Page 22 of Tribute
“I know that it works. It still sucks, though.”
“You did your best. We’ve all been there. You are not at fault.”
Malke patted his arm. “Thanks.”
Rehz stood guard until the five trainees had been loaded into the medical vehicles and taken away, followed by the rest of the trainers. He turned back to the portal to make sure everything was shut down and sent a last message through to the Mitan government and theUngrich.
“Tributes received.”
There was nothing else to do but go to the hospital and wait.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Anna opened her eyes and sniffed cautiously. She could smelljavron—the Mitan equivalent of coffee—and something burning, which made her gut tighten. She slid her hand under the covers and placed it over her stomach, which was now free of drains, stitches, and belly ring. In fact, all the piercings had been removed, along with most of the new scars. The room was dark, but she was already certain she wasn’t in the hospital. The sounds were muffled and the light outside her door wasn’t bright and pitiless.
Perhaps she’d been moved into theI’ve been with crazy alienshome . . .
She pulled the covers down and swung her legs over the side of the bed. No alarms went off, and no one appeared in the doorway to either calm her down or force her back to bed. She wore some kind of soft T-shirt and shorts, and her hair was in two braids as if she were seven again.
God, she wished she were seven again . . .
She gulped in some more air, appreciating the oxygen, and made herself move to the door. It wasn’t locked, so she opened it and stared out into the hallway, which was short, with only fourdoors. To her left the hall took a sharp turn, leading toward more lights. There was also the sound of someone talking.
Gathering her meager resources of courage, she went that way and came into an open-plan living room and kitchen. There were large windows that faced out over a city, and the telescreen was on but the sound was muted. In the galley kitchen, a man dressed in black stood with his back to her, talking to someone on his com device.
As if suddenly aware that he wasn’t alone, he turned to look at her.
“I’ll speak to you later, Kai.”
Anna stared into the metal-gray eyes of Rehz Akran.
“You’re awake.” He nodded at her. “Good. Do you want something to eat? I was just about to get something.”
Wrapping her arms around herself, she took three unwilling steps toward him and stopped again.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not hungry? I would’ve thought that after all that hospital food, you would be gasping for a proper meal.”
A whisper of memory—of a tentacle shoved down her throat—made her swallow and bring her hand to her mouth.
His gaze narrowed. “It’s okay. If you’re not ready, you can continue with the nutrition shakes. There are plenty in the refrigerator.” He pointed at the silver box in the corner of the kitchen. “Help yourself.”
She turned away from him and stumbled toward the sanctuary of her bedroom. Maybe if she went to sleep again, she’d wake up in another version of reality. She didn’t like this one at all.
“Anna,” he called after her. “Lee.”
She stopped walking, her breathing ragged, but she couldn’t turn around.
“I’ll be here when you want to talk, okay?”
Shaking her head, she retreated. The bedroom door had a lock on it, so she used it and fell into bed, pulling the covers over her head. It took her about an hour to stop shaking, as her unwilling brain tried to make sense of things she didn’t want to remember or deal with right now.
Which was pretty much everything . . .
Rehz kept a wary eye on Anna Lee as she moved carefully around the apartment. Another week had gone by and she still hadn’t said a word to him. He got the impression that her short-term memory had finally recovered, though she only ventured out at night to grab a nutrition shake and disappear back into her room. According to the hospital and the psychiatrists, she hadn’t spoken to anyone since she’d come out ofUngrichspace. He had no intention of pursuing her into her room. She had to have a bolt-hole. Hell, they all did. He gave her another covert glance. There was still some livid scarring around her neck and shoulders, but that would fade.
She sidled up to the kitchen, and for the first time he didn’t move completely out of her way. If she wanted to get to the fridge, she’d have to walk right by him. He carried on putting away his plates and mugs and then set about making a sandwich.
