I slid a fingernail under the paper’s longest seam and popped open the adhesive. The wrapping opened in a complex origami shape that was as beautiful as the paper itself.
Nestled inside, still encased in its anti-tamper packaging, was a brand-new, high-end comm. I didn’t know how much this exact model cost because I hadn’t looked at prices in a while, but I knew that it had to be more than a thousand credits.
No matter how much I wanted to keep it, it was too much.
I’d been happy with Torran’s promise to forget last night’s conversation. I didn’t need an expensive gift on top of that. I would have to find a way to give it back to him without insulting him.
And figure out why he’d had a new comm in the first place.
Chapter Fifteen
I stayed on the bridge until we were well away from the wormhole and the traffic around us had dwindled to nearly nothing. As promised, Lotkez’s presence smoothed the way, allowing us to bypass all of the checkpoints. No one challenged us as we headed deeper into Valovian space.
I dropped the comm in my quarters, where it would stay until I could figure out how to return it, then spent the rest of the morning helping Anja in maintenance. My body felt better with the additional movement, but my knee still ached with every twist. I’d overdone it last night, but the little sleep I’d managed had been nightmare-free, so I’d gladly take the pain in trade.
When I finally stopped for lunch, I found Luna waiting for me in the galley. She chirruped when I appeared and glanced longingly at her food bowl—her food bowl that still had food in it.
I shook a finger at her. “I’m not giving you anything else. You still have food, probably because you conned multiple people into feeding you. If you eat all the food I bought for you before we return to Fed space, you’ll be stuck with rice like the rest of us.”
I grabbed a meal bar and patted my shoulder guard. “I’m going to the garden if you think you can leave your food bowl for that long.”
She perked up. Garden was one of the words she knew. When it became clear that I wasn’t going to give her any treats, she leapt up to my shoulder.
I took us on a longer path to the garden and used the time to inspect the other parts of the level. Tomorrow was the last day of extra cleaning duty and everything looked good. I didn’t know if Torran had ordered the Valoffs to comply or if they’d done it on their own, but they had worked as hard as my own crew, and no one had complained.
Starlight’s Shadow had needed the deep clean and the extra work had kept everyone out of trouble, so it was a win-win.
The garden door slid open, revealing the green oasis inside. I headed for the arbor. I needed ten minutes of peace while I ate my meal bar.
Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t on my side because when I pushed back the vines, I found Havil waiting for me. Maybe he’d just been enjoying some peace of his own, but he must’ve felt me approaching. His eyes found mine with unerring accuracy. Luna chirped at him in greeting, then jumped up to her perch in the corner.
“You are in pain,” he said quietly.
“Tweaked my knee yesterday,” I confirmed, because I’d promised him that I would tell him if it bothered me. I had planned to stretch the bounds of that promise as far as possible, but I wouldn’t lie to him. “Then I made it worse last night in the gym.”
He nodded as if that was the answer he’d expected. He didn’t scold me or tell me that I should’ve taken it easier. His expression remained open and calm. “May I look at it?”
“You don’t need to,” I said. “You shouldn’t have to exert yourself because I was stupid. But I would appreciate a lesson in how to shield pain, if you have time.”
One side of his mouth quirked up and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “My job is ninety percent exerting myself because someone was stupid,” he said, not unkindly. “And I will help you learn to shield, if you let me heal your knee first.”
I tilted my head and considered the request. “Should we ask one of the others to join us? Last time you overdid it. I don’t want you to get hurt on my account, and I can’t catch you if you’re holding my knee.”
Havil waved me off. “Last time I healed three people in a row, and it had been a while since I’d used so much energy in such a short time. Healing just your knee won’t be a problem.” When I continued to look at him skeptically, he held up his hands with a small smile. “Promise.”
I sank into one of the low chairs and pulled the material of my pants up over my right knee. The joint was swollen and I winced. “Is this good enough or do I need to take the pants off completely?”
“This is fine,” Havil said. “Let me know if it’s too much, but it shouldn’t be as bad as before.”
When I nodded, he shifted so he could place his hands on my knee. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the warm, prickly feel of his power. He must’ve sensed my unease because he glanced up at me. The tawny streaks in his deep brown eyes had expanded, but even glowing with power, his eyes remained kind. With the chair at my back, I had nowhere to go, but my instinctive panic remained manageable. Barely.
He searched my face for a moment before returning his concentration to my knee. The prickles turned into fiery needles, and I held my breath.
“Just a bit more,” he said.
As promised, a few moments later, a final round of prickles swept through me from head to toe, then Havil sat back. I kept a close eye on him, but he didn’t look like he was going to faint away, so perhaps he had just done too much last time.
My knee already felt better, which would never cease to amaze me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If you hurt yourself again, come to see me. I don’t mind. Healing is why I’m here.”
That triggered a memory, and my eyes narrowed. “General Fletcher said you’re here to monitor the team. What does that mean?”
Havil smiled. “It’s not as bad as whatever you’re thinking. As a field medic, I am part of a squad of soldiers who have been trained to push past pain and get the job done.”
He gave me a pointed look, which I blithely ignored.
He continued, “It’s my job to know when they are silently hurting, either because they’re too proud to admit it or because they feel like it’s too minor to bother with.”
“And you report what you feel to the general? What about personal privacy?”
“My squad knows about my job, and they accept my position in the team. I would not report specifics about you unless you gave me permission, or we were in an immediate, urgent situation where the information would fundamentally change the strategy. As an empath, privacy is very important to me.”
I relaxed slightly. For whatever reason, I trusted him to keep his word. It wasn’t anything I could put my finger on, but I often went with my gut and my gut said he was trustworthy.
“Speaking of privacy,” I said, “can you help me with my shields? General Fletcher seemed to think that empaths were excellent at shielding.”
Havil’s eyes darkened, but he nodded. “We have to be,” he agreed quietly. “Let’s see what we can do.”