Page 61 of Soros
When they took off, Tania turned to watch for another taxi with her arm raised.
“Let me,” I said and pulled her into my left arm while waving down a taxi with the right.
Tania leaned into me and sighed. “I feel like an ultra runner who has finally reached the finish line.”
“You’re safe now,” I promised her and kissed her on the top of her head.
“I just want to sleep.”
“I know. Me too.”
As we stood closely together, she whispered against my neck. “Promise you won’t leave me again.”
Closing my eyes, I tightened my hold on Tania and felt torn inside. No part of me could see a practical solution for how we could stay together. At the same time, I didn’t want us to be apart either. I went with the truth. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Then stay.” Leaning her neck back, she looked up at me with a pleading expression in her beautiful eyes. “Please, Soros. Stay.”
We were distracted by a taxi that stopped in front of us. It provided me with a small break to think about the perfect answer, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was none.
CHAPTER 23
For Now
Tania
The moment we got into the hotel room, I collapsed on the bed. For a few minutes I lay comatose on my side and didn’t move or speak. Then my mind brought up questions such as “Where is Star?” “How is she feeling?” “Will she ever recover from what just happened?” “Will I?”
Opening one eye, I saw Soros sitting against the headboard with his hand on me. His expression was serious, and I knew from experience that his silence didn’t mean he wasn’t talking. With his ability to communicate through telepathy, there was a big chance that he was planning the next steps with Lios and Nerix.
“What’s going on?” I asked in a voice that revealed how exhausted I felt.
“Zobran and the others are on their way from London to the base. They will go straight to theGreat Defenderand meet us there. Star is with Nerix in their room. He says that she’s been crying a lot but he’s comforting her. Lios is supervising Ko’roz in his room and is keeping him docile with mind clouding. He’s eager to have Ko’roz placed in the secure cell onboard theGreat Defenderas fast as possible. We’re waiting for the transport.”
“You’re leaving too?” The heavy disappointment in my stomach made the words burn in my mouth as I said them out loud.
“I have to, Tania.” Soros’ beautiful brown eyes watched me with intensity.
The deep disappointment I felt at that moment made me tear up. And then came the anger. I had just suffered through a horrendous experience and if Soros couldn’t even be here for me now, then he didn’t deserve my love.
Moving down to lie next to me, Soros touched my hair and caressed my cheek. “Come with me.”
“Come with you?” I blinked my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve applied to come back to Earth several times but K’rem is under the impression that something unpleasant happened between us. He knows you wanted to erase every memory of me and so he and the Cultural Committee assumed I hurt you somehow.”
Sighing out loud, I declared. “You did hurt me. You broke my heart.”
Soros didn’t comment on that but instead he said, “If we want any chance of more time together, then you need to explain to K’rem and the members of the Cultural Committee that I’m not forcing you or mistreating you.”
“I never said that you did,” I said feeling upset that he would think that.
“Tania.” Soros sounded fatigued and his tone gave away that he didn’t want to argue.
“Can we meet with them through a holographic meeting from theGreat Defender?” I asked. “Or must we travel again?” I was all for exploring the Universe, but with everything that had just happened I needed time to rest and regain my energy.
“Maybe. But, Nanish…” It was the Eidron word for beautiful which was the sweet nickname that Soros had given me when we were together.
My eyelids were heavy, and I struggled to stay awake. It was as if my mind was overwhelmed and needed a break to process what had happened. “Mm?”
