Page 32 of Cozy Prisons
“Could we hold hands?”
He sounded a negative rattle. “No, you shouldn’t be grasping anything, remember?”
Damn it, they were only little cuts. She sighed and put her hands in her lap, staring at the stupid wounds.
“I can’t force you to talk to me,” he murmured. “But I’m not leaving your side until I understand what’s going on.”
She should say something. Anything. She should at least thank him for the care, but a sudden wave of numbness fell over her. It was as if her emotions had been treated by the same analgesic as her hands.
A shiver went through her despite the comfortable temperature of her domicile. It wasn’t that she was cold, exactly. She felt alone and adrift. Daxus seemed the only solid thing in her world.
“Would you hold me?” she whispered. “Please.”
He opened his arms and she flew off the bed and into his lap. She nestled into his embrace, letting herself be held and coddled for once.
“I think I’m tired of being strong,” she said, voice muffled against his chest.
“We can’t all be strong all the time,” he responded. “At some point, everyone needs to allow someone else to take the burden for them.”
Closing her eyes, she let herself relax and pretend that everything could be fixed with a hug.
Chapter 11
Daxus
As he held Nataly, Daxus debated about what should be done. What he’d witnessed was too startling to leave alone.
Earlier, he’d debated the wisdom of lurking outside her domicile. As the marks passed and nothing happened, he’d started to feel foolish. What did he expect? No one was going to intrude on Nataly’s evening. There certainly weren’t any gatherings going on that late that would draw her out.
Despite all of that, something kept him leaning against a nearby digger bot. The thing was missing the range-finding assembly at the top of its processing dome. The dome was probably inside with Nataly, waiting to be fixed.
He’d half convinced himself to leave when the door opened and Nataly appeared. He’d watched as she walked a set distance, turned, and walked back to her domicile. At first, he thought she’d forgotten something and returned to fetch it. Then she’d done the same action again. And again.
He couldn’t fathom what she was doing. It was clear she wasn’t searching for anything. Was this a form of exercise?
As he watched, he noticed her steps out were small and slow, and her return trip was always faster.
Then she’d almost appeared locked in place. Her body went stiff, and her breathing turned shallow and erratic. Fearful that she was about to have another episode and faint, he’d rushed to her side.
After seeing her hands, it was clear that something was terribly wrong. Whatever was going on was bad enough for her to cause self-injury!
He hoped she'd confide in him, but she acted as if it was nothing. Then she’d shut down.
Now she was in his arms, holding onto him as if he were the last solid thing in the world. He felt privileged to be here, but also completely inadequate to help her.
He didn’t want to betray Nataly’s confidence, but something needed to be done. If he waited, she might cause irreparable damage to herself!
The words he’d spoken to Palathum floated through his head. If he did this, he might never gain Nataly’s trust again. If he didn’t, they might all lose Nataly.
There was no choice; he needed to take her to Falkilm and tell the healer everything he’d seen.
Nataly
Waking up to the sensation of floating wasn’t a first for Nataly.
“Damn grav pusher is malfunctioning again,” she grumbled. “Why couldn’t it happen during working hours? I don’t want to get up and fix anything.”
A questioning rumble sounded. “There aren’t any grav pushers here.”
