Page 29 of Nyanine's Divide

“Don’t you dare say it out loud. Don’t you dare bring that bad juju in this house. You will survive and be just fine. I will make sure of it!” Her green eyes are wide and vivid in her anger. She abruptly stands and gathers the dishes, taking them to the washing tub where she drops them and sighs.

When she turns, I’m standing from my seat and pushing in the chair. She reaches me and puts her hands to my chest, shoving me gently back into the bedroom until I sit on the edge of the bed. “I don’t ever want to hear you admit defeat like that again, do you hear me? This village needs you, I need you. I need you to stay positive, strong, and believe that you will come home to me no matter what happens. Okay?”

Her words are whispered, tears gathering on her lower lid as she stares down at me. “I know that this destiny of yours and Kari’s is hard, it won’t be easy, and there will be some sort of lossor pain in some way, but if you don’t believe you’ll come home, you won’t, and I….” She swallows, those tears falling, and I reach up to stop them, wiping them away.

I stand and pull her into my arms as I rock and shush her gently. “I hear you, Kitten, I do. I promise, I’ll come home. No matter what.”

We stay like that for another few breaths before I lift her chin and kiss her gently. Those gentle kisses of love turn passionate as she clings to me, desperate for more, and I slide her dress off and lay her down. I crawl up her body, kissing her thighs, until I reach that sweet spot between them where I worship her as she deserves. I reassure her between kisses and licks, needing her to believe as much as she wants me to that all will be fine.

“I’ll come home to this fine meal right here. I couldn’t leave it if I tried, Kitten.” My tongue flicks along her clit, forcing her to climb, until I slide down inside her with deep licks and teases, making her arch and beg for more. I finally let her have what she wants, letting her come all over my chin as I gently bring her down and shed my clothes. My lips trail kisses all the way up her body until I can sink right into her with a heavy sigh.

“This is where I belong, Kitten, right here with you. This is where I’ll always come back to, don’t you worry.”

She clings to me, tears dripping into her hair, but I kiss them away as I make sweet love to her and remind her that I will always be here. She’s right in telling me to believe in myself, in my return home. If I let myself think that I’ll die, then I will. I can’t give up before the test has even begun.

Chapter 22

Kari

My fingers pathetically click along keys as I struggle once more to understand Kij’s damn equipment and find anything that isn’t the same dribble I’ve been reading for weeks now! I growl at myself and close the tabs, standing from my seat. My feet carry me across the space for a moment as I try to calm down, then something catches my eye. I turn to watch Kij’s screens change so rapidly, his fingers of all four hands clicking across multiple keyboards, his eyes bouncing around, I have no idea how he does it.

I step closer, watching over his shoulder, feeling a head rush as I struggle to see even a single word on each one of these pages.

“Kari, I can’t work with you breathing over my shoulder. You’ve got to stop.” His voice is smooth and polite, he seems less agitated today, and that’s good, but I’m not feeling his chill at all.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to understand these different nets you use or how to navigate them, I keep finding the same fucking things over and over. I’m getting nowhere!” I throw my hands up and spin away from him. The noise in the room dies as he turns his chair to face me.

“It’s all right, you’re not used to such a setup, and as Charlie and his friends have told me, I’m above most people’s leagues. My software is complicated and easy for me but not everyone else.” He stares at me with a gentle look for a long moment as I sigh. Then he continues on a deep inhale. “Why don’t you let me continue the research, trust me to find the answers you seek and call you as soon as I have something. I’ll be much faster. It takes one more thing off your plate.”

I inhale and sigh heavily, feeling a lead weight in my stomach. “But it’s supposed to be my duty to solve this. Does it still count if I don’t find the information?”

“What matters most, Kari, finding the information or acting upon it and saving everyone? Does it really matter in the end how you won the war, who helped you, as long as you accomplished your goal? Trusting and relying on others to help you does not make you a failure or any less in charge of this mission. Delegation is a big part of being a leader and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Go do what you do best, let me do what I do best, and, together, we’ll solve this puzzle.”

I stare at his big purple eyes and blue skin for a long moment before releasing a slow breath. My head nods gently, and I turn and leave. I hear him, I do, but I also feel like a failure. He may have said that I’m not, but it doesn’t stop that feeling from boiling up. I’m used to doing most things on my own, being the smart one, the strong one, the one able to handle anything. This is officially out of my wheelhouse, and I have no choice but to delegate this to someone who’s capable. It just hurts that I can’t even manage to help a little.

My feet carry me through the ship, hearing little from the others around, and I head for the ramp to exit. Kosiiba is waiting by the door and walks me out. He puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in, hugging me close. “You’ll figure this out, don’t let this get you down or the enemy wins.”

We pause outside the ship, and I look up at him, giving him a small smile.

“You wanna throw some rocks and yell a little? It always helps me when I’m feeling off.” Kosiiba grins at me, baiting me into it, and I huff a small laugh, giving in. It may very well help.

He jogs over to the edge of the sea, grabbing some small and medium-sized rocks that won’t hurt anyone, and hands them to me. “Here, like this.” He grabs one in his right hand, reels back, and yells loudly as he launches the rock as far as he can, breathing deeply as he waits for the plunk in the water. The childish grin on his face tells me how good this really makes him feel, so I follow his lead, hoping he’s right.

I grab a larger rock, squeeze it in my palm, feeling the cool stone, and then reel back. My chest expands with a large breath before I swing forward, yelling out as loud as I can. When all the air in my lungs is expelled in a huff, I take a slow, deep breath to calm myself as I listen for the plunk. My heart races before slowing, a small adrenaline rush fueling me and making me feel light again. So, I throw another, and another. Once my left hand is empty of rocks, I stop and stare at the water lapping the shore.

That was therapeutic. I feel much better. “Thanks, Kosiiba,” I mutter as we stand in companionable silence, watching the water. It’s a beautiful sound, the water lapping like that. There is a small breeze in the trees, little animals and birds making noise, and it’s just blissful. For all of about five minutes.

Then there’s a blinding light that has us both scoffing and backing away, only to find that Ethan and Zaynt are left. “Hey,Captain, long time, no see!” Ethan calls as he heads for me. I grin and meet him halfway, shaking his hand.

He looks good, older, more confident. His curly hair is cut short, his brown eyes shining with excitement. He seems to have grown into himself, filling out his clothing better, not as scrawny as he was. “You remember our good friend Zaynt?”

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to see you again, Captain Kari.” Zaynt’s voice is smooth, crisp, and he seems very professional. He’s wearing a stealthy-looking outfit, his hair pulled up in a bun, showing the shaved sides of his head. He has the same pixie-type features Layanna had with the sharp nose and thin lips, but he’s definitely more masculine.

“How have things been for you guys? Last I heard, you were all trying hard to save some kids and take down a trafficking ring? Is that right?”

Ethan chuckles, and Zaynt simply nods with his lips pressed into a line. “Zaynt here blew ‘em up, our problems are over for now. And after he nearlydiedand recovered, he met his mate and joined her in the universal law enforcement.” Ethan speaks animatedly, his words flowing up and down, some emphasized for theatrics, and I grin. “He’s a big shot now.” Ethan leans over, whispering the last bit around his hand with a wink.

Zaynt scoffs and rolls his black eyes at Ethan’s antics, but I chuckle. Glad to see they’ve managed all they sought to do. “So you’ve ended the reign of terror, huh? Tell me all about it!”

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