“I’m just tired, my love.”
Kamari’s brows pinched and he knew that she didn’t believe him, but then her face softened and she kissed the tip of his nose. “Then come to bed.”
When she turned to go, he couldn’t help himself. He grabbed her wrist and brought her into his lap. “I love you Kamari Orathka.” His fingers tangled in her mess of curls as he kissed her.Keep kissing me,he thought.Kiss me until our lips are bruised and ourlungs are burning. Kiss me until we are nothing but bone and dust.If you keep kissing me, I won’t lose you.
Instead, she pulled away and because he had no power when it came to his wife, he let her go.
“And I love you, Desmond Orathka.” Breathing heavily, she stood. “Five minutes,” she said. “Don’t keep me waiting.” Her grin shone through the darkness and Desmond memorized the shape of her lips and sway of her hips before he went back to his journal.
"You know what you need to do, Desmond."
The voices were gentle now. A soft caress against his neck.
"You have always known what you needed to do. It’s the only way to keep her safe."
“Safe fromwhat?” He barely recognized his own voice. Weak and full of defeat.
The voices slithered up his spine, tucking themselves tightly in his ear.
"Keep her safe, from the truth."
Desmond glanced down at his journal, to the nonsensical notes and drawings.Mad, the people called him and perhaps they were right. The truth was there, right in front of him.
He buried his face in his palms and choked on a sob. His mind had not been his own for some time now, but tonight was different. There was a sense of finality in the dark of his study that made his chest tighten and his heart race. Like if he closed his eyes, even for a moment, he’d be lost for good.
Desmond sucked in a sharp breath and shoved the journal deep in his desk, in a secret compartment he hoped no one would find. For years he had written every detail of his life, and now, what he wrote tonight, he wanted to bury it like a shameful secret. Hestared at his hands, ink staining his fingers. They trembled as he wiped them against his pants.
“I can’t leave her.”
"Come Desmond."
“Will she be okay?”Please let her be okay.
"That is up to you," the voices purred.
"Come," they said again.
And this time, he obeyed.
One
Aesira
Killing monsters was easier than making small talk. Which was what Aesira focused on, slicing her blade straight through the scorpion, as a new recruit babbled nonsense in her ear.
“Impressive,” the recruit said.
“What?” Aesira wiped her blade clean before placing it back in the leather sheath on her hip.
“I said that was impressive. I can’t wait to get my first kill.”
“Report to Lieutenant Nev,” Aesira said, tossing the wretched parasite over the wall. “See what she needs done this morning.”
The new recruit’s face fell slightly but Aesira didn’t have time for it. She waved her off and thankfully the recruit turned and left without another word.
She took a deep inhale of the early morning air. The sun was barely rising, a small fragment looming over the endless sand. She reached into her pocket, palming the orders she received this morning.
A new station.
