Page 51 of My Alien Jewel
Z’Ree shifts her weight from one foot to another, looking at Zarkan with trepidation. “Captain? Can I stay on the ship?” she asks timidly.
Zarkan grunts. “Z’Ree, I told you that you can stay here for as long as you want. And that was before you went and single-handedly saved all of our lives. You’re part of the crew now, for better or worse,” he jokes. “Just pick any room you like. Oh, and if you need anything from the station, talk to Astra or Nala. Unless you want to go shopping personally?”
A shudder runs through her body and she inches closer to me. “No, sir. I really don’t want to leave the ship.”
“As you wish. I have to talk to the station’s foreman to discuss the repairs we will need, but you can always message me. Or call. I like hearing your voice now that you’ve got it back.”
I know he’s just being friendly, but my hackles rise at his compliment. He shouldn’t be complimenting her!
Zarkan must have caught my scowl, because he grins. “I guess you’re in good hands here. Later.”
We remain behind, finally alone. Z’Ree sucks in a shaky breath, then looks up at me. Her beautiful purple eyes are full of strong emotions I can’t discern. There’s fear and apprehension but also love and tenderness. I don’t know what to make of it all. I’m a simple man, after all, hardly an expert on female emotions.
Tracing my fingers along Z’Ree’s cheek, I’m relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “I…” I swallow around the lump in my throat and try again. “I’m going to check on the machines in the infirmary to see what was damaged. Would you like to come with me? We…uh…we can talk.”
“Yes,” she agrees immediately. “I’d be happy to help you and…yes, we do need to talk. The infirmary will be perfect.”
So that I can stitch up my heart after she tears it to pieces?
We step out of the room, both gasping at the sight of the damaged corridors. The walls are charred, lights shattered, and the smell of burning plastic permeates the air. Aliens don’t use Earth-style lightbulbs, so the shards covering the floor aren’t actually glass but they’re sharp anyway. Since Z’Ree still doesn’t have any shoes to wear, I scoop her up into my arms.
I’m not a buffed up super soldier like Faelin or the rest of the crew. If Z’Ree was a little taller with a healthy body weight, I’m not sure I’d be able to carry her very far. As it stands, she’s five feet nothing and seriously malnourished, so I have no problem carrying her until we reach the infirmary.
The infirmary is a mess but considering the hellish journey we just survived, it still looks relatively intact. Hopefully, the electricity surge didn’t damage anything in here. D’Aakh mentioned restricting the current to the main corridors, but it’s electricity. How you tell it not to go somewhere is beyond me.
I carefully set Z’Ree down in an empty space and assess the damage. It looks like a herd of toddlers barged in and ransackedthe drawers and cabinets, throwing the contents recklessly across the floor. It’s not ideal but relatively easy to fix.
“Anything damaged?” Z’Ree asks, peering over my shoulder. “The scanner?”
I sweep some stray bandages away from the large medical scanner and touch the screen to activate it. It comes online without a hitch. “Seems to be working fine. Come, I’ll scan you right now to see how much damage the radiation did.” I do my best to sound professional but the slight tremble in my voice betrays my anxiety. What if the scan shows something bad?
She tiptoes closer, cautiously avoiding the tools scattered all over the floor. I curse myself for not carrying her over here.
She runs her fingers over the scanner’s examination table, but doesn’t move to lie on it. “There’s something I need to tell you before you scan me,” she says somewhat sheepishly.
My stomach drops. Here it is. The “we need to talk” talk.
“May I say something first?” I ask, cupping her face to make sure she doesn’t turn away. “I love you, Z’Ree. Nothing will change that. If this is about what I did before, how I said I wouldn’t let you go…” I heave a sigh. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just wanted to protect you. I was fucking terrified of losing you. I still am. Please, forgive me, if you can.” I swallow roughly. I’m not going to cry. I’m not.
“It’s not about that, Nikolai. I know why you said it. I should be the one apologizing. The collar comment was way out of line but, I needed you to let me go or we would have all died. It’s not…” She pauses and tries to look away from me but I don’t let her. “That’s not what I want to talk about.”
It’s not? What else did I do wrong? I’m at my wits’ end. “Then tell me. Please.” I can’t take this anymore.
“Alright. Just…promise not to get angry with me. I never planned for this to happen. I didn’t realize that…I mean, you’rehuman! It doesn’t make any sense. I never thought that… I’m sorry.”
“Z’Ree, my jewel, you aren’t making sense. I won’t get angry. Just start at the beginning and tell me what’s going on.”
She takes in a shaky breath, relaxing a little, then places her hand on my chest. “Do you feel something strange inside of your body?” she asks. “Something different, something you never felt before you met me? Like a low humming deep inside of you?”
“Yes! At first, I thought I was imagining it, but it always grows stronger whenever I’m near you. What is it? Is this something you did?” Is that why she’s afraid I’ll be angry? “Because I don’t mind. It’s actually rather pleasant. A little incessant when it comes to being near you but in my book, that’s a good thing.”
“I didn’t do it. Well, not on purpose.” She sighs. “Nikolai, what do you know about Silithrae culture? Namely, about crystal kin?”
“Nothing. I’m sorry, I meant to look it up but with everything that has happened and then the systems were offline… Just tell me what I need to know. If there’s a ceremony or a ritual I’m missing, I’m happy to learn about it.” Perhaps we should have had an alien wedding before having sex? Hell, I’ll gladly put a ring on her finger if it means she’d never leave me.
Z’Ree shakes her head. “Not exactly. Each Silithrae has a perfect partner for them somewhere in the universe. A single person who will make the optimal mate for us, the other half of our soul. They are the only person in the entire galaxy with whom we can…conceive. Other races sometimes refer to it as ‘fated mates’.”
“Yes, I’ve read about fated mates but it really doesn’t have anything to do with fate so much as biological and genetic compatibility.”