In no time at all, Faith heated the spaghetti and plated some for her and Marque. They sat at the table and ate. With every sip of the enhanced water and every bite of the food, Faith felt better. When they were done, Marque helped Faith clean the dishes and put them away.
Faith sat on the couch feeling awkward. What to do now? Marque checked the hallway outside and came back in. He stood there just as awkward as she was.
“Have you always wanted to be a warrior?”
“Yes. I am the fifth generation to serve Drasta.”
“How long have you known Logan? I mean Captain Coor?”
“Two years. I asked to be on his team so I can learn more from him. I feel like I let him down by allowing myself to get hurt.”
“That’s nonsense. You did the best you could. It wasn’t your fault. Blame it on us scheming humans. You just got caught up in our shenanigans. I am sorry you got hurt.”
“I appreciate that, but from what I was informed by Captain Coor, you were not responsible for the planned attack.”
“Maybe not, but I still feel shitty about the whole thing.”
The main door opened, and Logan walked inside. Faith felt her breath catch at the sight of him. His face lit up when he saw her. Seeing him made her heart beat faster. Why did he make her feel these strange feelings?
“Hi. How was your day?” she asked.
He smiled. “Better now that I get to see you.” He moved to sit next to her on the couch.
Marque excused himself and went to the bedroom where the other two warriors were sleeping. It left them alone. Part of her wanted to reach out to touch his hand. She had never been the one to initiate contact between them and was nervous.
“What have you been doing while I was gone?” Logan asked.
“After my treatment, I slept for a while, took a shower, then ate.”
“You look like you have more color to your complexion, and you seem more energetic.”
She nodded. “The treatments are doing a world of good. Haggard says a few more treatments and I should be free of the radiation completely.”
“That’s great news. Did he mention whether you should get any kind of exercise to build your strength?”
“He suggested I should take a walk for about an hour a day.”
“That’s great to hear and just in time. I have arranged for us to take a tour of the dome scheduled for this afternoon. The liaison who will give us the tour should arrive in about twenty minutes. Do you want to go?”
“Absolutely. Let me get some shoes on.” She stood and found that he stood at the same time. Thinking back, she realized he’d done that every time in her presence. Whoever his parents were, they made sure he learned manners. Manners were the first thing to go when the nukes hit. No one bothered withpleaseandthank youwhen people young and old were dying all around. She needed to see something positive that came out of all this.
Rushing into her bedroom, she found a pair of tennis shoes in the closet—in her size, of course. Again, she wondered who was coming to their quarters while they were gone. She didn’t even bother to look for socks. She slipped her feet into the shoes and then paused, tying the strings. A tour of the dome would be perfect for allowing her to learn the routes and escape.
The thought of leaving Logan made her feel a terrible tightness around her heart. He had been nothing but protective and kind to her. All the Drastan warriors had treated her better than her own people. She liked them. She really liked Logan and wanted to get to know him better. There was so much she wanted to ask. What was his home world like? Did he have family waiting for his return? A girlfriend or mate waiting for him. That thought did not make her feel good at all. She may not have experience with men, but she knew Logan felt something for her too. Faith wasn’t sure how long she sat there until she heard her name.
“Faith? Are you ready?” Logan called out from the doorway of her bedroom.
“Coming!” she finished tying the shoestrings.
When she left her bedroom, she found Logan and Warrior Powers waiting. There was a human woman in her twenties standing near the main door. She was a pretty, skinny brunette who was eyeing Logan up and down with desire in her eyes. A streak of jealousy struck her hard.He is mine!she nearly yelled out.
“Faith, this is the Liaison Jessica.”
Faith moved to stand next to Logan. “Hi.”
Jessica gave her a nasty look when Logan wasn’t looking but plastered a big fake smile on her face. “Nice to meet you.” She then ignored Faith.
“Shall we go, Captain Coor? Or should I call you Logan?” She stepped forward to place her hand on Logan’s arm.
