Page 57 of Lorran
Wyn tossed the workbook down.
Nothing was right. Everywhere she looked, she found something worth capturing, but her paint never quite captured the colors. Light filtering through the atmosphere seemed different, and she remembered Sonia’s attempts to capture Mummy Brown, a color that no longer existed. Try as she might, her efforts to catch the light in water and pigment eluded her.
Lorran climbed the steps to join her, pulling her out of her frustration. “I have done all I can here, and it will soon rain.”
As if on cue, fat droplets fell.
Tomorrow, then.
Rushing, Wyn packed up the paint box and brush, frustration lingering. The workbook bulged with loose sheets, none of them exactly what she intended. She knew she couldn’t expect to pick up a brush for the first time in years and expect a masterpiece. She’d keep practicing and working at it.
The sputtering rain turned the stone steps slippery. Carefully, she picked her way down, holding onto the corroded railing. At the bottom, her foot slipped.
Lorran reached out, catching her before she tumbled, but her workbook fell to the ground. Papers scattered, fluttering in the breeze.
A booted foot stomped on one page. “You are talented. What is the meaning of this pattern?”
Caldar held the test page.
“Nothing. Just a warmup.” She snatched it away and slammed the workbook shut, not caring about what the rain did to the paper.
“Is the shuttle repaired?” Caldar asked Lorran.
“It will fly,” he replied.
“It flew before.”
The two men stared down at each other. Tension crackled between them. Wyn thought she had understood the meaning ofif looks could kill,but she didn’t know until that moment.
“In a hurry? You claimed we needed to wait out the Suhlik patrols,” Lorran said.
“It is a long journey to the core planets. I would not want it to be longer.”
“The shuttle requires a bio signature to operate. As is standard protocol, if you were wondering.”
Toe to toe, Lorran had height and weight on Caldar, but gut instinct told Wyn that the old guy didn’t fight fair. Not that she expected them to break into fisticuffs, but the situation did feel like a dick measuring contest.
Wyn cleared her throat.
Caldar’s gaze broke away. “Do not let your mate stand in the rain. Even a youth should know better.”
Lorran
That male.
“It’s fine,” his mate said.
“No, it is not fine. Give me your burden. I will carry them.”
“I dunno what that guy’s problem is,” she said, handing him the heavy bag. The rain continued as they made their way back to the facility’s entrance.
“I suspect he is the type of male who is bored easily and enjoys playing with people like toys.”
“Yeah, he seems the type.”
The warlord warned Lorran of Caldar, but also said he was useful. Dangerous, but useful. “I think he has been too long on his own,” he said.
The decontamination chamber cycled through and released them.
