Page 48 of Cosmic Soul

“I need to protect you.”

Yeah, this was definitely a drakcol thing. “You are protecting me, but if something happens, which it won’t, trust me to take care of myself. I’ve been alone for a long time in some very desperate situations, and look at me,” I held out my arms, “I’m still here.”

There had been many times I thought I’d get stuck on some derelict ship or station. Or that time I’d gotten left behind on the uninhabited planet for at least a year, maybe more. Iwas notgoing to tell Fyn anything about that. He would worry, which, as I’d established, was a favorite pastime of drakcol.

His tail whipped side to side and his wings rustled on his back, threatening to slide out through the slits in his shirt. Fyn pulled away from me, and I wasn’t sure why.

“Sunshine,” I whispered, brushing the line of his jaw. “What’s going through your head?” He blinked. While my words had been in his language, I don’t think I used them properly or they didn’t have the same concept attached to the words. Learning languages without proper classes was hard. “What are you thinking?” I reiterated.

He didn’t say anything.

Worry plucked at me. Was he mad? Or maybe rethinking being with me? He wouldn’t change his mind, right? “We should go on adatewhen I get back from seeing Tinlorray tonight.”

“I do not understand that word,” he said. His tone still held something that I couldn’t articulate, and it made me worry. Like my pulse actually picked up for an instant before it vanished.

I had said date in English because I didn’t know the Drakconese equivalent. Was it the same as courting? Probably. Maybe. But that might be focused on us and not an activity. I wracked my brain for a few more seconds, trying to find a word that was similar, but nothing came to mind, especially with the panic he was about to break up with me flitting through my thoughts.

So I settled with: “An outing where we spend time getting to know each other.”

“Like we do every day?”

“Not exactly. A date usually involves food or an activity. Why don’t you think of something you would like to do, and we’ll do it together. It’s fun and we get to know each other. I think you would like it. I mean, I like it. I want to date you; you don’t have to date me. We can—”

“I want to,” he interrupted, making me relax.

Everything was fine.

I stepped into the hospital room where Yolkeltod’s lifeless body lay. Tinlorray wasn’t there, but it was early in the day, and I suspected she was at work—whatever it was that she did. I had no idea. I clearly needed to stalk her more.

So many things on Earth and Tamkolvanloknol were similar. People had families, lives, and jobs. While the details mightdiffer, people were people. As I wandered the universe, recognizing the similarities between humans and other aliens always shocked me. Yes, the trappings were different, and aliens appeared different and had unique cultures, but all in all, we were the same, at least in some small way.

Though, the technology. Man, I wished Earth had half of the things I’d seen.

Chuckling to myself, I went to Yolkeltod’s side. The same empty feeling came over me when I stared at his body. The machines kept him alive and breathing, buthewas gone. God, it was morbid, not to mention depressing, and I hoped Tinlorray would let him go.

With nothing else to do, I wandered from bed to bed. There were a variety of patients from older people with rough scales to younger ones with the sheen of youth. There were no children. A few visitors would come in and out, but none of their conversations held my focus for long. Most were about the comings and goings of their lives or families, which should’ve captured my attention, but things were different now. Or, more accurately, I was different.

I wanted to go back to the palace and spend the day with Fyn and assure myself that we were fine. Perhaps I could convince him to wander the city? I didn’t know if that was something he was allowed to do. He was a prince. Also, he might not like shopping or chilling in the city. I hadn’t asked yet. God, there was so much to learn about him still.

Maybe we could go somewhere else like the forests surrounding the capital? Hiking? Plants? Both of us would enjoy that.

Or an experience—a simulated reality within a suite. They were usually stories, military, or exploration. Experiences, from what I’d seen, were awesome—Kal and Seth had played one on the Admiral Ven. It would be fun to do with Sunshine.

The day passed like it was on fast-forward as I thought through the different options for our date. The longer I was a ghost, the less time meant to me and the easier it was to do nothing. There was literally no rush or pressure. I had nothing but time.

I was so lost in my thoughts about Fyn that I didn’t notice Tinlorray until she flopped onto the stool I was sitting on. I quickly stood, and she shivered.

“Yolkeltod?” Tinlorray asked.

“Shit.” I’d been trying my best to not touch her, but that plan was clearly circling the crapper. “I’m not Yolkeltod. He’s gone.”

Tinlorray ignored me, not shocking, and talked to her brother about what was going on in her life, much like all of the other visitors, though I paid far more attention to her. Her hair was clean and neatly braided, her scales shiny, and her clothes without a single wrinkle.

Hope. I’d given her hope, but it was false and I feared, in the end, it would hurt Tinlorray far more than the truth.

“Work is well,” she said, smoothing the blanket over Yolkeltod’s body. “Tomkin says I’m the leading candidate for the systems programmer. That means no more fixing broken tech all over the city. I’d work near here. I could see you more.”

That’s why she’d been in the apartment complex; she’d been fixing something.

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