She meant so much more to him than that.
“Please, Khiva,” she whispered and when he finally tore his glare away from the card, he saw her eyes had filled with tears. He hated that sight even more. “I—I’m just trying to do the right thing. I knew that you would hate it, but I just want to give you options. Just in case.”
“Come here,” he murmured.
She hesitated for only a moment and then she went to him, wrapping her arms around him, as his came around her. She pressed her face into his chest and Khiva had never felt anything morerightthan simply holding her like this.
When he felt wetness against his shirt from her tears, he let out a low trill, wanting to comfort her and feeling helpless how. So, he simply held her and he savored every moment she was still in his arms, knowing that soon, she would pull away.
And when she did, when she stepped back and looked at him, she said, “I’ve come to say goodbye, Khiva. I’m leaving Everton.”
Khiva’s whole body seemed to numb. Even the pumping of his blood seemed to still in his veins. “Kruvu?” he asked quietly.
Evelyn looked down at the space between them before meeting his eyes. “There’s nothing here for me, no future at least. And there are things about Everton that I can no longer ignore, things that you’ve helped me realize are backwards and corrupt. I fear that if I stay, I will remain stagnant. I will never grow, never see different places, never experience a different life, never be scared or frightened, when I now believe that we should all be scared and frightened sometimes. It’s what we are afraid of that makes things worth it. Like you,” she murmured, giving him a small smile. “I can’t tell you how scared I was to come to you, how scared I was to return. But I also can’t tell you how much I was glad I did.”
Khiva fell even more in love with her in that moment, just as she was saying goodbye, just as she was leaving Everton, leaving him.
“When will you go?” he asked slowly.
“In four days,” she replied.
Khiva made a sound in the back of throat, panic making his hands tremble. So soon. “Where?”
“I contacted an old friend of my father,” she told him. “He lives on an open colony, a neutral, peaceful colony, called Dumera, in the Second Quadrant. My father had visited once. He’d told me about it, that it was beautiful, that beings from all over the universe lived there and that he’d never quite seen a place like it.”
“Evelyn,” he rasped. “I…”
She licked her lips and continued. “My father’s friend, Gorkan, is helping me secure housing there. He says there are jobs available in the Dumerian archives, old texts from all over the Quadrants that need restoring. It seems they value history there, memory. I feel like I can actually contribute towards something greater, rather than just restoring expensive old books for private collections.”
Khiva took a deep breath in through his nostrils. This was what he’d wanted for her. A future. The way she spoke, she seemed genuinely excited about the prospect.
So, why did it hurt this much?
“I…I am proud of you,leeldra,” he finally said quietly.
Her soft smile slowly faded and she reached out to squeeze his wrist. “Thank you, Khiva. That…that means a lot.” Then she hesitated but said, “And just so you’re aware, I will meet with my father’s contact at the United Worlds concerning Madame Allegria.”
“Evelyn,” he started, shaking his head.
“I’m not afraid of her,” she said. “What she is doing is beyond immoral and illegal. She deserves punishment.”
How could he make her understand?
“It is not just her, Evelyn,” he said, taking her hand. “Our clients…they are connected to very powerful, very wealthy beings, not just those within the Earth Council. If our clients’ names were outed…” He shook his head, exhaling a heavy breath. “Let us just agree that they would go to extreme lengths to prevent it.”
“I never said it would be easy,” she said softly.
Khiva touched her cheek softly, affection and grief welling in his chest all at once. “I admire your bravery,leeldra. But your own safety,pleaselet this go.”
“No,” she said immediately. “I will not just leave and turn a blind eye, just like everyone else here. You said that it was I that didn’t deserve this, but it isyou, all of you, who truly don’t deserve this. You deserve better, Khiva. Much, much better…and yet, it isyouwho has become stagnant. It’s you who has resigned yourself to this, who denies help when offered it. I can’t help you when you don’t want to be helped. And for how long, Khiva? How long will you live like this? For the rest of your life? Are you prepared to die here because of it?”
Her words cut him like a blade. They stole his breath.
Of course, he’d thought about what she’d just said many, many times. But to hear it fall from her lips, to hear her shine a light onto his shame, onto his resignation, was worse. It struck him to his core. It made him realize just how cowardly he’d become. She was a mirror that he couldn’t escape.
He wanted to be better. For himself. For her.
Eve blew out a breath, wiping her eyes to dash away her tears of frustration. Stunned silence fell over them.
