Page 137 of Sway's Peace
“Can you ask him for a blood sample, please?”
“A what?”
“I don’t need much. Hm… I would say a vial this big would suffice.” He held up his yellow fingers, holding them apart. A glowing outline appeared, rotating between his digits like the ghost of a vial.
Grace turned completely in her chair, giving him a look.
“Are you uncomfortable asking such a favor?” He asked kindly, voice full of understanding.“I can ask Sway to do it instead, if you are. I just think he would be more inclined to agree if the favor were to come from you. He seems to really like you.”
“First off: Yes. That does make me a bit uncomfortable. But not really the point here.Whyare you asking him for a blood sample? That’s not… Look, I know you guys are from a really dark place, but people don’t ask other people for blood samples. That’s not a normal thing to do.”
Alred laughed loudly, head thrown back, body shaking with the force of it. All of it a deliberate choice as Alred’s light form was just a thing he projected for them to interact with.
“I am well aware it’s an odd request. Unlike Sway, I did not spent the majority of my life on that station. But I would like his blood. If I can. I want to study it.”
“I mean… I guess I can ask?” Grace said slowly, grimacing. “But you can’t really get mad if he says no.”
“I certainly won’t. And thank you. I’ll have Garnet bring you the vial.”
“Where are you getting a-” Grace’s voice cut off when Alred vanished. He wasn’t really gone – he was the ship, after all – but his lack of light form was enough for her to act like he had. Vanishing like that was as close as he could get to leaving a room.
Grace gave Sway a look. “What was that about?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. They may be brothers of mine, but I don’t pretend to know everything about them. Are you done with your work?”
“No,” she shook her head, focusing back on her console. “And don’t distract me either.”
Sway smirked, knowing very well he was going to distract her immediately.
Chapter 36
Grace
Maybe putting her work station right beside Sway’s was a bad idea. Sure, it was nice to be right next to her mate all the time.
But that meant she was right next to her mateall the time. And Sway, as it happened, took great pleasure in preventing her from working. Which wouldn’t be so bad if she hadn’t needed to get those forms filled out quickly. And if they weren’t in a public space.
Garnet walked in on them while Sway had his hand up her skirt and, while she didn’t see anything, she certainly couldn’t miss what was happening. Especially since the feathers on the back of Sway’s fingers were obviously damp.
Just her luck, her mate was feathery. They’d never be able to conceal fluids on him like they would someone with skin. It was mortifying.
But Garnet just grinned as she climbed into the upper bridge. She came down a short time later with a small vial, exactly the size Alred had projected, in her hands. It was little. About half the size of her pinkie finger. It had a button on one end, and a cap on the other. Alred explained how she needed to remove thecap and press that end against Loyalty’s skin in order to gather a sample.
It was such a weird request. And Alred still hadn’t told her why he even wanted it. Did she chalk it up to them being strange guys from Rik-Vane, or did he need it for a specific reason?
She genuinely didn’t know, but the weight of the vial in her pocket was surprisingly heavy as they came into orbit around Xelfeter and she and Sway left the bridge so they could go say goodbye to Loyalty.
The landing shuttle’s entrance door could be accessed down in main storage. It was in a line beside the small storage room doors, opposite the door that they would typically use to leave the ship when they docked at a station.
The shuttle door was already open, Loyalty setting his bags inside when they came down out of upper storage, using the steep ladder steps to join him. He gave them both a smile as he stepped out, hands on his hips, tail hissing on the floor as it dragged behind him.
“We here?” He asked, voice breathless with anticipation.
Grace nodded. “You must be relieved to be home.”
“Like you can’t even imagine. My mate is eager to see me. I’ve been hiding my new body from her. I want it to be a surprise when she first sees me. How do I look? I stayed up late last night polishing my scales and oiling my quills. Bit of a learning curve, I’ll admit, but I think I did alright.”
“Very handsome,” Grace applauded.
