Page 68 of Xeda

Ophilia stared at him, hardly able to move, the poisonous dread making her feel sick. Slowly, she stepped into the room. Xeda's eyes flickered over to her, but they seemed unfocused. He raised his working arm toward her in a slow movement as if he was too weak to hold it up.

She went to him and took his hand, crouching down beside him. "Xeda." Her voice shook.

He didn't say a word. His eyes turned toward one corner of the room where a medical staff member was monitoring the scene. She saw Ophilia and nodded.

"It's a slow process," she said. "His arm was nearly cut off. His spine splintered. It will take a few days to mend well even with what we have. And after that..."

Ophilia understood. "Thank you. May I please have a moment?"

The woman nodded and left them.

As soon as she was gone and they were alone, Xeda tried to move, and Ophilia promptly pressed against his shoulder to still him.

"You're okay." She tried to smile. "You're going to be okay."

Xeda closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. He seemed tired or drugged up. "The girl..." he slurred.

She gave him a real smile and nodded her head. "She got out. Kaxek didn't get her in time."

He closed his eyes again and squeezed her hand. "I was...so close. I thought..."

She shook her head, her smile dropping. "You were right to try. You would have had him if not for Tazyn." She pet his arm, letting out a shaky breath.

A weak growl rumbled in his chest. "I didn't think I would see you again..."

She clenched her jaw, blinking back tears. "Well, you were wrong. Because you're going to get up, Xeda. We'll fix you up and then..."

He squeezed his eyes tight, wincing as if in pain. "I can't go back to that cell," he said. "I can't go to a lab. But I can't fight." He looked up at her again. "If I can't fight...I failed. Failed us."

"We will think of something," she said. "We'll get through this, together."

He studied her. He didn't say anything for a moment. He just watched her. Then he squeezed her hand. "I never told you...why I became a Blood Guard. Why I did what I did," he said slowly. "Why I sided with...the mad queen."

Ophilia pursed her lips, shaking her head slowly. "You never had to explain."

"I know. But you asked me why I hated humans. I told you why, remember?"

"I do. You said we were dangerous."

He dipped his head, rubbing it against the metal table. "And that was truth...and the reason was truth too...but it wasn't the whole truth. Humans are dangerous because...they are frightening."

She stared at him, unable to respond, so he continued. "I was a newly made warrior when the first human queen arrived on Tryth. After we were told a deadly virus had been defeated. It all seemed so suspicious, that one of our own would choose one of you. I and others couldn't fathom it. So, we worried that perhaps somehow the virus had evolved, infected the human and the vrisha alike, making him choose her to spread itself among us. Years went on and nothing came of it but still some of us couldn't accept it. Your kind were so different, so opposite of us.

"Then the Xolis exodus came. And suddenly we were making alliances...but we knew so little about humans and others. Everything was moving too quickly. Many of us worried what it could all mean. We didn't trust the alliance or that it was made for peace. Then Queen Theda told us that there were awful things happening. Things that were being hidden. Experiments. Betrayals. Trafficking. And then I experienced it for myself. As I was scouting for new resources for our world, I came upon a human camp on a mineral rich world. They were building a mine there. I told them I only wished to take some back and they said they didn’t wish to cause trouble. As I was excavating, they set a trap and..."

Ophilia hardly moved, listening closely. He looked away from her as if the story pained him to recall. "They toyed with me for several days and nights. They didn't even have a plan. They never said why they did it, they never said they were going to try to sell pieces of me or put me up to some lab. Nothing. They only wished to hurt me because I scared them. And in return...they scared me." His hands squeezed hers tighter. "I got out...I won't tell you what I did. When I got my revenge, I left and sought out Queen Theda, so enraged I dedicated my services to her. And she made me one of her Blood Guard. From then...I sought only to harm those who I believed only wished to harm me. I thought humans lesser and being frightened by them was humiliating. And I promised myself I never would be afraid again." He tied his fingers with hers. "You've made me see beyond my fear and face it. Thank you, Ophilia."

Ophilia bowed her head, tears stinging her eyes. She blinked and let them fall, her mouth twisting. She stood and let out a soft sob, letting go. Letting herself go. She bent forward, letting her head fall to his. "I love you, Xeda."

He wrapped his good arm around her, pressing her close. "By Rikasha and Veradis...I love you too."

She leaned over him, knowing that they were not going to see each other again. Knowing Sal was going to send her away and Xeda, though alive, would be gone. She didn't let herself think about where and what he was going to endure. But she knew neither of them were going to be happy. "You have to fight," she said. "Fight, however you can, Xeda. Don't stop fighting."

He squeezed his arm around her as if it say, “I'll try.”

She stayed with him for as long as she could, finding a chair and sitting by his side as the surgical machine worked over him. She rubbed his head and neck the way he liked, comforting him, her tears finally drying out.

A tingling at the back of her neck made her turn, and she saw the medic from before speaking with a tall dark man, who glared straight at her. One of Sal's men coming to collect her.

---