Logically, Qylar understood that. Alex had been near inconsolable for weeks after, and it had taken months for him to smile again. But not tellinghimabout a new pregnancy—when he’d been there for nearly every moment of Zaadi and Aeloran’s lives?
It stung.
Once again, he felt on the outside looking in.
“We would love to have you there for the birth. You haven’t been back since before Zaadi arrived. Come with us.”
“And weather the stares and whispers? No thank you.” While the thought of being away from Zaadi and Ael for months broke his heart, he didn’t want to deal with hostility—or have the children witness his humiliation, either.
How much would they grow while they were gone? Would Aeloran even remember him by the time they got back?
“I understand,” Cryss murmured.
“Some alone time will do me good,” Qylar said. “I can get over this nonsense. By the time you return, I’ll be back to myself again. I promise.”
Cryss shook his head. “It’s not nonsense.”
“It is,” Qylar said, pulling the tool in his hand tighter against the fitting.
“Do you want me to stay and help with the final repairs?” Cryss asked.
“No,” Qylar said. “She’s my project.” He waved Cryss away. “Leave me to tinker.”
“If that’s what you want,” Cryss said weakly. “Will we see you at dinner?”
“Probably not,” Qylar replied. “It’s near finished. If you can take the boat back with you, I might stay until it’s done. I can sleep in the back.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll take her in.” Cryss held his gaze but said nothing for a few seconds.
“Go,” Qylar said, waving Cryss off. “Make sure Ael hasn’t gotten into the blueberries again.”
Cryss snickered. “They’re going to miss you when we go home.”
Home.Nefyria wasn’t home to Qylar anymore. It had barely been that before they’d crash landed on Earth.
San Francisco was home now. He had no plans to leave it. Definitely not for Nefyria. He could avoid that planet for the rest of his life and be perfectly happy.
“I’ll miss them, too.”
Cryss grinned. “I’ll see you soon.”
He went back to work the second the vizscreen showed Cryss out in the water. Focusing on the repairs versus his wayward thoughts, the hours passed. He completed the last of the repairs and diagnostics. After all was said and done, he started the engines, bringing them up to full speed slowly. Qylar smiled when all systems appeared operational.
Lifting the craft off the seabed it had been lodged in took some doing, but once out of the water he sped through the atmosphere—on stealth mode, of course. He took a straight route just outside Earth’s orbit to further test the ship. After a near collision with a couple of satellites, he sped past the moon and halfway to Mars before bringing her about and returning just outside Earth’s orbit.
He paused outside from the furthermost ring of space debris and unfurled the solar sails to recharge fully. Once charged, he returned to the seabed and laid her back down in the mouth of the underwater cavern.
Qylar sat back, yawning. A check of the time told him he’d worked a solid twenty hours straight, so he found his way to the galley for a quick bite before wandering into one of the two bedrooms for a rest. Sleep didn’t last, though. The proximity alarms awoke him with a jerk a few hours later.
He rushed to the helm and checked screens but found nothing. No whales or orca nearby. No large fish. No human shipsoverhead. Frowning, he stripped out of his overalls and grabbed his pack—and dove passed the permeable water wall in the belly of the ship. He shifted the second he hit ocean water and swam in widening arcs around the ship, searching for whatever it was that had set off the alarm.
There was nothing he could find.
I have the settings so high. A harsh shift in the current could’ve set it off.
Qylar couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling, though. After another few circles, he gave up his search and returned home, hitching a ride on the back of a fishing boat at twilight. In the shadows of the night, he made his way home without alerting Alex and Cryss he’d returned next door. He wasn’t quite ready to face anyone yet.
After a shower, he collapsed into bed and slept long and deep.
