Page 113 of Planet Zero
And with the ever-present threat of marauders prowling these parts, her private washing excursions were downright dangerous. She knew that, of course.
But when she sought solitude, like now, she found herself in this personal meditation spot of hers, behind tall gray rocks that only marginally protected the small flat area from the wind.
Addie sat down cross-legged at the edge of the sandy puddle, her back to the rocks. It was not a cozy spot. The rocks surrounding her were slate gray, matte and dark, with no hint of quartz veining. They rose out of the ground like uneven shark teeth, some tall, others shorter, broken off at the tops. Vegetation grew scarce and rough, clumpy grasses that looked dry and twiggy ground-covers with barely any leaves. Here and there cheerful bright fungi peeked from between the rocks, providing some visual relief from all that drabness.
Addie smoothed her patchwork sweater, snuggling deeper into it. One square was dark green and soft, the color of Zoark’s irises.
Tears welled. “Damn you, Zoark.”
She had never intended to feel any love for him. How did it happen? When?
She rewound the last year slowly in her mind.
His injury had always set him apart, and she had felt compassion for him from day one. He was so unfairly ostracized because of it. This was how it had started.
He had also lived in the city. He was the only person on this planet who spoke her language. She couldn't havenotfelt any affinity toward him if she tried.
True, he had been obnoxious and unpleasant toward her. He had snubbed her often and looked down on her simply because she was human, of Samantha’s ilk.
Yet he had become her guardian, protecting her against the dangers she hadn’t known existed. He had had her back so many times she lost count.
Yes, there was gratitude. Gratitude was what made her offer her body to him at the caves.
She laughed bitterly.
She had offered to sleep with him because she had wanted him then, and she wanted him still. Not this polite reserved sex but the passion. The bonding. The connection. The… love.
He gave her none of it.
And now she had to face another complication: the lightheadedness, the queasiness, the feeling of lethargy she had been experiencing of late was not a random sickness. She hadn’t bled in a while but had first attributed it to stress. Of course, there had been stress, but she could no longer hide from the truth.
She was expecting a child. With an alien.
Worse, by an alien who despised human women and wouldn't commit.
“Stupid, Adelaide,” she chastised herself. “How can you be so stupid?”
“Yes, I agree. How can you be so stupid?”
She sprang to her feet, heart hammering.
“How did you find me?”
“Are you joking?” He was pissed beyond belief, his ugly animal snout all scrunched up in a mask of pure anger. The wind blew from behind and forced his hair into his face. He pushed at it in an impatient gesture, thick wrist flexing. “You left the settlement by yourself.”
“I wanted to be by myself!” Addie gasped against the wind and a powerful regret that washed all over her.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I don’t care! I want to be alone.”
“Why?”
“I made a mistake, Zoark.”
His face smoothed out from anger to a stony calm. “I have a feeling I won’t like what you’re about to say.”
“But I have to say it. Zoark, I should never have led you into this situation.”
