Page 36 of Her Alien Cyborgs
Were they right? She let herself consider that for a moment and found herself smiling. Yeah, they were. This was happening. Then she stopped and reworded that thought. Thishadhappened. She was mated to these two breathtaking males.
“I do believe it.” She took a deep breath. “I’m yourmahaya.”
For one sweet, perfect moment she was suffused with joy. But of course it didn’t last, because reality reared its ugly head and intruded with yet another issue.
They both moved toward her at the same moment, but she threw a hand up to stop them. “But that still leaves us with a problem to solve.”
“Why are you still finding reasons to deny this?” Kalan demanded, his tone sharp.
“I’m not. But this is…” she waved her hands as she tried to find the right words. “I believe we are fated to be together. That’s not the issue. The nanotech is a problem, though. I don’t know anyone my age with that kind of upgrade. I’m not young. What will it do to me? How long will I live once I have it? Will I get all the benefits or just some of them because parts of me will be too old or worn out to repair? We don’t know. I’m sure someone at the colony does, but we can’t talk to them right now.”
Kalan still looked grumpy, but he didn’t interject.
“You want to wait until we know more?” Fyr’enth asked.
“I do. Hells, we don’t even know what kind of nanotech you’re carrying. Is it a Vardarian or a human design? Was there any mention of that in the files you gave me?”
They both went still and their eyes unfocused, which she’d learned meant they were accessing their onboard databanks.
“There’s no mention of it,” Fyr’enth confirmed.
“Does it matter?” Kalan asked.
“I think it does.” Hezza organized her thoughts for a second before explaining further. “There are differences, though not as many as there were at first. From what I understand, Vardarian tech has a sort of countdown clock that lets them live a long time but not forever. They age, but it’s a slow process without a lot of the aches and illnesses that beings like me have to deal with.”
She smiled ruefully. “In case I haven’t mentioned this yet, aging sucks.”
“But if you took the nanotech, you’d be free of all that,” Kalan said.
“Maybe. There’s no way to be sure until we talk to beings who know a lot more about this stuff. And that’s just the Vardarian tech. For the human cyborgs, it’s different. No one knows how long they’ll live. Some theorize they could go on for centuries, maybe even longer. They’re working on changing that, but I don’t know how far they’ve gotten.”
She took their hands in hers and squeezed. “I want to have a long life with you both. I really do. But before I make this decision, I need more information.”
Fyr’enth sighed. “I would still prefer it if you had the healing and abilities the nanotech would provide, but I understand.”
Kalan pulled his hand away. “I don’t.”
“Kal,” she said his name softly.
He shook his head. “I understand that this is another consent thing. I cannot force you to do this, but I don’t like it.”
He turned and stalked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” she called after him, even knowing she should just let him go. He needed time. So did she.
“I need a shower.”
Well, at least he answered her.
Fyr’enth raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers softly. “I’ll talk to him. This has all been…”
She finished the sentence for him. “A lot. I know. You go. I’ve got reading to do.”
After Fyr’enth left, she stayed in the cargo bay. The place felt empty now, and to a small degree, so did she. Unsettled, she set off for her quarters. For the first time since meeting her mates, she felt alone.
It wasn’t a good feeling. Hopefully it wouldn’t last long.
Hopefully.
