Chapter 46

Chapter

Forty-Six

R ixx winced from the blinding lights. After so long hiding in Myrria's house, the glare of the sun burned his eyelids, even though he could not seem to open his eyes. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes, but his arm was leaden. He groaned as he struggled to cover his face from the assault of the light.

"The sun," he rasped, "it is too bright."

Urgent whispers were like insects buzzing in his ears, but the light dissipated. He breathed in, but was not inundated by the usual scents of Kurril. There was not the stench of the alleyway garbage baking in the sun or the pungent smell of of ale spilling from the bars. There was not even the yeasty aroma of bread that he had gotten used to in Myrria's house. No, the air he was inhaling was cool and sterile and held the faintest hint of burning fuel.

Rixx opened his eyes, expecting to be looking up at a white-hot sky. Instead, he was staring up at a ceiling in a dimly lit room, soft blue light illuminated from recesses in the ceiling. But it was not the room in Myrria's house, and he was not on the bed he'd grown accustomed to sleeping in as he'd recovered.

Before he could ask where he was, memories slid into place. "The ship."

"That's right." A figure appeared at his side—a female, but not the one who had taken care of him for so long.

"Where is Myrria?" he asked Tegan.

The woman nodded her head toward the corner, where Myrria was curled up on a stiff chair. "Sleeping. She's been by your side since we brought you here."

Rixx did not remember being brought to the ship, but now that he was conscious, he could feel the throaty rumble of the spaceship's engine. They were flying, which meant they had left Kurril.

"How long?" His voice was hoarse and dry, a sure sign he had been out for a while.

Tegan handed him a cup of water."A bit over a day, although on a ship, who can tell?" Her gaze went to his aching side as she appraised him with the shrewd eyes of someone used to handling patients. "After you collapsed, your Dothvek buddies pretty much ran you back to the ship. I think Zaandr might actually have tossed you over his shoulder if you hadn't been wounded in the side. As it was, your gash was deeper than I would have liked and it took a bit to stabilize you."

Rixx blinked slowly at her. "I thought you were a midwife."

The brunette smiled. "I am, but taking care of women and delivering babies means I've seen a lot. I know how to stop a bleed and stitch up a wound." She carefully lifted the bandage shielding his side. "Just as I expected, it's healing beautifully."

"Thank you."

She gave him another smile as she patted his shoulder gently. "I should be the one thanking you. I know that you sacrificed yourself for Zaandr when the two of you were on the ledge of the blazing building. I know you pushed him to go first. If it hadn't been for you, he would have been the one stuck on Kurril."

"I knew he had some unfinished business on the ground." Rixx managed one of his trademark charming smiles. "And he would have done the same for me."

Tegan nodded. "He didn't want to leave Kurril even though we searched for a long time and found nothing. The rest of the crew practically had to drag him off the planet. He was never convinced you were dead."

Rixx sensed some guilt in the woman's voice. "I blame no one for leaving me. If you hadn't left me, I never would have been rescued by Myrria." He slid his gaze to the dozing woman, his heart squeezing. "And she and Zala have changed my life."

Tegan tilted her head at him. "You do seem different from the Rixx who was free with seductive smiles and smoldering looks."

Rixx thought back to his past and how he had been so clueless when it came to females. That Rixx seemed like a wholly different Dothvek. "I hope I never offended you."

Tegan laughed. "You were too smooth for me, so I never took your flirting seriously."

Rixx laughed quietly. "But you are happy with Zaandr?"

Her cheeks colored as she looked down at the device she was using to scan him. "Very happy."

Rixx was overcome with happiness. He was happy that Zaandr had found his mate and that he had found Myrria, and none of it could have happened without him getting abducted by the Zevrians. So, in an odd way, he was grateful to the Zevrians for putting everything in motion.

Suddenly, his happiness was bolstered by a burst of surprise and relief.

"You're awake!" Myrria almost fell off the chair as she attempted to stand.

Tegan caught her by the elbow. "No need to rush. This patient isn't going anywhere for a while yet."

Myrria approached him tentatively, her gaze raking over him as if searching for any hints of regret. "Do you remember—?"

"That I told you I loved you and wanted you and Zala to live with me on the ship?" He asked before she could give any more voice to her baseless fears. "Of course, I remember. It's the smartest thing I have done in a long time."

"I would agree with that," Tegan muttered, then glanced up when she realized shed spoken out loud. "Sorry. Why don't I give you two some privacy?" Then she held up a finger as if in warning. ‘But I'm not giving you enough privacy for you to reopen that wound, understand?"

Myrria bobbed her head up and down but she didn't look away from Rixx when Tegan slipped from the med bay. She seemed to want to devour him with her gaze. "I was so scared I would lose you. We both were. Zala was with me for a while but I made her get some sleep. Now she's with Tori in the kitchens."

"Tori is babysitting?"

Myrria allowed herself a smile. "Zala is obsessed with her. Her and all of Pog's babies."

Rixx gave his head a small shake. "Did you say Pog's babies?"

"I'd never seen a glurkin before, but the little green puffs of fur are scampering all over the ship."

Rixx leaned back and allowed himself a deep laugh. "Maybe we should have stayed at your place."

Myrria nudged him over so she could crawl onto the bed with him. She put her head on his chest and pressed one palm over his heart, and Rixx could feel her contentment throbbing through him like the drum of his pulse. "And miss all the adventure? Never."

Rixx closed his hand over hers. Loving her was the biggest adventure of all. "Good. Now fill me in on everything I've missed on the ship."