Page 43 of Freedom Mine
As she sank into a chair at the table, Jace slid a cup of warm laja in front of her. Maybe she’d read him wrong.
“What happened to him?” she asked.
Jace dropped into the chair across from her. He looked tired, defeated, lost, reminding her of so many slaves. She hadn’t been able to envision him as a slave before.
He inhaled a deep breath then took his time releasing it as he collected his thoughts. Patiently, she sipped her drink, trying to hide her nervousness. She wanted to go to Kayo, to see for herself that he was okay.
Jace leaned forward, his elbow digging into the table. “There are times Kayo wakes disoriented. He thinks he’s back in the war.”
“I gathered that much. But what brings it on?”
“I can’t say for sure. Stress probably. Used to happen three, four times a week. That’s part of why he started drinking, so he could sleep. At first, he’d have a few drinks each night as we sat and spoke about the day’s events, and then his drinking got worse. It spiked when he bought you.”
She could read the accusation in his dark gray eyes as clearly as if it had been written on paper. “He stopped drinking a few days ago,” she offered.
“I noticed. That’s good.”
“Yesterday, I found him with a bottle, after he saw me leaving the stables.”
“You were with Ranth again,” he said, his hard stare saying more than his words.
She rose so suddenly her chair nearly tipped over. “You all think I’m a whore, don’t you?”
Jace pushed the chair out for her to sit. “Stop putting words and ideas in people’s heads, Blue, and start trying to think like Kayo. And you’d be lucky to have Ranth care about you, so sit down and listen up,” he said, watching her like a hawk as she sat back down. “I know what I saw in Kayo the other day when you were talking to Ranth. There was a fire in him, one that told me he’s ready to fight for what he believes, to fight for you.”
For her? Her cheeks warmed at the thought of Kayo becoming possessive over her, but Jace was seeing things that weren’t there.
“He doesn’t care about me like that.” Then again, he had held her so possessively, spoken words that had made her body shiver with need even though she hadn’t understood the language.
Jace dumped his laja in the sink. “I need him focused on the job, not on—”
“Not on the lone woman who’s causing trouble here?” At best, Jace saw her as a distraction, maybe a troublemaker. “I’ll keep my distance.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Doesn’t matter what I want, does it?”
He chuckled. “I guess you didn’t understand what he was saying in his room earlier. Not a big surprise, that. Not many in the Althiran Empire understand Bakadian.”
She sucked in air. Bakadian! The Bakadians had fought the Empire and lost over twelve years ago in one of the worst, bloodiest wars the Empire had ever seen. It took a few years, but the two sides finally negotiated a treaty, still enforced today. Relations and travel remained limited between the two systems, but they were at peace. If Kayo had fought in that war. . . no wonder his nightmares had spilled over into reality.
“What was he saying?”
Jace chuckled. “To you specifically, I have no idea. I couldn’t hear. But to me, well, he said he needed to protect you from the Althirans at all costs. His mind was at the battle on Chirre 5, but those fears are real for him, here. Look, Blue, I don’t want to get in the middle of you and Kayo, but he’s—”
“Stressed? Worried? Despite what you think or whatever he said back there, Jace, he doesn’t care about me.” The words hurt to say, they hurt even more to accept, but it was the truth.
Jace frowned. “Perhaps I’ve said too much.” He headed for the back door.
She started biting her lower lip, not sure if she should ask, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that haunted look in Kayo’s eyes. “How can I help him?”
Jace stopped just outside the door. “Don’t give up on him.”
She’d be a friend to Kayo, help him if she could. She owed him that much.
“Can I go with you to the mine tomorrow, first shift? I’m not sure I should be here alone with Kayo.”
“You afraid he’ll hurt you?” Jace asked, his words tinged with amusement.
