Page 59 of Cloverleaf Station

“I like to ride the gravity waves.” Lizzie sounded a bit dreamy. “They are so strong this close to the Cloverleaf Quasar. They feel like a … like … I don’t know. Tingly. Pushing. Soft.”

“Wow.” Kieron stroked his hand over the console, and a little trickle of light followed the path of his fingers. “That sounds really neat.”

“It is. I like it so much.”

“What else?”

“I like looking up names for things. Humans have names for everything! If one language doesn’t know, then another language does. And more than things, they have names for feelings!” There was a harmonic hum. “I want to feel them all.”

“Some feelings are easier to handle than others,” Kieron said. “But I can see the appeal of trying lots of different things like that.”

“What is your favorite feeling?”

“My favorite?” That was a good question. His absolute favorite feeling was the heady, sensual buzz he got with Elenus—so far removed from his usual state of being that the novelty of it still felt all-powerful. But that wasn’t really one for sharing with a child. “I like the feeling of belonging,” he said at last. “Of being part of a community that values me. That’s what being with you and Catie and Elenus gives me, and I appreciate it more than I can tell you.”

“Belonging,” Lizzie said. “Yes. That’s a good one.”

“What about you?” Kieron asked, preferring to speak about anyone but himself. “What’s your favorite feeling right now?”

“I think it’s … surprise.”

He smiled. “Surprise? What’s surprised you lately?”

“You have. I’m so happy you like me.”

Ouch. His heart … it was going to explode. “I’m so lucky to have you with me,” he said after taking a moment to get himself under control. “To talk to and discover new things with. Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Kieron.”

Chapter twenty-five

By the time they got to Trakta, Kieron and Lizzie had progressed to the point where they spoke for hours every day, sharing stories and facts—she loved facts, loved being able to know things for sure—and playing little games to pass the time. Kieron still got time to himself whenever Catie or Elenus reached out to Lizzie, which he knew he needed, but the novelty of being someone that another person was relying on still hadn’t worn off.

He loved Catie, but she would always first and foremost be her father’s child. Lizzie had more of an independent streak, and while she adored Elenus, she was also less inclined to refer to him as “Daddy” or “Father” or any other diminutive. With Kieron, though …

“Kee?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” he asked as he began to go through the stream of navigation guidelines for landing Lizzie on Trakta.

“Do you have to go?”

“What do you mean?”

There was a pause. “Do you have to leave me?” Lizzie finally asked, her voice small. “I don’t want to be alone in the hangar.”

“Oh.” Well, that was … “Um. I have to go somewhere that you can’t precisely fit, but you’re welcome to keep an open line to my implant. That way you can see what I see.”

“I waaaant toooooo!”

Kieron chuckled. “Only one other mind in my head at a time, please. Otherwise, I won’t be able to think straight.”

“I asked first,” Lizzie said a bit petulantly.

“I’m oldeeeerrrr!”

“First come, first served,” Kieron said firmly, and Catie made a whining noise. “If I’m here more than a day, you two can trade off, all right?”

“Wait, you’re only going to stay for a day?” This was Elenus’s voice cutting in now. Kieron felt on the verge of being overwhelmed. He hadn’t talked to all three of them at the same time since leaving Cloverleaf Station. “Seriously? After all that travel, after all that work, you’re just going to hand over the arm and fly away again?”