After a few minutes, I felt more relaxed than I had been in a long time. Fleeing to the planet where I’d been attacked hadn’t been a rational decision, but I’d needed to do something for myself, to prove I was capable. I didn’t hate Kal protecting me. In some ways, I loved it. Shit, no one had protected or even cared about me in years. What I hated was him or anyone else perceiving me as weak.
No new shuttles landed and I continued to get dumped on by the neverending rain. Bored, I went to the beach. Massive waves crashed against the dark brown sand. Lightning arced across the clouded sky as thunder roared.
A seashell, royal purple in color and spiral in shape, poked out of the sand. I scooped it up. Claws snapped, and I jumped back. A crab-like creature, green with red spots, wriggled while its claws tried to reach me. I held it by the tip of the shell, turning the creature one way, then the next. The crab tried to escape, legs writhing. I set the crab down, and it scurried toward the water.
I followed the shore toward the treeline, staring at the turbulent ocean. A head from an alien resembling Gaptu appeared before diving beneath the water. Gaptu had said she was an ancient dweller of these oceans, which meant there had to be others.
“Seth.”
I turned.
Kal sprinted along the shore toward me. My brain froze and my body stilled. Before I could decide what to do, Kal dragged me into his arms. His tail wrapped around my uninjured leg, and he held me tight, shaking.
My arms hung at my sides, trapped, and my gaze went past his shoulder. The commander and a gathering of security officers stood behind Kal, watching us. Though the commander scowled at me, his golden eyes practically shooting sparks.
Suddenly, I was shoved back.
“What were you thinking?” he asked, his voice rough. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I wanted to thank Gaptu for helping me.”
“So you put yourself in danger?”
“I made a decision for myself. I wanted to say thank you, and nothing happened. Then I came back to the port, once again, by myself. I am not helpless, Kal.”
“I never said you were.”
I stepped closer, gathering my nerve. “If I’m not a prisoner, I should be able to do what I want.”
I hated my habit of people pleasing. It and my past abuse made me want to acquiesce to his demands. In the past, it’d been easier to do that, but I couldn’t live like that again.
It was a hard pattern of thought to break, though.
Kal stared at me, tail thrashing. “Can we go back to the ship, please? You’re still recovering.”
Without a word, I stalked back to the shuttle.
Chapter 22
Communication, I think.
I stepped out of the shower and rubbed a towel over my dripping hair. Kal and I hadn’t spoken since we’d gotten back to the ship. Talking wasn’t my strong suit, nor Kal’s apparently. When we’d returned to our apartment, I’d gone straight to the shower to wash off who-knew-what toxins could be in the alien rain.
My gaze landed on the necklace I’d purchased for Kal. I shoved it into a drawer. I definitely wasn’t going to give it to him now.
I put on a pair of sweats and a long-sleeve shirt before padding out of my room, barefoot. The spongy moss squished between my toes, cool to the touch. Odd, yet nice.
“That is not what happened,” Kal said, his voice carrying out his bedroom. I’d never been inside, but I couldn’t help but take a peek.
Kal stood before a TV-sized screen; his wings, which were normally hidden in his shirt, drooped to the ground and his tail curled around his own calf. An older man, maybe a shade darker than Kal with bursts of orange and gold, filled the screen. His thick eyebrows were squished together to form a slash across his wide forehead.
“We sent you across the universe to find your mate, and you lost him,” the other man said.
“No, Father. My Seth went to the planet for a short time. He’s perfectly safe.”
“Silence,” he ordered, and Kal visibly deflated. “You almost lost him. We have spent an exorbitant amount of time and money on this trip, and you can’t even care for your mate.”
“I’m trying.”
