Page 31 of Bonded

I did not want to go in without Vryek. I signaled for the others to act as lookout, blending in with the other patrons.

“Did he say which dock he was in?” Kothar, the young Reyza, asked. He was an apprentice to the chief engineer, Forge, who maintained everything mechanical for the colony. He was eager, and Ithran, Vryek, and I had hoped that he would want to stay aboard to keep up with the ship’s maintenance.

“Unfortunately, no. But he said that he would find us.” Vryek’s last comm stated he was close by. He couldn’t park with our shuttle, though I made sure there was room for him. He needed a docking bay that had better access from the outermost point of the space station.

I didn’t bother asking for a reason. He always had one, and his explanations were just a jumble of words for me to hear and pretend to understand. As long as he could meet us here before hitting the cantina, then I would be satisfied.

At least he was confident in being able to locate us. Vryek seemed to believe that the ship’s link would enable us to have a type of homing beacon, even without comms. I was eager to try that out, especially with Priya. I would love to discern her location with just a feeling.

Even now, I could feel her close to me. A curious sensation radiated from my chest when I thought of her. It was like an ache in my skin, desperate to touch her.

I’d heard of this phenomenon before from bond mates, this desperate craving for each other that would not be satiated until the bonding of life forces was sealed. I had lusted before, but never understood the depth of this need until now.

It was beyond a physical joining, though I would thoroughly enjoy that part. It was one of deep contentment from being accepted wholly and completely. To find that partnership in another was rare.

I selfishly hoped that Priya felt this sensation, too. She was our soul, but she still had a choice whether to bond with Vryek and me. She just needed to understand what it meant, and all that a bond could offer her, and I would be delighted to teach her.

The sooner Vryek arrived, and we conclude this trade, the sooner I could do just that.Where is he?“Time?”

Kothar checked his watch. “Based on his last comm and his general direction, he should arrive soon. I have never known Vryek to be wrong in his time estimations.”

Neither did I. An odd nervousness seized me, something that I rarely felt. It was...unpleasant. Almost like a foul odor, I couldn’t expunge from my nasal cavities.

I was about to comment about the poor air quality control when I saw a pair of familiar black horns atop black hair and blue-gray skin. Vryek stood out from all the other disheveled mercenaries and merchants hanging around the station.

Even in our imprisonment, he was always concerned about maintaining his appearance. Not for vanity. His status as a priest had ingrained a certain ritual protocol in him that was only strengthened during his time as a prisoner. It was one thing he clung to that the prison wardens could not break from him.

As a warrior, myself, habits and training were so ingrained that I also did not stray from my rituals. I would assume it was the same for priests.

Vryek’s stride was a little off, and it took a moment to realize that he had an oddly shaped duffel slung over his shoulders.

“What is he carrying? And why?” I asked, more to myself than anyone else, but Kothar took my observation seriously.

“Perhaps he has already bought something from a local merchant?” Kothar suggested.

“I don’t know what he would have traded in exchange for an item of that size.” I responded. Vryek wasn’t the type to buy things unnecessarily. And even if he found necessary equipment to purchase, where would he have gotten the currency to trade with or what did he trade with?

I hailed my counterpart, and he switched his path, quickening his pace to meet up with us.

The itchy sensation of crawling mites prickled up and down my arms. Something was upsetting Vryek. Though he was often cool and collected, a proper mind for a Cephela vessel, I knew when he approached his limits. There were many dark days on the prison planet that I had to pull him back from the edge of darkness.

He wasn’t quite at that breaking point, but he was fraying. Vryek’s eyes were a little too shiny, his gaze too shifty. He acted like a prey animal on the watch for an unseen predator.

Most telling, his mental shields were up.

Without greeting Vryek said, “We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Have we finished the trade yet?”

I looked at him curiously. His skull didn’t look fractured, nor were his horns damaged. Why was he acting so curiously? “Finish the trade? We hadn’t even started yet. I was waiting for you before entering the meeting place, remember?”

Vryek shook his head as if trying to shake something from his horns. “Oh yes, of course. What was I saying? Let’s get started and get this wrapped so we can leave. Ithran is about ten minutes behind us, so if we could make it around ten minutes—”

Usually, Vryek, the mind of the ship, was cool in most situations. I was usually the one who was impatient and quick-tempered. The roles being reversed did not soothe my anxious thoughts. “What is the matter and why is Ithran here with the ship? With Priya?”

Could that be why I had felt her presence? That it was not just wish fulfillment?

The bag that Vryek had slung over his arm shifted a little. Dread gathered in my gut as I finally pieced together all that Vryek was telling me without telling me.

“Vryek?” I said in a growl.

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