Page 48 of Starfallen
Chapter 17
An Old Friend
Each day is gruelingas I comb through every program, from each individual synthesizer on the ship to complicated executions of life support and weapons systems, looking for anything which could be impacting the weather arrays and sporadic glitches.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve found a handful of degradations, but not enough to account for all the quirks.
Granny wanted to take a tour of one of the new garden domes that were started in the city, so I offered to preside over court later today.
After a quick bath, I shrug into a formal long coat. My gaze lands on the bed.
Tilly sleeps with her legs tangled in the black sheets, her hair now back to its glorious coppery red hue.Thank God.
I lean down and gently swipe loose strands from her cheek, then kiss her forehead. As I pull away, her eyes open and she gives me a lazy smile. “Hey, pretty boy.” She glances atmy coat and the grin fades. “You’re leaving again.” She says it as a statement, not a question.
“Yeah.”
“Can’t you take a day off?” She sits up and grabs my hand. “Please? I hardly ever see you anymore.”
“When I finish repairing the programming, I’ll be here all the time.”
She releases my hand and pulls the sheets to cover her stomach. “It just feels like you’re avoiding me, like you’d rather be up there”—she points to the ceiling—“on your ship than spending time with me and KJ.”
“That’s not true.” I sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m going up there—” It’s my turn to jab a thumb toward the ceiling. “—To keep you safe down here. Youknowthat.”
“I couldn’t possibly be any safer stuck in this empty fishbowl with guards surrounding me all the time. I feel like a prisoner, Jareth. Not able to go anywhere, nothing to do. I’m more alone now than when we were apart. At least when you were gone, I had friends who dropped in to talk to me. But here?” She spreads out her hands. “I haveno one.”
‘You will not be alone. You will not be unloved. You will not be sad. Never again.’
A little arrow of guilt pricks my heart. “I’m here every night, Tilly.” Though sometimes I don’t come in until late.
Yeah, she falls asleep on the couch trying to wait up for you.This voice of truth digs inside my chest, igniting the guilt into a spark of anger.
“Red, if you really want to go somewhere, I can arrange for the carriers to take you into the city. It’s safe now.”
“Oh, so if I’m a good little dog, I get to go out on my leash and take a piss?”
“It’s not like that.” I stand, fighting between frustration and irritation. “You could come up to the ship with me. People are warming to the idea of you being their queen.”
“No thank you.” Her tone is sharp. “You’re a fool if you believe that.”
I give an angry tug on my hair.This woman frustrates me like no other.
“Red,” I say, willing my temper not to flare. “I promised to keep you safe, and this is the only way I know how.”
“I was safer and happier on Earth. You’re delusional if you think your people will accept me. I don’t understand why you won’t even consider asking our friends for help. You wouldn’t have to work so hard, and I could do something useful besides sitting around an empty home all day with no one to talk to.”
“I amnotasking for help from Rhys, or any other Henokan.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Whatever.” With a little wave, she turns away and lays down, pulling the sheets over her chest. “Go do whatever it is you think you need to do, then.”
I want to jump into bed and pull her into my arms, to talk until I can make her see my side. Instead, with my heart aching, I let out a sigh and port directly to theStaleth, losing myself in the day’s work.
****
AFTER SEVEN HOURS OFsifting through lines of code, a separate message comes in from Tilly’s bracelet.
I pause, deactivating the pen I hold which allows me to interconnect hardwiring from one system to another in a crosscheck, isolating any anomalies or malfunctions.
