betraying his god.
Meir confirmed my suspicions with a
groan.
“What did you want me to do, Meir? I
fulfilled my end of the bargain. I got the two of you out of there,
but I couldn’t let my father find out from someone else. I couldn’t
do that to him.”
“Why bother taking us off of Talia if you’re
just going to turn her in anyway?” Meir’s fists clenched at his
sides and his voice turned into a growl. “What? Are you planning to
drop her off at Kalhandthar yourself? Claim some type of
reward?”
Malik’s voice became dead again. “I’m not
turning her in. We’re going to Soltak.”
My heart broke out into a gallop. Malik
couldn’t mean that. He couldn’t possibly be intending to let me go.
He hated me.
“Why?” Apparently, Meir couldn’t believe it,
either.
Malik shrugged. “My father was furious when
I told him, and he reminded me to act with honor. His idea of honor
and mine differ greatly. He ordered me to turn her into the Kofra,
but allowing someone so weak and fragile to become some form of
political device is the height of dishonor. I refused him and
ordered the crew to leave.” He turned to look at me then, his eyes
guarded. “You may annoy the hell out of me, but I won’t take part
in your murder.” He paused to look away for a second before turning
his gaze back to me. “You shouldn’t have to pay for the Kofra’s
greed.”
“Thank you.” I wondered then if Malik would
ever know just how much I meant those two words. My heart felt like
it would burst, it swelled so hard and fast. Freedom. I let
the thought play across my mind, reveling in the hope it
brought.
He nodded, and then smirked. “I’m sorry
about earlier. I didn’t have much time to come up with a better
plan.”
I bit my lip. “What happened earlier?”
His smirk fell and he rolled his eyes. I
felt very stupid under his gaze, clearly missing something he felt
should have been obvious.
“When I punched you?” He shook his head.
“You’re bleeding—I can smell it. I didn’t think I hit you that
hard, but then I didn’t know just how weak you were.”
I looked down at my waist. I’d completely
forgotten about that particular incident, which was odd considering
how much I had wanted to kill him because of it. A few other, more
important, things had come up since then. I hadn’t even felt the
pain until he mentioned the blood. Now, it was all I could
feel.
“Oh.” I wrapped my arms around myself and
slid to the floor.
Meir was at my side immediately, tearing the
suit away from me and ordering Malik to bring bandages and
ointment. It was about at that point that my mind and body decided
I’d had too much for the day. Fainting two times in just as many
days? How pathetic.
Chapter Seven :
Friends and Enemies
Meir’s snores ripped me out of sleep. The
last few minutes of my dream had consisted of me running toward a
group of unnamed—but vaguely familiar—cruisers, come to take me
away, with their engines roaring all around me. When I woke up, the
engines droned on.
I sighed and sat up. My hand instinctively
went to my waist. The black suit had been put back on, so I
couldn’t see if I was bleeding, but the pain had lessened, so I
assumed it had stopped.
I spotted one of the silver containers Malik
had brought in earlier, on the floor next to the cot I was sitting
on. I picked it up and ripped it open. There was food inside.
I moaned and opened the first vacuum-sealed
package I found. It was some kind of sandwich. I didn’t care what
kind. I shoved it into my mouth before I’d even taken it completely
out of its plastic wrapper. I’m sure it tasted good. I didn’t
really notice because by the time I had gotten the whole thing into
my mouth, I was already ripping open the next one. Brown and gooey,
it had a sweet taste that overwhelmed my senses.
By the time I’d shoved the contents of the
last package
Meir confirmed my suspicions with a
groan.
“What did you want me to do, Meir? I
fulfilled my end of the bargain. I got the two of you out of there,
but I couldn’t let my father find out from someone else. I couldn’t
do that to him.”
“Why bother taking us off of Talia if you’re
just going to turn her in anyway?” Meir’s fists clenched at his
sides and his voice turned into a growl. “What? Are you planning to
drop her off at Kalhandthar yourself? Claim some type of
reward?”
Malik’s voice became dead again. “I’m not
turning her in. We’re going to Soltak.”
My heart broke out into a gallop. Malik
couldn’t mean that. He couldn’t possibly be intending to let me go.
He hated me.
“Why?” Apparently, Meir couldn’t believe it,
either.
Malik shrugged. “My father was furious when
I told him, and he reminded me to act with honor. His idea of honor
and mine differ greatly. He ordered me to turn her into the Kofra,
but allowing someone so weak and fragile to become some form of
political device is the height of dishonor. I refused him and
ordered the crew to leave.” He turned to look at me then, his eyes
guarded. “You may annoy the hell out of me, but I won’t take part
in your murder.” He paused to look away for a second before turning
his gaze back to me. “You shouldn’t have to pay for the Kofra’s
greed.”
“Thank you.” I wondered then if Malik would
ever know just how much I meant those two words. My heart felt like
it would burst, it swelled so hard and fast. Freedom. I let
the thought play across my mind, reveling in the hope it
brought.
He nodded, and then smirked. “I’m sorry
about earlier. I didn’t have much time to come up with a better
plan.”
I bit my lip. “What happened earlier?”
His smirk fell and he rolled his eyes. I
felt very stupid under his gaze, clearly missing something he felt
should have been obvious.
“When I punched you?” He shook his head.
“You’re bleeding—I can smell it. I didn’t think I hit you that
hard, but then I didn’t know just how weak you were.”
I looked down at my waist. I’d completely
forgotten about that particular incident, which was odd considering
how much I had wanted to kill him because of it. A few other, more
important, things had come up since then. I hadn’t even felt the
pain until he mentioned the blood. Now, it was all I could
feel.
“Oh.” I wrapped my arms around myself and
slid to the floor.
Meir was at my side immediately, tearing the
suit away from me and ordering Malik to bring bandages and
ointment. It was about at that point that my mind and body decided
I’d had too much for the day. Fainting two times in just as many
days? How pathetic.
Chapter Seven :
Friends and Enemies
Meir’s snores ripped me out of sleep. The
last few minutes of my dream had consisted of me running toward a
group of unnamed—but vaguely familiar—cruisers, come to take me
away, with their engines roaring all around me. When I woke up, the
engines droned on.
I sighed and sat up. My hand instinctively
went to my waist. The black suit had been put back on, so I
couldn’t see if I was bleeding, but the pain had lessened, so I
assumed it had stopped.
I spotted one of the silver containers Malik
had brought in earlier, on the floor next to the cot I was sitting
on. I picked it up and ripped it open. There was food inside.
I moaned and opened the first vacuum-sealed
package I found. It was some kind of sandwich. I didn’t care what
kind. I shoved it into my mouth before I’d even taken it completely
out of its plastic wrapper. I’m sure it tasted good. I didn’t
really notice because by the time I had gotten the whole thing into
my mouth, I was already ripping open the next one. Brown and gooey,
it had a sweet taste that overwhelmed my senses.
By the time I’d shoved the contents of the
last package
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