Page 111 of The Cerulean Sister
"Sorry," Calliape whispers.
A clattering sound draws both our attention across the room we have ended up in.
August leans against the wooden countertop of a modest kitchen with his palm flat against his heaving chest, startled. A metal cup bounces on the floor like it just fell from his hand in response to our sudden arrival.
He looks a little pale, but then his face turns up in a brilliant grin that squeezes at my insides.
"By the three worlds, Ferren, you've had us worried!" He crosses the little room and hugs me too hard.
"I missed you too, all of you." My voice strains to speak in the vise of his arms.
"Took you long enough," he teases Calliape.
She nods her chin toward the cup on the floor and smiles. "You dropped something."
When he frees me, I look around the house they have been staying in. There is a small hearth in the kitchen, a connecting dining room, and three doors toward the back that appear to be for separate bedrooms.
I peer into the pot sitting on top of the hearth normally used to cook, but it's empty.
"There is food on the ship if you are hungry. It's just outside, in the hangar."
The safe house is within a docking bay, a larger building where August hides his ship. I can hear the hums of other ships running and some machinery outside. We are far from the Estate, on the very outside of the city where ships are able to come and go and not disturb the Estate and the temple.
"You do not eat here?" I laugh.
"I couldn't figure that thing out." He points to the stovetop. "And it's easier to eat what we brought. I am used to it." He grins.
I glance at Calliape, who hates the Viathan food more than I do.
"The man who lets us stay here brings us supplies too," she tells me, sensing my next question.
"99 is with Thad now. You will love him,never speaks, just your type, Ferren."
August pauses, waiting to see if it's still ok to joke with me, if our relationship is the same after this time apart. His way of asking if I'm broken or if the damage done to me is too great.
"99 will not like the competition," I whisper, trying my best for some levity.
He lets out a single loudHAsound and his smile is so big, the lines around his eyes crinkle. "That's a scary thought." August stares off for a second, picturing it.
I want to tell them both what happened to me, what I had to go through, how much worse it was than I thought it would be, but more than anything, I want to be happy for just a moment. Before the pressure of time and the incoming fleet changes things and we have to adjust again.
"Ferren, I do want to speak with you about something before they return," Calliape says, tapping her finger nervously on the edge of the metal sink basin, one that does not look like any fixtures on Cosima that I have ever seen. It's as if the people here have taken pieces of ships and made small changes to a modest Cosima home.
Calliape glances over at August, giving away the fact he is aware of what she needs to say.
"You haven't told her?" he mutters, head tilting to the side in disbelief.
"No."
"What is it?" I hate when they speak like this. I am so used to 99’s directness that any sidestep feels like it's a torturous wait to get to the point.
August groans and finally picks the metal cup off the floor, pouring himself a drink.
Calliape shifts on her feet. "You seemed so upset in your chamber. I didn't want to make it worse."
August’s wrist lights up, and he presses a few buttons and sighs. "They are here."
"Oh!" Calliape blurts.
