimed you yet. And then ask yourself if you are certain about him as well.”

“He said at the ceremony that I was not ready.”

Zeed snorted. “He said? But it sounds like I have explained more than he has already.”

Anxiety prickled throughout her body as she struggled to think of an answer. She swallowed and looked away. “I guess I just didn’t think to ask and clarify it. He said we are not ready for it, and I let it drop. A lot has been happening.”

Zeed’s eyes gentled. He looked like he was warring with himself on what to say next. Finally, he grunted out loud and said, “Ask, Ava. It shouldn’t just be his choice to make. Because...” He pulled himself up to his full height and tilted his head as he regarded her, his eyes taking on that otherworldly gleam again. “If your answer changes at all, I am here and willing, Ava, and I would be honored to claim that right for you. I can provide everything for you.”

He left her there then, after nodding at her once more.

Ava stood, watching him go, an uneasy feeling in her gut. She walked past Sai, ignoring her gentle touch on her mind, and back into the engine hall, where she sank down in front of the biologics to just watch the bubbles dance.

Zeed stopped blocking Vox and reached out soon after, connecting with both him and Rhutg.“You are lucky, Vox. She is loyal too.”

Vox felt no charity toward him, his hearts still pounding as if he had run fast, but answered calmly,“I know.”

“I want to be on hand when other Humans are found,”Zeed said across the distance.

Rhutg came in, his tone heavy.“We will not have them exchange one servitude for another. I am firm in this. They will live and then potentially find love, in that order. And maybeno love at all. But they will live. I know this was one of the quorum’s concerns as well—they might not all be like Ava."

Vox cut in,“Regardless, they are not to be coerced. We are not Tuxa.”

“There will be no coercion,”Zeed agreed,“and there will soon be another Human to compare to, to see if Ava is an anomaly. But she at least shows they are loyal creatures, especially to those whom they bond to first.”

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