"They're one of my favorites," Phila murmured, bending to lift a paper sack. He proceeded to fill it up with the pink treats. When I reached for the bag, he tucked it behind his back and shook his head. He even waggled a finger, teasing me. "These are mine. Get your own."
My brows rose. He was serious beneath all that flirting. "Will do." Don't mess with the Pluma's sweet tooth. He usually gave in when I asked for something. I jested as well as I had received. "Maybe I should leave you alone with all the goodies?"
"Never do that," Killeg whispered against my ear ... and kissed it gently. "Sugar gives him gas."
My jaw dropped, and I tried so hard not to laugh.
Phila glared. "Tell her the truth."
"Fine," Killeg said in all seriousness. "Sugar doesn't, but any bloody meat does."
Phila crossed his arms, with narrowed eyes on his other half.
He sighed. "All right. All right. It's too many nuts that make him ill to the stomach."
Phila dipped his head and proceeded on to another aisle. "Thank you."
My chin trembled, as hilarity wracked my small frame. "So, stay away when he eats nuts?"
"Stay far, far away unless you want to pass out."
"Thank you for explaining." I pointed down the aisle Phila had disappeared in. "Shall we?"
He bent low at the waist. "After you."
I strolled forward but whispered over my shoulder, "I try to stay away from too much cloned-milk." His steps faltered, and his lips trembled. I shrugged. "Just a warning."
"I'm truly starting to adore you."
The feeling was mutual. But I wouldn't say it yet.
Panting, I took in massive gulps of air. Sweat dripped down my temples as my vision swam into focus. My bedroom. I was in my room. In my bed. Not stretched out on a table. No electrical lashes were jolting my body, no water drowning me. My apartment. My safe place.
I was fine. I was okay.
Sweet Pea whined, resting his head on my lap.
Absently, I petted his head. "It's all right, boy."
He woofed and curled closer to me.
Even he could sense I was lying. I really needed to work on that.
Lying back down, I pulled the covers up to my chin and draped my arm around his flank.
I tossed. I turned.
My eyes stayed wide open.
The sound of light snoring touched my senses from the guest bedroom. I was failing miserably this day. Most days I slept just fine. But there were others that had ice prickling down my spine in fear, horrific memories flooding and never-ending. I really wished I had a sleeping pill this day, my worst yet.
"Okay, boy, we're moving locations." I knew when enough was enough. And I needed to move, my body twitchy with nerves. "Follow me."
Sweet Pea hopped down from my bed and stuck by my side as I entered the guest bedroom.
I knocked quietly on the open door.
Phila lifted his head from his pillow, his dark eyes glowing at me across the room.
I mumbled quickly, "I, um, need a distraction. Do you mind if I sleep in here with you guys?"
With his face still stuffed in a pillow, Killeg's voice was muffled. "Climb in."
Mother Joyal, I needed them to say that. My bare feet swept over the cold floor in a rush, Sweet Pea jumping in bed with me. He lay at the bottom of the massive bed while I crawled between them. Phila's eyes never left mine as he pulled the blanket down, helping me get situated. I barely glanced at him, shame filling me past all the fear riding me. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He wiped my sweating forehead off with a portion of the blanket, the evidence clear. "We would have come to you if you had called out."
"I know." I shook my head and buried myself under the covers—including my head. I snuggled into their warmth, letting the balminess past all my barriers, needing the heat to overcome the chill inside me. "I don't want to talk about it."
Killeg grunted, and his fingers found my right hand under the blanket. He intertwined our digits and pulled my hand close to his chest, holding it there. "We know, but if you ever want to see a psychologist again, just let us know."
My voice was so damn small, and it was incredibly difficult to say. "I liked Dr. Kowna. Maybe with him ... " I paused and then blurted, "weekly appointments until the nightmares stop."
Phila pressed his heated body closer to mine, wrapping his left arm around my hips, keeping me close ... and protected. "We'll make the call first thing at sunset."
I didn't comment further. My weakness was out there now. Blinding and terrifying.
When Killeg started to snore once more, I breathed a sigh of exhaustion. They weren't going to bother me about it. As my eyes closed, and no vision attacked, I was blessed this day.
My visit with Dr. Kowna ... went well. I guess. Phila and Killeg had called him to my apartment as soon as the new night began—and they left for business affairs so we could talk privately ... after they erased his memory that I was the Plumas of the west's Soul. He was just as I remembered, gentle and perceptive. Possibly too perceptive, but it was needed. I was mentally wiped when he left, and it was no surprise when Stiller and Jax knocked on my door soon after.
Stiller even made Jax and I lunch.
Since he was being pleasant, he had definitely eavesdropped.
When I sat down on my couch with my food next to Jax, I jerked my attention to the front door. It opened without me unlocking it, my right hand instantly going to the steak knife on my plate. But it was the Plumas sauntering inside and locking the door behind them. I stared. "Really? You've scanned yourselves to enter my apartment without my approval?"
Killeg raised a white, cocky brow. "Would you like to pay the bill for this apartment?"
When he put it that way ... "Never mind. You're fine."
