He glances around to make sure no one else is close. “Did Davix hurt you?” he asks. I shake my head vehemently. Curran nods. “Good. I don’t have to kill him. Now, get some rest.” I want to protest, but even the act of trying to sit up exhausted me. I lay back in the bed and let Curran feed me a protein slurry and then hold a straw for me to drink a nutritional supplement. When I finish, I drift into a medicated slumber.
???
Wenschel is sitting beside the bed when I wake up. “Do you need anything?” she asks, leaning forward. I shake my head slowly. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I reply, hoarsely. Better is, of course, a relative term. I glance down at the bandages around my midsection.
“You were pretty badly wounded,” she says, her voice shaking uncharacteristically. “The tissue knitters have repaired the worst of the damage, but your body is still going to need time to recover.” I nod dejectedly.
“The haleens?” I ask. “Are they okay?
Wenschel looks uncomfortable for a moment. “I think so. Commander Curran is keeping them off base, but he says it’s for their safety.” She pauses. “I have a message from Krish, though. If you want to hear it.”
“Please,” I say earnestly.
“He said there would always be a place for you in their nest if you want it.” I swallow slowly and let out a ragged breath. Over time, I’ve learned that being asked to share a nest is no small act in haleen culture. It is a way of telling another that you trust them even when you are most vulnerable. It is also something that Krish told me the day after Slade arrived, and that I was afraid to dwell on too deeply. I blink my eyes against the tears that threaten to form.
“Should I not have told you?” Wenschel asks worriedly. “It seemed like a sweet thing to say, but I don’t honestly know.”
“No, I’m glad you told me,” I murmur, swallowing back the wave of emotion. “Thank you.” I close my eyes and let the possibility and promise of Krish’s message wash over me. I missed them all desperately in the days leading up to my attack. The thought of never being able to tell them how I feel, regardless of how complicated it might make things, has been heavy on my mind. I know Curran did the right thing by restricting their access to base given the circumstances, but it’s been so hard not to see them or talk to them.
???
“You’re what?” I ask irritably. Curran just crosses his arms and stares at me.
“I’m sending you to a safe house to continue your recovery.”
“This is ridiculous,” I snap. “I can recover just fine here.”
“I’m acting commander,” he retorts, “and it wasn’t a request. I’m sending you off base to a secure location for at least two weeks to continue your recovery.” His expression softens somewhat. “Besides, it’s confusing to have you here and not in command,” he admits. “Not to me, ‘cause I didn’t listen to you half the time anyway. But for the soldiers, it’s strange. And I think it would be better for you to take some time and return with the same invincible reputation you’ve always had than let some of your admirers realize you’re only human.”
“You’re shipping me off because you don’t want to deal with me,” I grumble.
“That, too. You’re a miserable fucking patient,” he adds. I start to laugh and then wince. “I’ve got a detail that will deliver you there before dinner.”
“Curran,” I say, and I hate the nervousness I hear creep into my own voice. “You’re sure I’ll be safe there?”
Curran stares at me for a moment. “I don’t think there’s anywhere you could be safer,” he says softly. Then he straightens. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks or whenever you’re up to being back on active duty.”
Chapter Forty-Four: Zann
I pace the interior of the strange building with Davix and Krish watching me anxiously. I do not know why we are here, only that Curran promised we would be able to see Corrina if we came to this place. He did not want to let us back onto the base, but it has been agony not being able to see Corrina. It doesn’t matter that it has only been five days since her attack. It feels like an eternity. But Curran was adamant that we could not return to base yet. He was also adamant that no one know where we are. We made arrangements with our work crew to be gone, but they know only that we will not be working our usual shifts.
I hear a noise outside and am instantly on alert. Davix, Krish, and I have been waiting here in the dark as Curran instructed. And now there is someone outside. We crouch in the shadows, waiting. I hear footsteps and then the door swings open, and Corrina’s scent washes over me. She closes the door behind her and switches on a light, and I feel like my hearts stop beating for a moment. She is clearly still weak from the attack, but Corrina is here and I cannot contain my joy.
I stand and start towards her, watching as her eyes widen in surprise. Then I am suddenly afraid that she will not want to see me, to see us. I pause as her eyes fill with tears, and then she is dropping her bag and moving towards me and I scoop her into my arms and press my face to neck. “Corrina,” I murmur, and I feel her squeeze me tightly. “You are here,” I say, pulling back to look at her. “You are safe.”
“I’m here,” she says, tears still running down her cheeks.
“You are sad to see me?” I ask.
“No,” she says hurriedly. “No, sad is not at all what I’m feeling right now.” But she is still crying.
Krish and Davix approach slowly, and she spreads her arms to welcome them. I watch as they crowd close to her, Davix burying his face in her hair and Krish pressing his mouth to her neck. And then I am stepping forward and she is surrounded by us, and everything feels right.
“I don’t understand,” she says softly, leaning back but not so far that she is out of our grasp. “What are you doing here?”
“Curran told us to wait here, that we would be able to see you if we did,” I answer. She stares at me for a minute and then she begins to laugh.
