Eban's Command: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Science Fiction Alien Romance) (Survival Wars Book 2) by Hana Starr Page B
Authors: Hana Starr
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and
overheated other assorted machinery. With the dust all settled now, and with
everyone having removed their wings before entering to avoid stirring anything
up, eventually it would be cleaned enough to the point where they could start checking
and repairing systems. As it turned out, metal was much more resistant to
burning than simple homes.
Unfortunately, not everything could be so easily fixed as
computers.
Fourteen were dead, Tullia amongst them. Two were children,
and five were elders. He knew every single one of them and their families, and
had personally overseen every ingle funeral as the bodies were placed into the
earth. No condolences were given, because that wasn’t their way. He wasn’t
going to lie to someone about something being okay when he knew it never would
be. Long after everything else was fixed, those fourteen would still be gone
and buried.
It was two days before he could even manage to take a break
like this, to simply breathe and stay in one place. He hadn’t had a chance to
check on Saffron and hoped she would understand. Even with her strained neck,
he had heard that she was out amongst the general populace and helping them
with anything they might need.
Deep affection for her filled his chest. She was exactly the
sort of person he needed at his side. Not just as a companion or lover, or a
friend, but as his true mate.
His gaze slid across the command room to where Karree was
watching him. That was a little bit odd, but now that their eyes met, she
started to wander over under the pretense of checking out the rest of the row
ahead of her. He tried to smile for her, but he knew from her expression that
this was going to be trouble.
“Sir,” she said, coming to stand silently at his side.
The last thing I want to do is explain to her that
there’s someone else in my life but I’m going to have to sooner or later.
Sooner, probably.
“Yes, first mate?” he asked, trying to make his voice sound
light and keep this thoughts from breaking in. “What are you thinking about?”
She hesitated, looking down at the tiles beneath her feet.
“Times like this make me think that merely having a commander to keep them
hopeful isn’t enough. They need specific events for that.”
Eban snorted a little, hoping that he could head this off at
the pass. “I already tried that, remember? Yesterday was supposed to be a day
of feasting but who wants to eat when the whole ship smells of fire and death?”
“Something more concrete than that,” she insisted, and then
looked up at him. Her eyes were shining with the same sort of emotion that he
felt inside himself when he thought about Saffron. “Maybe it’s time that our
beloved commander started a family.”
Her hand slid into his. It was warm, practically burning
with heat, and utterly soft. It was also so terribly wrong that he jerked away
without meaning to.
The softness with which she looked at him rapidly
evaporated. “By the flight,” she swore, her face darkening with anger. “I can’t
believe you! You would rather mess with that pitiable human than one of your
own kind?”
Stiffening with anger, Eban glared at her. “It is not for
you to decide my future.”
“I trusted you,” she choked out.
“And I will always trust you ,” he said pointedly.
“This has nothing to do with trust because I have betrayed nothing. I never
once hinted to you that I wanted to be your mate.”
It didn’t matter what he said, which he knew. She turned
away from him and went away, her shoulders tensed up as if she was trying to
shield herself. He turned away too and went back to examining his monitors.
This was exactly what he’d needed, a sideways sort of validation for his own
feelings.
That night, he crept through the sleeping quarters and
knocked very lightly on Saffron’s door. With the lights so fully dark, he
expected her to be asleep but her soft voice came to
overheated other assorted machinery. With the dust all settled now, and with
everyone having removed their wings before entering to avoid stirring anything
up, eventually it would be cleaned enough to the point where they could start checking
and repairing systems. As it turned out, metal was much more resistant to
burning than simple homes.
Unfortunately, not everything could be so easily fixed as
computers.
Fourteen were dead, Tullia amongst them. Two were children,
and five were elders. He knew every single one of them and their families, and
had personally overseen every ingle funeral as the bodies were placed into the
earth. No condolences were given, because that wasn’t their way. He wasn’t
going to lie to someone about something being okay when he knew it never would
be. Long after everything else was fixed, those fourteen would still be gone
and buried.
It was two days before he could even manage to take a break
like this, to simply breathe and stay in one place. He hadn’t had a chance to
check on Saffron and hoped she would understand. Even with her strained neck,
he had heard that she was out amongst the general populace and helping them
with anything they might need.
Deep affection for her filled his chest. She was exactly the
sort of person he needed at his side. Not just as a companion or lover, or a
friend, but as his true mate.
His gaze slid across the command room to where Karree was
watching him. That was a little bit odd, but now that their eyes met, she
started to wander over under the pretense of checking out the rest of the row
ahead of her. He tried to smile for her, but he knew from her expression that
this was going to be trouble.
“Sir,” she said, coming to stand silently at his side.
The last thing I want to do is explain to her that
there’s someone else in my life but I’m going to have to sooner or later.
Sooner, probably.
“Yes, first mate?” he asked, trying to make his voice sound
light and keep this thoughts from breaking in. “What are you thinking about?”
She hesitated, looking down at the tiles beneath her feet.
“Times like this make me think that merely having a commander to keep them
hopeful isn’t enough. They need specific events for that.”
Eban snorted a little, hoping that he could head this off at
the pass. “I already tried that, remember? Yesterday was supposed to be a day
of feasting but who wants to eat when the whole ship smells of fire and death?”
“Something more concrete than that,” she insisted, and then
looked up at him. Her eyes were shining with the same sort of emotion that he
felt inside himself when he thought about Saffron. “Maybe it’s time that our
beloved commander started a family.”
Her hand slid into his. It was warm, practically burning
with heat, and utterly soft. It was also so terribly wrong that he jerked away
without meaning to.
The softness with which she looked at him rapidly
evaporated. “By the flight,” she swore, her face darkening with anger. “I can’t
believe you! You would rather mess with that pitiable human than one of your
own kind?”
Stiffening with anger, Eban glared at her. “It is not for
you to decide my future.”
“I trusted you,” she choked out.
“And I will always trust you ,” he said pointedly.
“This has nothing to do with trust because I have betrayed nothing. I never
once hinted to you that I wanted to be your mate.”
It didn’t matter what he said, which he knew. She turned
away from him and went away, her shoulders tensed up as if she was trying to
shield herself. He turned away too and went back to examining his monitors.
This was exactly what he’d needed, a sideways sort of validation for his own
feelings.
That night, he crept through the sleeping quarters and
knocked very lightly on Saffron’s door. With the lights so fully dark, he
expected her to be asleep but her soft voice came to
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