He chuckled quietly but strolled to sit in the recliner across from Jax and me. He dropped a folder on my new hov-coffee table in front of us. "There's something we need to speak about with both you."
Stiller came to stand on Killeg's right, and Phila parked his butt on the arm of the recliner on Killeg's left. All men wore expressions that didn't bode well—completely blank of any emotion.
Jax swallowed down his bite and set his plate on the table, next to the folder. His tone was serious as he asked, "What is it?"
I sat down my own plate of delightful food and stared at the folder. It had a ripped red seal on it, noticeably opened. The edges of a few sheets of paper peeked out from the side. The folder wasn't extremely thick, but it was important, whatever was written in there.
Killeg relaxed on the recliner and placed his hands behind his head. "When we were on Joyal and searching the President's office, Phila and I weren't only looking for their defense plans and locations of items of interest." He tilted his head to Stiller. "We asked him to search for something specific while we handled the President."
"What were you looking for?" I asked, peering down to the folder once more.
"Information about the two of you."
My gaze snapped up. "What?"
"You forget, Braita, I am a botanist and Phila is an engineer. Not only that, our unhinged father was a scientist, and we have all of his research on what made us ... us. When Jax became bonded to Stiller and you became the Soul to the Plumas of the west, you both jumped to the top of our radar."
My brows furrowed, and my stomach churned. "Does that mean, this has all been—"
"No, our intimate relationship with you has nothing to do with our curiosity being piqued."
I studied him and then Phila.
"I'm not lying. I promise you."
I nodded in measured increments. "I believe you." They didn't have to feign interest in me to study my person. They had Jax in their territory for that, without the added hassle of me—and all the problems it brought. And there was the small fact ... that I still knew a secret they did not.
Stiller hummed in his throat. "That's fascinating. So easily? I expected a fist to be thrown."
>
I tossed a glare in his direction. "Keep going. What information did you find about us?"
"Stiller managed to steal this. It's an interesting read." He flicked a finger. "Take a look."
"Might as well." Jax held my gaze, waited for me to nod in agreement, and then lifted the file.
In rapid progression, my eyes flew down the first sheet. It was just an opening page saying it was a classified document for the Joyal government. Jax flipped the sheet, and it fell out of the folder to the ground as we read the second piece of paper.
It was documented successes by the data, diagramed by female or male.
He flipped the sheet.
We stared.
Names of people we had known on our home planet ran down the paper.
It was titled: HUMAN/MIAN
He turned the page more gradually this time.
Again, names of friends filled the sheet.
This one was titled: HUMAN/KIREG
Blinking slowly, I watched with apprehension as he turned to the last page.
This one was different.
It listed males and females together in pairs.
Jax and my name were side-by-side.
This sheet was titled: HUMAN/KIREG/MIAN
My head tilted up, and I stared at Killeg. "They spliced our DNA with Kireg and Mian DNA."
He nodded once. "It appears the Human scientists have been experimenting."
"Why would they do that? And then send us here?" I pointed a sharp finger at the file. "Almost all of those names are the ones that were called to leave Joyal. Everyone was sent to Triaz or Egyac. Why wouldn't they want their experiments kept close? It makes no sense."
"It does."
I tossed the folder on the table. "How?"
"They are testing the waters. The experiment is still ongoing."
"Meaning?"
He snorted and shook his head slowly. "Come on, Braita. You know there are spies hidden here. Just as we have spies on Joyal and Egyac, and vice versa. We're all watching each other."
I stared ... and my jaw dropped. "We're damn lab rats for them to see how well we interact with the other species." And I had thought my Vaq were bad. My own people had taken it to another level. I blinked. "I guess Jax and I are the other species too, but you know what I mean." And it meant Rule had been right.
Jax jerked from his coma-like state, and growled, "Joyal is small. Dangerous for everyone living there." He started nodding, working through his thoughts. "If they created a new and improved Human, one who integrated with the Mian or Kireg in an acceptable manner, then they could ... "
"Eventually move off of Joyal," I finished for him. My laugh was pure and bitter combined. "I want to hate them, but I understand their motive. Humans—like the Mian and Kireg—will do anything to save their people."
Jax sank back on the couch. "Even if it means becoming something else." He shook his head. "They never should have tasked me to steal the hov-craft. It only opened the floodgates for others to find their secrets."
I rested back next to him, leaning my shoulder against his. "They needed more time with their experiment, and they needed an immediate solution against natural disasters. It makes sense. In a greedy as hell way."
Jax grunted, glaring at the file.
I crossed my arms and stared at the file.
Then, I blinked. "Jax, do you have any special powers?"
"Nope. You?"
"Damn, I wish I did."
We continued eyeing the file.
Stiller cleared his throat. "Technically, you're both talented fighters for your age."
I waved my right hand, grumpy and showing it. "I still think that's due to us working so hard."
Stiller argued, "And Jax is my other half. And you're a Soul. That is a special power outside of Humans."
I shrugged a shoulder. "A lot of good that did me."
Jax hummed. "I'm not complaining."
"Lucky bastard."
"I know."
Killeg coughed and then started snickering. "You two are more upset you don't have glowing eyes or some shit, than you are angry that your DNA was tampered with." When we glowered, he choked hard to control his laughter. "I'm sorry. But it's amusing."
