12. Astrid

12

ASTRID

Something was wrong.

Zyrus's shift had ended more than an hour ago, but he hadn't come home. Or, well, back to my place. I should have been jumping for joy at the hours spent alone, but instead, worry nagged at me.

Where was he?

I tried to call his comm, but he didn't answer. I was tempted to call the station line to his department but resisted the urge. I wasn't some nagging wife who got to make demands about where he was. He'd get there when he got there.

But what if something was wrong?

I could call one of the Detyens. They might know. He shared his room with a man named Thalor. Perhaps he'd just gone back to pick up some things. Or maybe Ryklin or Drex could help.

Or maybe I was freaking out because I was convinced there was danger lurking around every corner, and I'd finally had the space to really process that fear.

I didn't like it. Not one bit.

I stood, but then I hesitated. I'd promised to stick to my quarters with Zyrus out at work. Someone had been following me the last time I went rogue. He had a point.

But he wasn't t here .

Screw it.

I was just going to walk the same path he would have taken to work. If I ran into him, great, he could ream me out for going back on my promise. If not, well, I'd figure it out from there.

I missed the forest. I never thought I could, especially not only a few weeks out from the monotony of being trapped there forever. But the space station was loud in all the wrong ways, the smells antiseptic and sometimes a bit dusty. It all felt so artificial.

And there was no sign of Zyrus. Something deep in my gut was pulling me forward, as if I had a sort of sixth sense that would allow me to find him. Which was ludicrous. We weren't even the same species. Nothing in the millions of years of evolution that had led to me should have anything to do with him.

Not that I was an expert in astrobiology.

"Hey!"

I turned around at the noise and had only a second to react to the blaster in the stranger's hand. I dove to the floor as he shot, and the blast went over my head, close enough to singe my hair.

Zyrus was going to kill me.

But there was no time to think about my Detyen as my attacker lined up for a second shot. His hand was unsteady, shaking as he tried to level the blaster, and I reached out and grasped the thin leg of a chair set up against the wall and jerked it his way. From where I was lying on the floor, I didn't have much leverage, but he shot the ceiling, and then his blaster went flying.

I launched myself off the floor and sprinted three steps before he was on me, tackling me to the floor, hand wrapped in my hair and holding me in place.

I struggled. I bucked my hips, I bit at him when he was stupid enough to put his fingers near my mouth, and I screamed with all the volume I could manage.

It didn't help.

There was a light directly overhead, and it was bright enough to blind me just enough so I couldn't make out my attacker's face.

Was this how I died?

During those dark days after the explosion, when we'd finally given up hope of a rescue, I'd been certain we wouldn't last for long. I'd stared down death with the kind of defiance that only a twenty-three-year-old could muster. Now, as my attacker got his hands around my throat, that naive defiance was gone.

I tried to grasp his thumbs, to break the harsh grip he had, but that only made my vision get fuzzier, as if I was helping him to choke me.

Zyrus, I'm sorry. We could have had so much more.

I fought it as my vision went gray around the edges. I bucked and twisted, desperate to stop him.

And then he was gone.

I coughed and spluttered as air rushed back into my lungs and the world came rushing back. There was someone standing over me, but it wasn't my attacker.

It was Zyrus.

A nasty smell emanated from him, and his clothes were soaked. His eyes glowed red, and were those claws?

He had claws. Holy shit.

Zyrus got his hand around the throat of my attacker and squeezed, claws scraping against gentle skin, not quite hard enough to make him bleed.

The man whimpered and squirmed while he clutched at Zyrus's hand and tried to free himself. I felt a sick sense of satisfaction. Now he knew what it felt like.

I raised a hand to my neck. It was warm and tender. I'd be bruised later, and I was beyond grateful for the air I could pull in now, even if it burned going down.

"You're going to talk," Zyrus informed him, his voice deadly calm.

The man made a sputtering sound that might have been assent.

"Not in the hallway." My voice was scratchy, and it hurt to talk, but I did my best to ignore it. "Station security could be here any minute."

Zyrus titled his head to the side, considering it. Then he lowered the man enough so that his feet scraped against the ground. "There's a door labeled Authorized Personnel Only. Type in 029093X into the keypad." He nodded towards the door and dragged the man after me.

My hands shook a tiny bit as I did as instructed. This was a side of Zyrus I'd never seen before. It went beyond cold to the edge of something cruel. I didn't like it. He was my protector, not my avenger. I didn't want him giving up pieces of his soul for me.

