Page 55 of Shattered Silence

Unbelievable.

A human.

His Layla.

She just didn’t know it yet, but she would.

Chapter Twenty

Don’t touch him.

Had she really just said that?

Layla stared up at the Kordolian—this newcomer—a little shocked at how assertive she’d been just now. Mere seconds had passed since he’d released her from the escape pod, but already she was dropping to her knees in front of Enki, careful not to touch him because his eyes were giving off that unnerving green glow again.

She remembered what he’d told her back in the medical labs, the first time the freaky green-eye thing had happened, the time he’d almost killed her.

Sometimes, I just need a little time.

It was inconceivable to her that someone as strong and fierce as Enki would let a mind-parasite, or whatever it was, take over his consciousness.

“Uh…” And then she realized that the golden-eyed Kordolian who had come down to help—who was wearing the exact same magical tech-armor Enki had on—was staring at her with his eyebrows raised in disbelief. “It’s happened before,” she shrugged. “I’m just telling you what he told me.”

“He told you about it?”

“Not quite. He didn’t exactly explain what it was.”

“That makes two of us.” The man crossed his arms and openly scrutinized Layla as he pulled something out of a canister at his waist. “Still doing the green thing?”

“Yeah, but it’s fading.” Layla studied him in turn, and she couldn’t help but compare him with Enki. After all, this newcomer only the second member of Enki’s crew that she’d seen. “He’ll be with us in a moment. He’s not going to do anything dangerous.” She took in the Kordolian’s sleek obsidian battle-armor, which was exactly the same as Enki’s. She noticed the weapons holstered at various places on his body, all within easy reach. She saw the way he moved—fluid, graceful, almost catlike—just like Enki.

These two were cut from the same deadly cloth, but where Enki’s features were cold and stern and aristocratic, possessing a brutal kind of beauty, this guy appeared delicate-but-not, if that was even possible. His eyes were lighter in color compared with Enki’s amber, but his cropped hair was a couple of shades darker, and his skin was paler—more platinum than silver. Layla could almost have described his face as effeminate, but he was far too dangerous looking, and he had a similar powerful frame—lean, muscular, and obviously capable of exploding into tremendous violence at the drop of a hat.

It occurred to her that she was probably being hugely presumptuous to tell this guy she knew Enki better than he did, but she didn’t care. Her gut told her this was the right thing to do, and when it came to Enki, she would willingly put herself in all kinds of danger just to make sure he was okay.

“Layla.”

Her instincts were rewarded when he uttered her name, his voice hoarse. He reached for her, his hand capturing the side of her face, his touch firm and gentle and possessive, all at the same time.

Layla couldn’t help it; she reached for his fingers and took his hand into hers, squeezing tightly as if to confirm for herself that he was actually here.

Because only a few minutes ago, she had seen him writhing in pain on the floor, his skin raw and blistered, his face twisted into an expression of such excruciating agony that Layla became terribly afraid, but then, miraculously, his skin had smoothed over, healing right before her very eyes.

Yep, add super-healing to his list of freakish abilities. No surprises there. His skin had a little bit of pallor to it, and it didn’t appear as lustrous as before, but he was intact.

Alive.

Thank the fucking stars.

“Enki.” She edged closer as he sat up, becoming keenly aware of his… nakedness. He was a sculpture-made-flesh, the embodiment of lethal power and grace, all lean, rippling muscle and hard edges; a living weapon.

Buck naked.

Layla’s heart fluttered.

“Ahem.” Behind them, the other Kordolian cleared his throat. “Looks like you two need a moment.” A small clear cylinder appeared in his hand. Inside was some sort of liquid. “Here. You might need this.” He tossed the thing to Enki, who turned and snatched it out of the air, his hand becoming a silver blur. “I’ll be in the navigation room whenever you want to debrief. We’re out of the Rist’s blast-range now. I’ve set a course for the Fleet Station.”

“Hm.” Enki just nodded, not saying a word as the two warriors locked eyes, some sort of silent communication passing between them.

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