Her confusion grew. “I’m not here for refuge,” she said, unsure if she meant it as a question.
“Would you like to stay aboard this ship or would you like to seek refuge on mine?” The Space Lord reached his hand out, offering it up to be taken. Or left cold and undisturbed.
Fine ghostly fingers cupped into a shallow half-circle before her with beautiful braids of green veins that matched his eyes. Touching his hand would be life-altering and she wasn’t sure why. Only that the creep of unease that prickled up her spine said so. Curiosity can kill the cat and despite her nerves, she found herself compelled to grasp it.
To be bound by it.
To be beloved and beholden to its grip, forever.
Her hand remained at her side.
“I choose to stay here.” His hand disappeared in a blur back into his glove.
“Very well.”
Kat half-staggered to the door. It zipped open to reveal Dommik’s arms. Her confusion drifted away when he cocooned her in steel. She needed him, wanting him to know she chose him, and that, maybe, she would always choose him.
She had chosen him at the port, at Ghost, and now far into space, it was a revelation that sat unwell in her heart.Would he choose me?It hadn’t mattered before.
They rode up the elevator together in silence, her arms banded around Dommik. He stopped them at the alcove. “Wait here,” he let her go.
She wanted to bury her face into her hands and forget all about the aliens.
Markoss tilted his head in her direction. “It was nice to meet you, little one, Katalina, Katal, Lina, Talina. Congratulations. Kat?” They left her before she could respond and deny her abbreviated name. His voice remained in her head, it snaked through and left only confusion in its wake.
She watched as they disappeared down the hallway until the rainbows faded into the dark.
Kat twirled her wristlet and mulled over her first interaction with an alien being. Earth had made it seem so very scary, and so unreal as if they were mythical, or an elaborate hoax played by the government to explain the significant amount of losses in deep space. It wasn’t until the silence returned that she realized she was alone.
Kat looked around for Bin-Three and saw only empty shadows.
With the rush of adrenaline fueling her she darted into the forbidden part of the ship.
Chapter Seventeen:
---
She wasn’t quite sure where she was going, only that she had never been down these passageways before, had never been this deep into the ship. If someone had knocked her out and dropped her in one of the corridors blind, she would wake up thinking she was outside her quarters, that is, until the walls expanded twofold and the atmosphere becamecommercial.
A door popped open to her right, showing her the medbay. She peeked in to see the reader was still lying forgotten on the table. Kat made a note of it and continued.
The metal sheets, painted in pristine strips, glinted under the lowlights. The quality improved to make the crew’s quarters look primitive in comparison. Perfect symmetry. Perfectly boring. She glanced back to find the way behind her looked like her way forward.Don’t get turned around.
Dommik was going to find her, she was sure of it, but hopefully, she would find what he was hiding first. Over half the ship was off-limits and there could only be two reasons: he needed his space, or there was something he didn’t want her to see.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder, pushing her into the wall. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The cold wall seeped into her cheek. “Exploring. I wanted to see what you allowed the Trentians to see...but not me.” Kat shivered. He spun her around to face him.
“I didn’t bring them here,” he hissed over her face. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble and I’m wondering if you’re worth it.”
Kat pressed her hands into his chest. “You know everything about me, all my dark and terrible secrets. I’ve let you inside my body, I’ve let you cum all over my chest and you still hide away. I trust you, Dommik, and I shouldn’t. I’ve wanted you the moment I saw you but the Space Lord…”
“What about him?” he growled. “Choose your words well.”
She looked away but he gripped her chin and tilted her head back. “He made me confused.”
“That’s all? Because that doesn’t explain your trespassing.” His frame blocked out the small amount of light.
