He’ll think it was me…
A thousand more thoughts soared through her head as Hysterian came to a stop in front of her.
Keep your mouth shut.Alexa tore her eyes from the briefcase and looked up to meet Hysterian’s. “Captain,” she rasped in greeting.
He cocked his head, and her belly twisted. “Is something wrong, Dear? Your face is flushed. Are you getting sick?”
“No, Captain. I, uh...” She glanced around the room looking for an answer. Why wasn’t there anything when she wanted there to be something? “Just finished feeding the locusts.” It wasn’t quite a lie. She had fed them.
He stared at her.
Much longer than a normal person would.
Alexa hated Daniels more than Hysterian at that moment for putting her in this position.
“Are you sure you’re not sick?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
She felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. “I’m pretty sure.”
She wasn’t ready to be caught. Or burned. Burned would be worse.
“Your heart is beating rapidly,” he stated as if it was normal for him to know that standing several feet away from her.
“The male locust scares me,” she said quickly. Also not a lie.
He finally took his eyes off her and looked at the creature. “Why?”
“He watches me,” Alexa said before she can stop herself.
Hysterian’s eyes returned to hers and the awkward silence that followed made her feel way worse.
“He can’t hurt you,” he said.
She swallowed. “I know.” Desperate to change the subject, she reached out. “Are those the vaccines? I’ve prepared a freezer slot for them.”
Slowly, far too slowly for Alexa’s comfort, Hysterian handed the briefcase to her. “Yes,” he said, eyeing her curiously.
When she had the briefcase in her hands, she held it to her chest. “I’ll take care of this.”
“You do that.”
Alexa turned and stiffly walked away, her joints suddenly glued together. She made quick work of securing the vaccines into their slot and prayed that when she turned back Hysterian would be gone.
Please be gone.
Please. Be. Gone.
When she turned, he was behind her.
Alexa startled. If today couldn’t get any better…
This was it. He was going to confront her about her snooping. She had to decide now if she was going to tell him about Daniels, lie, or come clean and hope Hysterian didn’t kill her.
To her shock, he didn’t say a word. Instead, for the second time that day, she was left in stunned silence.
Because Hysterian’s eyes weren’t dark, but bright and turquoise, unlike anything she’d ever seen, and his brow was beading with…
Sweat?
