Page 7 of Whispers of the Void

“I’ll endeavor to improve,” he says flatly before turning to Hyva. “Can she be taken to her quarters or does she need to stay under observation?”

Hyva begins pulling sensors from my skin. “She can go.” He meets my eyes. “If you have need of me, all you need to do is tell the ship-wide computer. I’ll be alerted and come to wherever you are.”

I dangle my legs over the side of the bed, immediately aware of the fact that I’m still in my pajamas. Cool air brushes against the bare skin of my legs as goosebumps ripple across my flesh. As soon as my feet hit the floor and I stand, I’m aware of just how big these males are. I’m average height for a human woman and barely come up to mid-chest on these two.

The commander sweeps his arm out in a gesture for me to walk through the door first. He falls into step beside me quietly. For a being so large, he moves with a surprising amount of stealth.

I tear my focus from him and examine my surroundings as he leads down a long corridor. The walls are made from deep gray paneling. Two lines of lights line each wall along the floor. Dim red lights shine from above.

“I apologize for the abrupt way you were brought on board,” the commander says. “Time is of the essence. We don’t have time to play political games.”

“So you settled on abduction,” I say dryly.

“Yes.” His confirmation is a matter of fact. “I must stress again that you are not a prisoner on board this ship, though.”

He leads me onto a lift, and as the door closes, locking us in the small space together, I smell him. His scent is intoxicating. I can’t identify the notes, but it takes all my willpower not to lean over and sniff at him like some sort of animal. I part my lips, determined not to inhale through my nose again until we’re out of this small box.

There are more Zeahirians walking through the corridor as we step from the lift. “This is the crew quarters level. The mess hall is through those doors.” He stops and points behind us. “There is a training center that way.” He points to the end of the hall in the direction we’re walking. “And beyond that is the recreation hall, including a small library.”

“How long until we get to your planet?” I appreciate the tour, but I doubt I’ll be spending much time in the common areas.

“Ten to twelve days. It would have been sooner, but our ship was damaged trying to evade the Order.”

My eyes snap up to his unnaturally green ones. “Damaged how? The Order doesn’t have weapons.”

His brow creases as he holds my gaze. “You are mistaken. They repeatedly fired at us.”

Two doors slide open in front of us, revealing nicer-than-I-was-anticipating quarters. Everything is still dim with the same lighting as the corridors, but long rectangular windows line the walls, allowing for a beautiful view of space.

There’s a long desk on one side of the open room and several oversize chairs. Oversize for me, at least, but given his size, it makes sense their furniture would be larger than what I’m used to. I catch a glimpse through a bedroom doorway.

“There’s a food synthesizer along this wall.” He lifts a panel revealing a built-in kitchenette similar to what I have back home. “It’s programmed for human dietary needs, but don’t feel as though you need to stay sequestered back here. The synths in the mess hall have been updated for you as well.”

“Okay.” I look around, trying to take everything in. “Do you have clothes for me? I obviously wasn’t given time to pack.” I arch a brow.

“Not yet.” He disappears into the bedroom and comes back out with a black long-sleeve shirt and pants. “They’ll be too big for you but should work for now.”

I take the items, surprised by how soft the fabric is. It’s clearly part of their military uniforms, so I was expecting something stiff and uncomfortable. I set the clothing down and look from his face to the door, silently asking him to leave. I’m not going to thank him for providing the bare minimum when he abducted me from my quarters in the middle of the night.

I don’t fully understand the goal of all this, at least not yet. The only thing I know is that he isn’t telling me the entire truth about everything. I don’t trust him. I won’t trust him or anyone on this ship until I know more.

* * *

I’m not sure how long I slept or how many days have gone by. As soon as I laid my head down in the huge bed, I lost myself to sleep. It took me longer than I’d like to figure out the shower, but now that I’m clean, healed, and rested, I slip into the clothing the Commander gave me. It’s all too big, but I’ve made do by rolling the waistband and tying the hem into a small knot behind my back.

I’m finger combing my wet hair when the door to my quarters whooshes open. The commander strides in with no warning. He stops short when he sees me, his eyes dragging up and down my body. The expression on his face is unreadable as he holds out a pile of clothing and a pair of boots to me.

“These have all been tailored to fit you.”

“Thank you.” I take the clothing. “But how did you know my size?”

“The beds in med bay record all measurements.”

“Oh.”

One of his slanted eyebrows lifts as he stares quietly at me. “Get dressed. I need to brief you with the rest of my officers in fifteen minutes. I’ll be waiting in the hall.” He turns on his heel and leaves the same way he came in.

I shake my head at how abrupt of an encounter that was before heading back into my room and changing. Stacked beneath the shirts are several bras and pairs of underwear. I’m curious how they were able to get all this to me because we haven’t passed a system in days. Or however long it’s been since I was given a room.

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