Page 15 of Fallen from the Stars

Vasil unwaveringly held her gaze. She wasn’t sure how long it was before he spoke again; it could’ve been ten seconds or ten minutes. “I am comfortable here.”

Theo shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Did you need something?”

“I want you to tell me about yourself, your people, and the humans here.”

Wariness tightened his features. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“I’m curious as to why IDC would deem this planet unfit for human habitation when it is not only safe, but already colonized.”

He frowned and shook his head. “Safeis not the right word for Halora, Theo.”

Theo tried to ignore the tingle that traveled through her each time her name rumbled up from his chest. It was a gentle but possessive caress. She shouldn’t have felt anything of the sort, especially not because of him. He wasn’t even human!

“What word would you use?” she asked.

“Alive.Hungry. Humans and kraken remain the apex predators, but the snatcher is only one of the things that would gladly kill and eat you on this world.”

Theo tilted her head. “Are you trying to scare me, Vasil?”

“I am trying to keep you safe,” he replied, expression grave. “Fear is an aspect of self-preservation. It is necessary.”

“This planet is no different from the others that humans have occupied. There will always be creatures that are faster and stronger than we are, but as far as I know, we’ve never come across anything like you.” She pushed herself to her feet and stepped closer to him.

“Youmadeus.”

Theo stilled.

“And what is that meant to imply?” Kane demanded out loud from the console speaker.

Theo was glad Kane was coherent enough to respond —shesure as hell wasn’t. Did Vasil seriously mean that humans…createdhim?

Vasil’s lip curled, flashing pointed teeth, and he averted his gaze.

“Oh, hell no. You don’t get to turn away and stop talking after a statement like that,” Theo said.

He released a soft grunt. “Halora was colonized by humans over three hundred and fifty years ago.”

Theo narrowed her eyes. More than three hundred and fifty years? There was no way the IDC didn’t know about this place. Halora should have been either a thriving colony or totally abandoned by now. It didn’t make any sense.

“Kane, are you sure there is nothing on file about this?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Kane said, sounding perplexed for once instead of smug.

“The IDC came first,” Vasil said, “and while they were here, they created my kind. A few decades later, they left and never returned.”

Theo raised her hands, palms out. “Hold up. So when you say they created you—”

“They had a lab where they combined characteristics from different creatures. They used…octopus, is what Arkon said. And human.”

Human.

She stared at him, eyes wide, lips parted, and jaw slack.

He’s part human, she sent through her neural link with Kane.

“Human DNA doesn’t necessarily make him human,” Kane replied, sounding oddly unconvinced.

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