“You could wake up tomorrow your original self.”Qaff shrugged.“I cannot foresee what will happen.”
“Are you saying I’ll be able to control my physical attributes, like make my hair pink?”Her scalp tingled in anticipation.She snorted.What an awesome superpower.“How long until we reach Issneen?”
“Eight days or so,” Cylo said.
“Shit.That long?”She glanced at him, wondering how she would fill her time.A sexathon was off the menu.Argh.Losing herself in orgasms would’ve been distracting.Who was she kidding?With Cylo it would be mind-blowing.
“Let us eat our morning meal,” Cylo said, drawing her out of her thoughts.
“Breakfast,” she said, “as in break your fast.”But despite the irritation buzzing through her, she headed to the rehydrate.Today, she’d do the works: bacon, eggs, syrup-drizzled waffles, coffee.
Sitting at the table while Cylo tucked into a sauce-drenched rump steak, she stared at her plate.Keeping herself fed would help her recovery.She knew that but just couldn’t start on the mountain of food she’d ordered.With coffee in hand, she sipped and waited for hunger to strike.
When he arched a brow at her, she chose a strip of bacon and bit it.She sucked in a sharp breath through her nostrils, lowered her cup, and picked up the fork.A mouthful of everything followed.
“Smells intriguing,” he said when she shoveled in another bite of sweet-and-golden waffle.
“I could never afford this on Demeter.All my tokens went to coffee and noodles.”She grinned and swirled the fork at her half-empty plate.Not that she’d mention splice, but yeah, that had taken a chunk of her earnings, too.That was behind her, and she’d keep it that way.Thankfully, Pierce hadn’t mentioned it.
She narrowed her eyes on Cylo, trying to sense what mood he was in.Nothing was reaching her.Maybe she’d lost the ability when she’d re-dyed her hair?A girl could hope.“Why can’t I pick up on your emotions?”
“I am eating.Should I be feeling something?”He cradled a metal cup filled with what smelled like lemon juice.
“No, I suppose not.”She frowned at her plate, lowered the fork, and took up her cold coffee.
“I have Olin investigating your situation.”
“Huh?”she asked.“Qaff’s doing a great—”
“E.A.F.’s involvement in your past.”
“Oh,” she said, lowering her cup.“Wish him the best.I couldn’t find anything to save my ass.”
“If you are a Dar Eth, Etteria will fight for you.”Cylo leaned in to catch her gaze.“Regardless, I will ensure you are freed.”
“It’s sweet of you to try.”She smiled, strangely grateful for his conviction crossing the table to bathe her in confidence.
“Sweet?”He snapped his mouth shut, then grimaced.“It is honorable.”
“Yeah, it’s that, too.”She scooped up her plate and carried it to the disposal unit.
He joined her, his chest brushing across her back.“Want to speak to Olin?”
She spun, almost smashing into him.“You think he would’ve found something already?”
Cylo shrugged.“We will not know unless we ask.”
He gestured to the bridge and led the way, thank the Lord.It gave her the opportunity to admire his ass in his tight uniform and blessed her with a few seconds to catch her breath.That he would champion her was something she hadn’t expected.He couldn’t do the impossible, but just his support… Well… She blinked to stop the tears from forming.
For once, Fyca wasn’t at the console.The only man on the bridge looked up from a table to the side.
“I have discovered nothing yet other than a short vid of a male in military uniform visiting your housing unit,” he said, confirming his identity as Olin.
“What?”she squeaked, hurrying across to him.“Evidence?E.A.F.claimed that my all-night coding, poor eating habits, and lack of Vitamin D convinced me that he was real.”On the table, a hologram formed of the general who’d broken into her home.It wasn’t footage of her living room and therefore their conversations, but it did show his comings and goings.She squealed and danced on the spot, too happy to contain her joy.“This just might work.Please,” she gripped Olin’s forearm, “don’t stop looking.The more we have, the better.If we can get the charges against me dropped, I’ll be able to see my family without spending time in a cell.”
“Agreed,” Olin said and glanced at her hand.
She snatched it back and almost curtsied like a peasant asking forgiveness from her liege.Fyca and Brenda returned then, giving her a chance to escape any more embarrassment.
