lips quirked, but he let me help him up without comment. He wobbled a bit when he reached his feet, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it while I watched with growing trepidation.
“When was the last time you slept, anyway?” I asked, covertly sliding an arm around his waist to steady him before he pitched over.
He frowned, thinking. “Seven days.”
I froze. “Seven
days
?”
“Symbionts don’t need as much sleep as normal people,” he explained as we walked toward the rear of the ship.
That certainly explained a few things about the operation of the
Glorious Fool
. “So you haven’t slept since before you came to get me at the embassy?”
“I haven’t slept since before we restored your memories,” Rupert said, pulling away from me when we reached the door to what had been Anthony’s bunk. “There was too much to do.”
He said this so casually I wanted to strangle him. “So you just pushed yourself to the point of exhaustion?” I snapped. “Why didn’t you sleep at the house?”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone and unconscious in a strange place,” he said. “And sleep is … not a pleasant experience for a symbiont. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
This was the second time he’d mentioned that, more than enough for me to get the hint. “Okay,” I said slowly. “So what should I expect?”
“Hopefully nothing,” Rupert said, opening the door to reveal a small officer’s room with a single, narrow bunk. “But just to be safe, I’m going to lock myself in.” He tapped the officer’s key lock just inside the door as he spoke, sliding it up to the highest security level. “We’ve got six hours in jump. The exit alarm will wake me if I don’t wake up on my own before that, but no matter what, don’t try to open this door. Whatever you hear, whatever I do, just leave it locked.”
I gave him a sideways look. “What will you be doing? Clawing at the walls?”
“Maybe,” he admitted, leaning on the door frame. “The nightmares can be intense, but I’m usually a quiet sleeper. I don’t think anything will happen, but I’m not going to take any chances. Just promise me you won’t open the door.”
I started to point out that the officer’s door locked from the inside, but he looked so earnest and exhausted, all I ended up doing was nodding.
Rupert reached out to close the door, and for a crazy moment, my hand came up to stop him. I caught it just in time, folding it behind my back instead. “Sweet dreams,” I said.
He smiled at me. “Good night, Devi.” And then the door closed. A second later, I heard the heavy lock click into place, leaving me alone.
I stood in the hallway for a while after, ears straining, but I didn’t hear a thing except for the low hum of the engine. He’d probably fallen right asleep, I thought, which made me feel strangely tender. Poor man had been driving himself so hard. He deserved some rest. I probably should have slept as well, but after my eighteen-hour power nap I wasn’t tired in the least, so I wandered up to the bridge instead.
I flopped into the captain’s cushy chair and pulled up the ship’s information interface with the vague idea of catching up on the eight months I’d lost, but the military cruiser was all business. Everything interesting was hidden behind security walls, and there was nothing in the way of entertainment in the ship’s memory unless I wanted to watch Home Guard training videos. There were a few basic news feeds available in the public memory—royal announcements, galactic events, that sort of thing—but I couldn’t concentrate enough to read them. My mind kept slipping back to Rupert.
He’d just looked so worried, I thought, tapping absently through the ship’s interface. Worried and exhausted. It had been easy to ignore while I’d made up my mind to hate him forever, but now that we’d wiped the slate clean, I could hardly miss how he’d pushed himself to the limit for my sake.
“When was the last time you slept, anyway?” I asked, covertly sliding an arm around his waist to steady him before he pitched over.
He frowned, thinking. “Seven days.”
I froze. “Seven
days
?”
“Symbionts don’t need as much sleep as normal people,” he explained as we walked toward the rear of the ship.
That certainly explained a few things about the operation of the
Glorious Fool
. “So you haven’t slept since before you came to get me at the embassy?”
“I haven’t slept since before we restored your memories,” Rupert said, pulling away from me when we reached the door to what had been Anthony’s bunk. “There was too much to do.”
He said this so casually I wanted to strangle him. “So you just pushed yourself to the point of exhaustion?” I snapped. “Why didn’t you sleep at the house?”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone and unconscious in a strange place,” he said. “And sleep is … not a pleasant experience for a symbiont. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
This was the second time he’d mentioned that, more than enough for me to get the hint. “Okay,” I said slowly. “So what should I expect?”
“Hopefully nothing,” Rupert said, opening the door to reveal a small officer’s room with a single, narrow bunk. “But just to be safe, I’m going to lock myself in.” He tapped the officer’s key lock just inside the door as he spoke, sliding it up to the highest security level. “We’ve got six hours in jump. The exit alarm will wake me if I don’t wake up on my own before that, but no matter what, don’t try to open this door. Whatever you hear, whatever I do, just leave it locked.”
I gave him a sideways look. “What will you be doing? Clawing at the walls?”
“Maybe,” he admitted, leaning on the door frame. “The nightmares can be intense, but I’m usually a quiet sleeper. I don’t think anything will happen, but I’m not going to take any chances. Just promise me you won’t open the door.”
I started to point out that the officer’s door locked from the inside, but he looked so earnest and exhausted, all I ended up doing was nodding.
Rupert reached out to close the door, and for a crazy moment, my hand came up to stop him. I caught it just in time, folding it behind my back instead. “Sweet dreams,” I said.
He smiled at me. “Good night, Devi.” And then the door closed. A second later, I heard the heavy lock click into place, leaving me alone.
I stood in the hallway for a while after, ears straining, but I didn’t hear a thing except for the low hum of the engine. He’d probably fallen right asleep, I thought, which made me feel strangely tender. Poor man had been driving himself so hard. He deserved some rest. I probably should have slept as well, but after my eighteen-hour power nap I wasn’t tired in the least, so I wandered up to the bridge instead.
I flopped into the captain’s cushy chair and pulled up the ship’s information interface with the vague idea of catching up on the eight months I’d lost, but the military cruiser was all business. Everything interesting was hidden behind security walls, and there was nothing in the way of entertainment in the ship’s memory unless I wanted to watch Home Guard training videos. There were a few basic news feeds available in the public memory—royal announcements, galactic events, that sort of thing—but I couldn’t concentrate enough to read them. My mind kept slipping back to Rupert.
He’d just looked so worried, I thought, tapping absently through the ship’s interface. Worried and exhausted. It had been easy to ignore while I’d made up my mind to hate him forever, but now that we’d wiped the slate clean, I could hardly miss how he’d pushed himself to the limit for my sake.
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