Page 18 of Warrior's Captive
The panic didn’t return, but she needed quiet and some time alone to think. To process the day and decide, before she stepped foot in Tai’ri’s house, what she would say and do if she did or did not decide to move in with him.
Tai’ri hesitated. “There are gardens here in the center.”
“They’re lovely. That’s not what I’m in the mood for.” She pushed to her feet, shifting the weight of the baby with a grimace. Her backached.
Abeyya picked up the expression. “Do you have a support band, Vivian?” She stood. “Just one moment, we have several here, I’ll get you one.”
“I don’t like the idea of you walking alone outside,” Tai’ri said once his sister left the room. He stood, putting an arm’s length between them as if he was bracing for her reaction to his statement.
She stiffened. Was this how it would be? Now that he had a toe in the door, he would start issuing directives?
“BdakhunIbukay trusted me to make my way to the cafe by my little self.”
The look in his eyes said he was weighing his response. “I’m not questioning your capability, Vivian. You’re a pregnant alien—suicidal people might allow their curiosity to overtake their manners.”
“Really? You seem to be a very insular people. I saw a few looks when I was walking, but for the most part I was politely ignored.”
“You can hardly call a space faring species with outposts on several major worlds insular.” He didn’t move, settling into stubborn stillness. “TheBdakhunwould have had you under surveillance, possibly even assigned a covert guard to you. Until we form a legal arrangement, she will limit what she tells me regarding any arrangements made on your behalf.”
That was good to know. But recalling Vykhan’s mien, Vivian doubted he would be any great respecter of her privacy over her safety. He already openly considered her Tai’ri’s business.
“What are you afraid of? I’m not safe here, am I?”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, and was silent a long, brooding moment.
“Fine. Give me your comm, I’ll input my code.”
7
Abeyya gaveTai’ri a look when Vivian mentioned his protest against her taking a walk outside alone. He escorted her to the front doors, again with that sense of contained, coiled energy, and let her go without another word.
Vivian needed to feel in control. The space to take a walk alone helped preserve that illusion. The unit on her wrist wasn’t exactly a prison, but it was close enough. Why had Ibukay assigned her a guard? Because of her connection to Tai’ri, or because of the risk she could be recaptured?
Walking in a slow waddle, she passed a shop with a display of colorful papers, rolls of fibers and trays of glittering polished stones and beads. A crafting shop?
Her eyes widened as a pleased smile curved her lips. The one skilled hobby she had cultivated at home, and here by chance she had stumbled on the Yadeshi version. Her fingers itched to touch and sort as she stopped to appreciate the intricate window display.
Growing up she had always expected an alien planet would bealien. But so much was familiar. It seemed as if civilization developed more or less along the same lines when dealing with species that were, for all intents and purposes, of a similar genetic profile.
The Yadeshi weren’t all that different. Their coloring, and some internal differences in their organs. Muscle density, and the tattoos, of course.
She rubbed hers as she stared in the shop window, debating whether there was any point in going inside when she had nowhere to store purchases even if she had credits for them. But it couldn’t hurt to look, could it?
Her nails dug into the itching tattoos. They rested against her skin with an ever present subtle hum, as if aware and waiting. Waiting for what? Or maybe that was just the tech she felt. It had to be tech—no one had mentioned magic.
The buzzing intensified, and she looked down at her arms in irritation. She couldn’t live like—
A sharp sting struck her upper arm. Vivian exclaimed and swatted, but when she examined the pain point, there was nothing there. No insect. Just the smallest, rapidly swelling red mark.
That was odd. Unless the tattoos were causing her nerve synapses to randomly fire off. If it happened again, she would ask Tai’ri. Or akheter, if she ever let one near her for the remainder of this pregnancy.
About to enter the craft shop, Vivian paused. Her vision clouded, ears filling with cotton. If she didn’t find somewhere to sit, now, she would fall. She braced her back against the glass door, waiting for the dizziness to pass. When it didn’t, she touched her comm unit then spoke Tai’ri’s code.
“Vivian?” His voice was clear, sharp with concern but not panicked.
“I—something’s wrong. I’m about to pass out.” She looked around for help, saw a figure approaching at a fast, casual walk. It could be a jogger, but her instincts screamed. “There’s someone coming. It doesn’t feel right.”
The shop door opened just as darkness closed over her head.
