Two series of lines and numbers scrolled over each side of the screen. It meant nothing to Rentir, who had been trained to provide security, not interpret data.
“What am I looking at?” he asked.
“The sample on the left is mine, and the sample on the right is Cordelia’s,” Haerune said.
Haerune reached out with a tendril and flicked at the right side of the screen, sending it to layer over the data on the left. Sections of overlapping data began to light up blue, and even Rentir could see that the symbols in those areas were the same.
“That’s human code,” Haerune said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Rentir’s breath left him in awhuff, and he leaned back against the sealed medpod. “We’re part human.”
Haerune nodded.
Rentir looked down at Cordelia. Her eyelids had begun to flutter as though she was overcoming the effects of the sedative. “Elten is going to talk her into a coma when he gets back.”
“Definitely,” Haerune agreed grimly.
Elten had a strange fascination with their origins that most of the others didn’t share. What difference did it make what pieces had been used to puzzle them together or what their lives had been like? It changed nothing. None of them truly understood the fixation, but it seemed harmless where quirks were concerned.
“Thalen may be interested, as well,” Haerune mused.
Rentir looked askance at him.
“Hers is the first alien culture we’ve made contact with. No doubt he’ll be wondering even now what we can gain from them. Technology. Allies.” He blew out a breath, tendrils twisting. “We could sorely use allies. I’m not sure what hope we have withoutthem. Things cannot continue on as they have been. The rations will run out in time—ours before theGidalan’s, especially if they… purge.”
Rentir ground his teeth at the mere suggestion. “They will not.”
“Do not pretend it is beyond them.” Haerune crossed his arms over his chest. “How many have we seen culled? When have they ever shown the slightest hesitation?”
“It is different! They are healthy, young—the future of the Aurillon’s workforce, especially if they succeed in wiping us out. They would not dare.”
Haerune’s tendrils wilted, and he shrugged hopelessly. “I wish I shared your optimism.” His gaze trailed back to Cordelia. “Look. She’s waking.”
CHAPTER 6
Cordelia felt pinnedlike a butterfly specimen by the force of gravity. Her eyes refused to open, her muscles refused to tense. Something like sleep paralysis, it made her throat ache to scream in defiance of the peaceful rise and fall of her chest.
A hand smoothed over her hair, and curiosity overwhelmed her limpid muscles. Her eyes cracked, just enough to make out the blurry form of a lavender-skinned man with wild green eyes. He smiled down at her, flashing two rows of pointed teeth that were anything but comforting. Paired with his horns, he would have been the stuff of nightmares if he hadn’t been so disarmingly handsome beneath the strangeness.
Rentir.
“Up,” she croaked. He shrugged at her. “Wanna sit… up.”
She tensed her abdomen, pushing off with her elbows, and managed to lift her head a few inches before she collapsed back onto the cushioned table. The next time she tried, he slipped a hand beneath her head, giving her the resistance she needed to sit up and swing her legs over the edge of the table.
“Thank you,” she murmured, leaning away from the heat of his hand. It lingered in the air a moment before falling to his side, the talon-like nails curling into his fist.
With horror, she realized she was completely naked. She gasped, adrenaline surging as she squeezed her thighs together and banded her arms over her dangling breasts.
“Where the fuck are my clothes?” she asked, hunching her shoulders.
Rentir seemed to grasp the source of her discomfort immediately. He pressed something at the collar of his dark, tactical jacket. It unzipped itself with a soft rasping sound, falling open over his broad chest to reveal the dark shirt beneath.
Murmuring incomprehensible words in a comforting tone, he shrugged out of the fabric and draped it over her shoulders. It enveloped her completely, big enough for two of her. She snatched the fabric closed, obscuring herself. It was still warm from his body heat, like a towel straight from the dryer, soothing some of the tension in her. His scent filled her nose, something male and woodsy, far more enticing than she’d expected from an alien. A thread of unwelcome arousal tugged within her.
“Thanks,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
There was a huge holographic screen on the wall to her left, scrolling slowly through a wall of some kind of data. The other alien, the mocking one with the tentacles, stood in front of it with his arms crossed over his chest. He said something to Rentir, who turned to her and spoke softly.
