Page 49 of Commander’s Mate

Someone would call Earth.

Someone would send us back.

Cherry Street. Main Street. Trash night. Ohio sunsets. My old shoes by the back door. The cracked mug I kept meaning to throw away. The grocery list still stuck to my refrigerator.

Gone.

Not destroyed like Farseek. Not bombed. Not burned.

Gone from my reach anyway.

“I bet that makes you happy, soul mate,” I heard myself say.

The room inhaled.

Zared flinched.

His voice dropped. “No.”

“You want me to stay.”

“Yes.”

“At least you admit it.”

“I want you to stay because I am drawn to you in ways I cannot fully explain. But I did not steal your world. I did not remove those coordinates. If I find them, I will tell you.”

“How do I know that?”

“You do not.”

I had not expected that answer.

“You do not know me yet,” he continued. “You do not know whether my honor is worth trusting. I can only show you, one truth at a time.”

The first tear fell.

Damn him.

Damn the slavers.

Damn the universe.

“I was taking out the garbage,” I said.

No one answered.

“I was taking out the garbage. I was going to bring in the recycling bin. I was going to make a sandwich and watch a stupid show and maybe call my cousin because I forgot two days in a row. And now I’m never—”

The rest broke.

I covered my mouth, but the sob came anyway.

Zared crossed the room slowly. Scarlet raised one hand.

“Careful.”

He stopped immediately.