But we needed answers.

Zyrus dragged the man inside and gave me a look. "Maybe you should go back to your room."

"I'm not leaving you." If this was a side of him, I had to see it. And a part of me wanted to. The man dangling in Zyrus's grip had nearly killed me. A bit of payback wouldn't be terrible.

He nodded. "Get me a chair and something to tie his hands."

We were in a room that looked like a mix between a large utility closet and a small office. There was a desk and two chairs wedged into a corner, and the walls were hung with various cleaning and repair implements.

Or torture devices.

Now was not the time to let my imagination run wild.

I pulled one of the chairs over to Zyrus and then grabbed some cording off the wall that looked like it was meant to tie down furniture or tarps. Zyrus took it and efficiently tied the man to the chair. He didn't warn him not to run, and the man was too defeated to try.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The man glared and spat at Zyrus's feet. Well, he tried to. A bit of spittle flicked out of his mouth, but it landed on his chin.

Zyrus waited, not asking again. And after several long moments, the man began to breathe heavily and shift in his seat. "It's Yoree." Yoree's shoulders sank as he answered.

"Why did you attack me and Astrid?" his voice was so even that it scared me just a little, and I wasn't the one being interrogated. I stayed a little behind Yoree, more interested in watching Zyrus than the bound man.

"She was just there. I took the opportunity. I thought you were gone, and this was all over."

Gone? As in gone ? Dead? I sucked in a sharp breath, and Zyrus shot a glance my way. He gave a minute shake of his head. Whatever happened, he didn't need me bringing it up now.

But I'd definitely bring it up later.

" What was all over?" He was angry beyond anything I'd ever seen. I wasn't sure how I knew that. His tone didn't change. But his body had tightened, and his eyes were still that sinister, alluring red. "Tell me what's been going on. From the beginning."

"I don't even know, man! Some guy sent me a bunch of credits to keep an eye on the girl and scare her a bit. Then he paid me more to separate the two of you. Told me to do it however I saw fit. Then you attacked me, and we were right by the food compactor. It made sense! Nothing personal." Zyrus stepped closer, and Yoree flinched back.

I was still caught on the idea of the food compactor.

"Who hired you?"

"I don't know! It was all through the messaging system. The credits showed up, so I didn't ask too many questions." There were tears in his eyes now, his face all scrunched up in fear or pain. Maybe both.

"When did this person hire you?" Zyrus didn't move any closer.

"Like three weeks ago, maybe. Not long after she got on the station. The messages come from a relay account, someone off station. I tried to track them; I'm not an idiot."

Zyrus made a humming noise. "And what's your job when you're not stalking innocent women?"

Yoree shrugged—or tried to. It wasn't easy with his hands tied behind his back. "Station security."

I didn't mean to, but I made a noise. Station security again. "Was he the person that was following me earlier? Or the person who attacked us that day?"

Zyrus didn't answer me. Instead, he said, "I think you should step outside now."

Yoree shook his head violently and looked over at me, eyes wide. "Don't leave me alone with him."

That plea almost got me to walk out. But if I walked out, Zyrus would kill him. I could see it in the way he was holding himself. He had the man's blaster tucked in his belt, and his claws were still out, a clear threat. I nodded for him to come closer to me, and for a moment, I thought he'd resist, but he joined me in the corner.

We took a few steps back to get completely out of Yoree's sight.

"Don't kill him," I said. I tried not to make it sound like I was begging. I wouldn't plea for the man's life. This wasn't about him.

"He tried to kill you." Zyrus was breathing hard, and I wanted to gather him into my arms and hold him close.

Instead, I reached up and brushed my fingers along his cheek. "He's more scared of you than whoever is paying him. Use it. You know computers. Have him send the messages to you. More violence won't solve this."

"It will keep you safe." He was resolute.

I gripped his hand, claws and all. "Whoever hired him will just hire someone else. Was this the person you saw following me earlier?"

He shook his head. "No, that was a woman."

"Then put the fear of you into him and let him go. You don't need more blood on your hands."

"Scaring him will still involve blood."

"Then you don't need more death." Zyrus was a warrior, a former one anyway, but he wasn't a murderer. And if we could avoid it, I didn't want him killing. I hoped I wasn't making a mistake.

"You should leave the room now," he said. His look was grave. "I won't kill him. And I'll join you in your quarters shortly."

Could I trust him to do what he said?

I turned around and left the room.