Page 37 of Grulen

“Ciebala?”

“Sky dancer.”Oh, I like that.

“Whatever.”

He put her on a med bed and stood nearby as Lezon ran a healing wand over her abused feet.Abby came in as the healer scanned the rest of her body.

“Hey, girl, are you okay?And who’s this?”

“I’m fine.And this is Stalad.”

Lezon put down the scanner and turned to the brunette.

“Stalad is traveling with us for a while until we can get him to his home planet.”

“Nice to meet you, Stalad.I’m Abby and this is Lezon.Welcome.”Abby smiled and Stalad dipped his head.

“Lady Abby, it is a pleasure.”

“Lady?No, just call me Abby.”Confusion crossed her face.

“The Svesti usually use Lady in front of female first names,” Morgan said.

“You know this?”Stalad glanced at her.

“I spent close to a year on Costonia.”

His eyes lit up.

“You did?Are there other humans there?For some reason, I feel like humans aren’t usual in this part of space.”

“You are correct, we aren’t usually around here, unless we’re kidnapped and brought here against our will.”

His tail whipped behind him and his claws extracted.

“Did a Svesti kidnap you?”

She placed a hand on his tense forearm and shook her head.

“No, that was Frezzians and Durelians.The Svesti treated me well.”

His tail slowed, his claws retracted, and his muscles loosened.

“I’m sorry you were taken in the first place, but I am glad the Svesti made your stay on Costonia comfortable.”His head tilted.“Why were you there?”

Her lips tipped up.

“They found me on Delizas and after some questioning and DNA tests realized I might be able to help them test our races’ compatibility to recover from the Zuvgran virus that decimated your female population.They invited me to Costonia for more testing.Unfortunately, when I left there, I was kidnapped by the Zuvgran who experimented on me with a new virus.The Wing Raiders saved me and another human woman.”

His face scrunched and he lifted a hand to his temple.He swayed on his feet.Alarmed, she said, “Are you alright?”

Lezon moved to stabilize Stalad and had him sit down on the med bed next to her.He began scanning the Svesti.

“A memory?”

“Something about her words triggered it, as if I should know what she was speaking of.But I don’t know what.”His fist impacted his thigh.“It’s socrekkin’frustrating.”

“Healer Creet sent me your medical records and I reviewed them on the way here.You’re lucky you survived and are doing as well as you are, Stalad.The memories may or may not come back on their own soon.Like I said earlier, and as I’m sure Healer Creet told you, attempting to force them will only cause you more pain.”

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