Page 26 of Adtovar
It was hard to shrug in a prone position, but I did my best. “I heal quickly.”
“Apparently,” she huffed, repositioning the bandage. Her fingertips tickled across my skin. Once finished, she laid her palm flat over my chest, sighing with relief at the steady thrum of my heart. “You scared me.”
“I am sorry.” I felt utterly foolish for lowering my defenses and ending up wounded. Even more so for causing her unnecessary worry and upset. “Is that why you were dreaming?”
“What?” Maddie’s dark eyes shifted swiftly in my direction, revealing a flicker of surprise.
“You were crying in your sleep... a nightmare.” I used the Earth word. My kind were not prone to dreaming... and such instances when they occurred were considered prophetic visions.
“It wasn’t about that... about you.” She let out a deep, weary sigh and gently massaged her eyes as though they ached. In all the time I had known her, she never appeared more fragile than right now. I wanted to gather her in my arms, hold her tight and promise to protect her for eternity.
Instead, I raised a hand, letting my fingertips trail along the residual tear trails still visible on her skin. “What upset you?”
Maddie shrugged and drew her knees up to her chest, encircling them with her arms. She looked like she was trying to curl in on herself, as if seeking solace in her own presence. “I haven’t dreamed about it in a while. I usually don’t, not unless I’m really upset.”
“And you were upset today?” I prodded gently.
Maddie fixed me with a piercing gaze, her eyes narrowing sharply. “You almost bled to death.”
“I am sorry I made you have a nightmare,” I said with genuine remorse.
“It’s not your fault.” Her voice came gently, like a whisper carried on a breeze. When her eyes met mine, they held a tenderness that mirrored the softness of her tone.
“Perhaps you should speak of it,” I suggested. “Aljani believe that any worry spoken aloud loses its power.”
“My aunt used to tell me that.” A faint nostalgic smile played over her beautiful face. She didn’t wear her hair pulled back as usual, allowing a wild, vibrant cascade of curls to spill freely around her head. Each strand seemed to possess a life of its own, bouncing and swaying with every movement. It was all I could do not to bury my fingers in her inviting tresses.
“She seems very wise,” I agreed.
Maddie chuckled, then sighed, her posture relaxing. “You know I was at my aunt’s house when those cat-like aliens grabbed me.”
“Yes.” I recalled her mention of that and took the opportunity to let my hand cover one of hers. I found it almost impossible to resist the urge to touch her, even in the smallest ways. Her skin felt warm, inviting and so very soft. I longed for her to lie down beside me so I could envelop her in my arms again.
“The reason I was at my aunt’s house....” Maddie’s voice trailed off, and she licked her lips, seeming to wrestle with the burden of confession. “I was hiding.”
“Hiding?” My skin prickled. The thought of shielding her from any threat, whether lurking in her past, looming in her present, or awaiting in her future, consumed me entirely. “Why were you hiding?”
“Because I didn’t know what else to do.” Maddie let out a deep, frustrated groan, burying her face in her hands as if trying to hide from the universe. When she finally lifted her head, the reluctance that had clouded her expression vanished, replaced by a sharp, unmistakable flash of aggravation that lit up her features like a sudden storm. “You remember, I told you I’m an engineer.”
I nodded, proud of her intellect.
“After I graduated from college, I got a job offer from one of the top engineering firms in the world, WPS Global.” Her expression brightened with memory. “I was the only female in my department.”
“Are females on Earth rarely engineers?” Like many species, Aljani males took on the role of warrior and protector, while females tended toward the sciences.
Maddie laughed, but the sound seemed sad. “No, there are many good female engineers. It’s just for someone like me—a black woman—it was quite an achievement.”
“I do not understand.” I couldn’t grasp why Maddie referred to herself as ablack woman. Her skin wasn’t black in the literal sense, but rather a stunning shade of medium brown, like the rich hue of freshly turned earth or the deep tone of a polished nut. The depth and warmth of her complexion seemed to glow under the dim light, highlighting her natural beauty.
“Of course not. Everyone here is a different color.” Maddie let out a sudden, sharp burst of laughter, but there was little humor in the sound. “On Earth, sometimes the color of one’s skin can affect things.”
“You must be very special. Your skin is beautiful.” She was the most beautiful female that had ever graced my vision.
Maddie’s lips curled upward into a smile, her eyes glinting with warmth. “I wish there were more men like you onEarth. Don’t get me wrong, there are good men, but some of them....”
“A man hurt you.” It was not a difficult assumption.
“Adam Collumby.” She grimaced as she said the name, as though the words tasted bitter. “He was one of the engineers on my team. He seemed nice, and we got along... or so I thought. We’d gone to the International Conference on Engineering and Natural Science in Barcelona. My team was scheduled to present a paper on our research concerning extracellular vesicles in pathogenic infection. As team leader, I got to present the paper. It was quite an honor.”