"Be quiet," I bellyached. "If we're going to be part-something, it would be nice to have the perks, too."
"That's understandable." A white brow rose, and he gestured to the folder. "Are you not curious as to why Jax and your names were together?"
My head teetered back in forth. "Sure. What's your theory?"
"They expected you two to mate. To create offspring together. You've said you were trained together, you're almost the same age, and you were a success in their eyes. The scientist wanted to see their test subjects evolve outside of the lab."
My nose instantly scrunched, and I glanced at Jax. "No offense ... but no."
"None taken ... and hell no. You're my best friend. I'd prefer not to see you naked."
"Good. We're on the same page." I crossed my arms again and scrutinized Killeg. "Any other surprises that you need to tell us?"
Both his white brows rose. "No, that's it."
"Fabulous." I lifted my plate. "Because I'd like to eat now."
Jax grunted, and grabbed his meal. "Stiller makes the best steak."
I gnawed on a piece, and it was tasty. "I'd agree."
Stiller's lips twitched. "Did I forget to mention that it's not steak?"
I paused in mid-chew. "What is it?"
"A delicacy due to the fact the animal is hard to kill." His teeth gleamed as he smiled. "It's Lavano."
We couldn't spit out the meat fast enough.
I should have known better. Stiller was never nice.
My hands were full with two trash bags, but I managed to shut my apartment door, trapping Sweet Pea inside. The trash service had arrived. "Hi, I'm Braita. I'm new to the building."
The white-haired woman raised her head. "I know who you are."
My mouth bobbed as recognition hit. "Mother Joyal, you're her."
Human eyes stared back at me, and her brow crinkled. "You remember me?"
"Yes, you were sitting next to me when the President was calling names. You were sent to the Kireg." Though her hair had been blonde before, and now it wasn't. "Geo is looking for you, Madeline."
Her lips thinned, and she whispered, "I need your help. That's why I'm here."
I set the trash bags in the waste disposal she was—apparently—pretending to push. "What do you need?"
"A hov-craft. I saw you exit one the other night."
"Are you planning to go back to Joyal?"
She shook her head. "I'm going to Egyac. I can't live this way any longer. No more hiding."
"That would be your best choice," I agreed. I held up a finger. "You need to see something first."
I raced inside my apartment and grabbed the folder I had stuff in a locked drawer.
Her eyes widened so large, I feared they might pop out as she read the sheets. "Mother Joyal."
"I know."
She slammed the folder back into my hands. "Fucking pieces of shit!"
"Yes, that's accurate too." I tossed the folder inside my apartment and locked the door behind me. "Let's find you a hov-craft before the Plumas return and want to keep you for ransom or some other ridiculous idea they may have."
Her chest heaved, and her hands started to shake. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Her feet still didn't move. "I can do this."
"Yes, you can."
"They aren't that scary." Madeline repeated, "I can do this."
Her ego needed a boost. "If I can play with the Mian, you can handle the Kireg."
"You have ten marks on your wrists. I don't have that many."
"It doesn't matter how many marks you have to the Kireg." I tapped her left temple. "It matters what you have up here and how well you protect it."
She licked her lips ... and put one foot in front of the other. "I can do thi
s."
"You can." Standing behind her, I placed my hands on her shoulders to keep her moving forward. "And if any Kireg asks where you got the hov-craft, tell them you stole it."
Security patrolled the land site in Center. It helped I had been here before, but I watched with awe as Madeline snapped the security box back into place, and the back door opened. "That was slick."
She shrugged her dainty shoulders and put her small shining tools into her pocket. She gripped the travel suit over her shoulder, keeping it in place. Where she had stolen it from, I wasn't going to ask. "On Joyal, I was an operator-in-training. Systems like these are simple." We slipped inside, keeping our backs to the wall as we moved forward. She let me lead the way and whispered, "It's the hov-craft I need help with. I've never dealt with them before, so I can't access them."
I peeked around a corner, keeping my voice down. "I'm in the system now. My handprint will work." I yanked her sleeve, pulling her behind me, and exited a door directly on the land site.
"I know. I saw those two Mian showing you how to do it."
My lips twitched as we raced across the black ground. "How long have you been watching this place?"
"Too long," she muttered, brushing her white hair from her forehead. "I was to the point of cutting off someone's hand for access when I noticed you." Her gaze ran over my face as I stopped us behind a smaller hov-craft—not big enough for space journey. "How are you doing with the Mian?"
"Better than you are with the Kireg," I answered honestly. I smiled to lighten my words. "It just takes time." I winked. "And cunning."
She snorted but kept her mouth shut. We ducked under the hov-craft when a security patrol flew overhead on a hov-bike, shining their red and yellow lights down on the site through the dark. She pointed to another transport a hundred yards away ... with nothing between to hide our path.
"We'll have to run," I breathed quietly. "Do you know what to do once you're inside?"
"I'll figure it out."
I frowned. "I'll try to help as much as I can."
Surprising me, she quickly hugged me. "Thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome. Just stay safe." I tapped her temple once more. "And remember what I said."
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