Page 50 of Warrior's Purpose

“I can have one of my crew show you to a room.” Aculus gestured to a bony crewman.

“I, um, I guess I’ll stay here,” Hope said with a worried frown.

Abby nodded then followed the crewman out of the room, through the winding passages to a room with a bunk.

“Thank you.”

She didn’t understand the armor-plated guy’s reply, but he didn’t seem to mind and left her alone. Abby flopped onto the bed and curled into a ball.

Her thoughts swirled around the drastic shift her life had taken. There was no going back in time, and she wouldn’t want to unmeet Ash if she could. The thought of never seeing him or Pro again was crippling. But that meant leaving everything and everyone she knew behind. Fate was so cruel. It felt like her world was being ripped apart all over again.

“What am I going to do?”

Ashtoret de Origa

Creating a plan of action took longer than expected. Hope proved helpful, giving them the communicator code to contact Frank. After talking with Providence, she was coping better with her surroundings. Hope even got the language implant so she could understand everyone more easily.

He laughed bitterly as he recalled Aculus eagerly jumping to soothe Hope’s headache after she received the implant. It wasn’t long ago he foolishly chuckled at the Osivoire for refusing to be daunted by Hope’s rebuff. He thought himself so much luckier than his bony friend.

Now I’m the one who has been cast aside.

He stood outside the room where Abby was resting, debating if going in was wise considering how frustrated he was. He berated himself for falling prey to the intense situation they found themselves in while running, but he also couldn’t dismiss the connection he discovered with Abby. He thought he made his intentions clear, but obviously he was wrong, dead wrong. Ashtoret rubbed the spot on his chest where he felt a very real ache.

He summoned his courage and entered the room. Abby roused and looked up at him. He frowned, seeing her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

“What is that?” She pointed to the language implant injector he brought in case she was amenable.

“It’s an injector,” he started to explain.

“To make me abort if I’m pregnant,” Abby interrupted.

“No,” he snarled as shock and horror filled him. “Is that what you want? Is the thought of carrying my young so abhorrent you wish to kill it?” I shouldn’t have come. He turned to leave.

“No! That’s not what I want,” Abby screamed. She got up and ran in front of him, blocking his path.

“Well, what do you want?” he countered, tossing his hands up.

“I don’t want to leave my home.”

Ashtoret nodded and hung his head. He’d convinced himself Abby was okay with going back to Cadi since Providence was there, except that was never her plan. They were from worlds apart, and some rifts were too wide to span, no matter how much he wanted it.

Abby peered up at him. “But I don’t want to lose you either, Ash. I don’t know what to do. Please, I’m scared,” she pleaded with him.

He studied Abby as her words sank in. She looked as devastated as he felt. He assumed she thought of their bond as a passing tryst, but that wasn’t the case. Abby cared for him, like he cared for her. And just like him, she was blindsided by all of this. He swung her into his arms and sat on the bed.

“I know.” He rocked Abby back and forth while kissing the top of her head. “I never expected to find you, Peanut. I came on this mission to help your people and let you know Providence was safe, but my purpose changed the instant I met you. The thought of losing you scares me. If I could stay on your planet I would.” And he would, even as hard as it would be to leave his home.

“But you can’t, my people would kill you,” Abby choked, her hands fluttering over his bare chest. “I could never let that happen. What are we going to do?”

She quietly cried as he held her. The despondent sound shattered his heart. It pained him not being able to control or fix this.

Eventually, Abby stopped trembling. He thought she’d fallen asleep, till she glanced up at him.

“Ash,” she said quietly. Her blue-green eyes weren’t as turbulent. She’d come to a decision.

“Yes.”

“I guess my purpose has changed, too.” Her soft hands cupped his cheeks. “Can you lie to me and tell me we’ll come back to visit often?” She cast him a watery smile.

---