Page 69 of Keeping Freya
“Ehu,” D’Var chimes in. “A mated pair.”
“And they bonded with you?”
I look at T’Rak for support, and he nods. “They are extremely protective of Fr’Ya but are also very receptive to all of us.”
“We have Ehu on Novarron,” Kepti says dreamily. “I would love to have them make a home here.”
“We will bring them tomorrow,” T’Rak says, and he gives my side a squeeze. Kepti begins talking about the Ehu that bonded with her neighbor on Novarron, and I smile politely, but my thoughts wander. What will happen when I leave? They will be happy here, I decide. Shoving all the uncomfortable feelings down and focusing on this moment. We have no clue when or if they will ever find Earth, so I will worry when it gets that far.
After our tour through the Garden T’Rak and I return to the ship. We spend our walk in silence, both lost in thought. To my surprise, we are greeted by O’Rec and Mara, who have grave expressions.
“What happened?”
“Come, sit and have a drink,” O’Rec says, taking us into the Mess Hall. Mara hands me a cup of tea, while O’Rec hands T’Rak something else.
“After encountering you and the other human females, I sent orders to my scientist to look for Earth. It is not something we even thought about doing before, because neither L’Ren nor Marra wanted to go back. Turns out our scientists are really the best in the Galaxy, because I just got word that they found it.”
T’Rak
The ground beneath my feet seems to disappear as I look at my King in horror. They found Earth, already? My mate, my Zarra, my treasure is… leaving me?
“You found it!” she exclaims, tears running down her cheeks. She turns towards me. “I can go home, T’Rak, I can go home!”
“There is a catch,” O’Rec stops her enthusiasm. “It is lightyears away on the other side of the Galaxy. It will take approximately thirty human years, so you must be put into Cryosleep. You will also need a pilot to get you there, one who will also be in Cryosleep for the biggest part of the journey.”
“It also means that you have been gone for at least 30 years now,” Marra says. “So please reconsider; you will not return to where you left.”
Fr’Ya straightens her back, and I sense her stubbornness rising. “I still want to go home.”
“Are you sure? We have already reached out to Novarrond and none of the other girls wanted to take on the journey. They have all settled quite well…”
“Yes.” Fr’Ya’s tone is short and she glares at Marra, challenging her.
I stand brusquely. I cannot bear this conversation anymore. “I will take you,” I growl before I stalk towards my bedroom.
I pace through my room. There is nothing I can do, nowhere I can go. I push a button on the wall, and my punching bag drops from the ceiling. The punches start coming before I give my body direction, and I try to work all the anger, all the hurt out of my system.
“T’Rak.” I hear her behind me, and she gently touches my back.
I sag against the punching bag and turn around. “What do you want?”
She steps back, hurt in her eyes. Fuck, what am I doing? “I am sorry, please. I am sorry.”
She sighs, tears shimmering. “You knew I was leaving.”
“I did. I just did not know it would hurt this much.”
There, I said it. I look up at her, and she is crying. “It hurts me too…” she says in a small voice.
“Then why go through with it? You heard what O’Rec and Marra told you, there is nothing there for you.”
“I will be the judge of that!” she shouts.
“Do you not want to be with me? Is that it? What is this to you, what am I to you?” Too late, I realize I am shouting.
“A fling!” she sobs. “You were supposed to be just a fling.”
“You are still holding on to that?”
