“You want to tell me what’s going on?” Curran asks quietly at breakfast the following morning.
I stare at him. I really don’t. I don’t know how to tell him how flustered and confused I am by Davix’s behavior. How a part of me wants to just say yes and go along with whatever he was offering while a part of me thinks it will break me to lose the friendships of the haleens I’ve come to care so much about. But Curran is still looking at me intently.
“I broke up with Slade,” I say dropping my eyes to my plate so Curran can’t see that it’s only a partial truth.
“I didn’t realize you were back together again,” Curran says.
“We aren’t. We weren’t. But he wanted to be, and I told him no.”
“It’s about time,” Curran mutters.
I jerk my head up and look at him in surprise. “What?”
“He was never good enough for you,” Curran says matter-of-factly. “I’m glad you finally realized that.”
“I can’t believe you are saying that to me right now,” I grumble at him.
“Corrina,” he says seriously. “You deserve someone who will treasure you, who will put you first, who cares about what makes you happy. That isn’t, and was never going to be, Slade. And you know I’m right.”
I’m tempted to argue with him just for the sake of arguing, but instead I just stab a piece of sausage angrily. “It still seems rude to point it out,” I reply irritably.
“And yet, I get the sense you’re not as upset about it as you would have been a year ago.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask.
Curran shrugs. “Just that having someone care about you, really care about you, makes it impossible to not see when someone doesn’t.” He stares at me, seeing more than I want him to, and I drop my eyes to my plate. “It can be terrifying, though,” he continues softly. “Realizing how much you care about someone and not knowing what will happen next.”
“I’ve got to go,” I say suddenly, getting to my feet.
“You do what you have to do,” Curran replies. “But know that I’m here if you want to talk.”
But I don’t want to talk. Not to Curran. And I don’t know how to talk to any of the haleen trio. I wonder if Krish or Zann even know about Davix’s confession or if there is any chance that they feel the same way he does. I don’t know how I’m supposed to face any of them right now. How am I supposed to go back to just being friends when I know in my heart that I want so much more? But how do I give up what we have now when I have no idea what more would look like?
Chapter Forty-One: Davix
Corrina has refused to see any of us for days, and I am beside myself with frustration. In the wake of being denied routine access to the base, I have taken to sneaking over the fence in the dead of night and hiding out on rooftops just to try and catch a glimpse of her. She is short-tempered and irritable, and even Curran gives her a wide berth. I desperately wish to speak to her, to apologize for my actions, and to beg her for forgiveness. I would do anything to take back my foolishness and return to the days of being close to her however I could. I am cursing myself when I hear a siren in the distance. I smell smoke before I see it rising up on the far side of the base. The last time I saw Corrina, she was close to where I am now, but panic rises up in me at the thought of her in danger. I move silently and swiftly across rooftops until I catch her scent in the air. But she is not alone.
“You know, you really made this almost too easy,” a male voice is saying to her. “Everyone knows about your little lover’s quarrel with those green-skinned monsters. And now at least one of them is going to get blamed for your death.”
I leap to the next building in time to see Corrina’s foot collide with a man’s stomach. He grunts and staggers backwards. Despite my concern, I am filled with pride at Corrina’s strength and grace.
“You’re out of your mind,” Corrina barks, landing a blow to the man’s face. “What’s going to happen is that I’m going to kick your ass and then have you thrown in a detention cell.”
The man chuckles. “Those videos you provided? Gave us the chance to really study the claws of those three,” he says, pulling a glove from his pocket. He slides it over his hand and flexes his fingers, and I realize that the metal claws on the fingers are a perfect match for my own. “It’s going to be a terrible tragedy the way one of them savaged you,” he says pulling on another glove. “Absolutely brutal,” he continues. He lashes out clumsily with the claws, and Corrina moves out of the way effortlessly. He slashes out again, barely grazing her skin. A growl rumbles from my chest, but Corrina seems unfazed. If I were not so worried about making her more upset with me, I would be on the ground with the man unconscious before me.
“Those will be great evidence,” she says, dancing in a circle around the man. “I bet they weren’t easy to get made. Should make them easy to track back to the supplier and then whoever ordered them. My money is on Vertage, but feel free to correct me.” As I watch, I notice the slightest misstep in her normally graceful movements.
“There it is,” the man mumbles. “That paralytic you avoided in the cupcakes? Works as a contact poison too. You didn’tthink I was going to take a chance on a fair fight, did you?” Corrina’s eyes widen, and she stumbles again. Before I can launch myself from the roof, the man steps forward and slashes at her repeatedly with his metal claws. Corrina’s hands go to her stomach as blood begins to pour from the wounds. She stares at the man dumbfounded as she drops to her knees. I am on the man before he can strike her again, jerking his head sideways to snap his neck. Corrina’s eyes are glassy as she stares up at me. “Davix?” she mumbles.
I scoop her up in my arms, and then I am racing for the nearest doorway. I sprint down familiar corridors, cradling Corrina as gently as I can as I barrel past soldiers. Since my accident, I have never regretted my inability to speak, but I regret it now. I don’t know how I will explain to whoever is in the medical bay that I did not do this to her, that I could never do this to her. I only hope that they will be able to save her, regardless of what happens to me.
“Davix?” Wenschel exclaims as I skid to a halt in the med bay. “What are you…Oh my stars, is that the Commander? Put her down here,” she says, motioning to a bed.
“Ryder!” she yells. “I need you!”
Wenschel takes a pair of scissors and begins cutting off the Commander’s clothes. “Shit, these are deep,” she mutters to herself.
Ryder bolts to the Commander and then stares at me. “What did you do to her?” he hisses.
