Page 39 of Scars & Starlight
He's still wearing his exoskeleton, though the visor is up, and he’s holding a picture frame in his hands. Numbly, I extend mine to take it from him. It’s a picture of our family, posing in front of the Christmas tree. I’m in my late teens, so my parents look a lot younger than when I last saw them before the invasion. My sisters are just innocent kids, barely starting high school at that point. And my mom’s parents are grinning widely, happy to be spending such an important holiday with their daughter and grandkids.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Did you have to put them down?” I ask Kairen hoarsely.
He shakes his head. “Their remains are in the house, in their bed. It seems that they fell asleep before the infected could get to them. Medicine nearby suggests it was aided.
I nod jerkily. “That’s probably the best outcome,” I remark, my voice sounding cold and detached, though that’s far from how I’m feeling.
Kairen takes me into his arms, holding me tight, the frame trapped between our bodies. “I’m sorry, Princess,” he whispers.
“Yeah…” My voice breaks, and I cough to clear my throat. “Yeah, me too. Did you take care of those poor people down there?” I ask, diverting my thoughts before I can begin ruminating.
I can feel him nodding. “I did. There are no human life forms within fifty of your kilometers.”
“This place is remote,” I murmur into his chest. “That’s why I had hopes it would be safe for my family.”
“No place is truly safe until the Ghorvek are defeated,” he replies, not unkindly. He holds me at arm’s length, wordlessly asking for my eyes. “And that’s the future we will bring about for the survivors. Their children and grandchildren will never go through this.”
As tears flow down my cheeks, I lift my hands to pull his face close to mine, then press my lips against his. The kiss tastes like salty grief, but as his tongue meets mine in a dance that transcends galaxies, I briefly forget about my loss.
“Come on,” I say once I pull away. “There’s somewhere I want to take you.”
His eyebrow pops up, but he doesn’t resist when I take his hand and walk back to the cockpit. I guide him to the pilot’s seat and ask him to pull up a map of the surrounding area.
“There.” I point to twin lakes on the border of Italy and Slovenia. “I want us to spend the rest of the day and the night there. We can sunbathe and stargaze.”
His eyes soften as I speak, the last of the confusion leaving his features. “That sounds wonderful. But what about finding your family?”
I shrug, then pick at my nails. “It’s been four years since I could say I know where they are. One day of me catching up to everything emotionally isn’t going to make a difference.”
He tugs on my arm until I fall onto his lap, then brings my palm to his lips. “I’ll require my copilot’s assistance,” he says with a wink, making me melt into him.
“Reporting for duty, Captain,” I tease with a smirk.
“That’sCommanderto you, Princess.”
20
KAIREN
Iobserve Tara as she soaks up the evening sun's rays atop the Talon, my feet submerged in the icy cold lake water. I taught her how to use her nanites to fly short distances, and while she’s not very graceful at it yet, it’s enough that I don’t have to worry about her hurting herself accidentally.
“Do you think she will be alright?” I ask Kiko, surprising myself. I don’t think I ever asked a mech about someone’s emotional health before.
The AU turns from where he’s analyzing some soil samples for who knows what reason. “Humans apply varying methods to process trauma. Some prefer to be alone with their thoughts, like the princess is doing now. Some turn to less healthy endeavors.”
“Mmm,” I hum, observing the fish darting around my ankles.
“Some humans use sexual intercourse to distract themselves from troubles,” the mech adds with an overly bright voice, making me sputter.
“Turn the volume down, you troublemaker,” I hiss at him. Maybe he should be reset to factory settings? “Why are you digging in the soil anyway?” I ask in a grumble.
“Officer Cyrel contacted me after you spoke with the command crew. She wanted to know the current extent of nuclear fallout from an accident on this continent decades ago.”
“And?” I ask, curious. We would know if it were unsafe to be here – the nanites would have warned me immediately.
“Negligible,” Kiko answers. “According to the weather patterns around and after the nuclear incident, most of the fallout landed elsewhere on the landmass.”
“I see.” I turn to look at my match again. I don’t know how much longer I can last without feeling her skin against mine. “If you’re done, head inside into the AU compartment,” I order Kiko.
