Page 69 of Champion
We stood outside med-bay, the frosted glass doorway, keeping our presence secret from the lone occupant inside. Neither of us had seen Adtovar since his arrival on theBardaga, although Willa kept close tabs on his healing through her friend Agnes. He’d had to stay in the Garoot Healer for several days, a necessary evil caused by losing over eighty percent of his blood volume and being mostly dead. Thankfully, he’d healed completely and would leave to join theHistorialater today.
I wrapped my arms around Willa’s waist, resting my chin atop her head. She sighed and melted against me.
“You know, we Vaktaire do not say goodbye.”
“Really?” Willa tilted her head slightly to glance at me over her shoulder. “What do you say?”
“We say good journey until we meet again or the journey’s end,” I repeated the words I’d said to my mother just the day before.
“I like that,” she murmured, letting herself relax a few more moments before stiffening and stepping from my arms. At her movement, the automatic doors of the med-bay slid open, revealing the brightly lit room beyond.
Adtovar occupied a bed in the center of the room. Despite having lingered near death for a week, he still cut a formidable presence. Taller and broader than most Aljani, except now, his silver hair had reverted to the platinum shade known to the young. The wrinkles and scars that had once weathered his face, body, and horns were gone.
The difference in his appearance seemed to fascinate him. It took a few moments for Adtovar to glance up from the perusalof his hands as we entered. His pale blue eyes widened in elation for a moment before glossing over with something that seemed almost sad.
“Well, I guess I can’t call you Grandpa any longer. You look younger than I do.” Willa smiled, but her eyes shimmered. My mate knew firsthand what it felt like to be a recipient of regenerated youth.
Adtovar snorted in amusement, but the melancholy didn’t leave his expression.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, following Willa as she made her way to his bedside.
“Great.” Adtovar’s smile relaxed into something a bit more genuine. “Better than I have a right to.”
“Why do you say that?” Willa clamored on the bed to sit beside him while I leaned against some nearby equipment.
The Garoot Healer loomed in the corner of the room. On the surface, it didn’t look like much, just a long metal cylinder. Yet the machine was a wonder of medical science and could cure everything... even death in some cases.
Adtovar’s gaze followed mine, touching on the Healer, before dropping back to study his hands. “It just feels strange. I’d made peace with being an elder... made peace with the turn of my life, and now.... I am a young man again, even though I still feel old inside.”
“Old?” Willa snorted and nudged him in the arm with her elbow. “You were never old. Middle-aged, maybe. If you want to get technical, I was older than you before they ran me through the Healer.”
Adtovar chuckled, but the amusement did not reach his eyes.
“Are you not excited about your new position aboard theHistoria?” I asked, suspecting that I knew what truly botheredhim. I’d felt it myself—the crossroads where your past felt unpardonable and the future uncertain.
Adtovar seemed to relax when he met my gaze, issuing a slow nod. “Yes. I look forward to working in Duke Ako’s service again. He is a good male.”
“But?” My mate wasn’t satisfied, and honestly, neither was I.
Adtovar loosed a deep breath, shoulders slumping. “But part of me wonders if I deserve the opportunity to live my life over. There are so many regrets coloring my past.”
I knew about Adtovar’s mate and child. Yet I didn’t think the mistakes he spoke about were ones of the heart. His were soul-deep scars. Black marks that would never fade, regardless of how many times physical healing occurred. The scars of a gladiator. They never faded, even though, in time, one realized most were necessary to survive.
My mate’s time in the arena was thankfully short, but she was a soldier, and carried scars of her own. It did not surprise me when she issued a deep sigh of understanding and clasped Adtovar’s hand.
“Adtovar, do you remember what you told me?” Her voice was soft, and she placed a hand on his jaw to ensure he paid attention.
“I told you a great many things,” Adtovar scoffed with an attempt at a laugh.
“True.” Willa acknowledged. “But this was one of the few things I paid attention to.” Her dark blue gaze pivoted to mine for a moment, and she drew in a deep breath before continuing. “You told me I should embrace the gift of my restored youth and take it as a second chance to find a life… and happiness.”
“Of all the shit I told you, that’s what you remember?” Adtovar rolled his eyes, but I could tell Willa’s words touched him.
“Because you were right.” My mate shifted, drawing her foot up under her knee and turning so she faced Adtovar fully, her palms going to cup his face. With any other male, I’d be ripping my mate’s touch from his skin, but the affection between them had never been more than familial. Especially since Adtovar had practically given his life to protect my mate.
“Enough of this thinking you don’t deserve a second chance.” Willa peered intently into his eyes. “You deserve it more than anyone I know. You protected me. Fuck Adtovar, you nearly died for me. Not to mention you helped the entirety of Earth, and who knows how many abducted humans escape the horrendous fate Nansar and that asshole Kerzak had planned for them.” She drew another deep breath and held up one hand, fingers splayed wide. “In my whole life, I’ve only known five men I considered truly good men, and you’re one of them.”
“A very good male,” I concurred, nodding when Adtovar met my gaze.
