Vall's Will by Linda Mooney Page A

their armor, we would be in one fekking
mess.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t
know how to drive this ship.”
    Incredibly, a
smile tilted the corners of his mouth. The sight of it even made her feel
better.
    “Has
this…happened before?” he cautiously asked.
    “Do you
mean, has Willis lost her shield before? No. This is the first time. And if she
remains a Nion warrior, there’s a good chance it may not be her last
time.”
    He lifted his
face to look at the Captain. “She is my Will.” He sounded dejected.
    “She’s a
captain of a Nion warship. In the whole fleet of nearly eighty, she’s only one
of six women capable enough to handle the job. And she’s only one of three
still actively on duty.” Killjorn laid a hand on the young man’s arm. She
was mildly surprised when he didn’t flinch or draw back. “She’s also a
young woman with a need to be loved. But she has to be careful. She can’t take
reckless chances, not if she’s to maintain her captaincy. And that means she
has to deliver you over to someone else, and have them take you to Regency
Base.”
    “She is my
Will,” Vall repeated with greater emphasis.
    Killjorn nodded.
“If the two of you are meant to be a couple, the stars will find a way to
bring you back together. Until then, you must be strong, and you must be
patient.”
    A warm hand was
placed on top of hers. Steadily, she could feel heat rising from his palm,
until it was almost too painful. She tried to pull away, but his grip was
absolute.
    And the heat
became incinerating.
    The physician
threw up her shield around her hand and arm, but Vall continued to cling to her
as if the aura wasn’t there.
    Killjorn felt
her fear rising as she stared into golden eyes that suddenly appeared to flare
like yellow suns. Vall’s expression changed from melancholy to something that
terrified her all the way to her soul.
    “She…is…my…Will.”
    There was more
pain, more intense fire, and two suns that scorched her retinas, all the way up
into her brain.
    The dim light
inside the medical bay washed through her like a soothing balm. Gasping,
Killjorn glanced at her damaged hand, but the skin was smooth, unblemished.
There was no damage that she could see. She also knew that if she placed her
hand underneath the scanners, she wouldn’t find any sort of injury within, either.
    She turned to
Vall. The young man remained sitting and staring up at the figure hovering
overhead.
    “She…is…my…Will.”
    She hadn’t
imagined the pain. Neither had she hallucinated about the man’s eyes drilling
into her skull.
    Stark fear, the
kind she had never felt before in her life, began to grow in the pit of her
stomach. Icy cold, hard, and poisonous, it threatened to take over every organ
in her body, leaving her unable to breathe, or even think.
    “She…is…my…Will.”
    She had
misinterpreted what he’d meant. All this time, she hadn’t fully realized what
he was saying. What he meant by that remark.
    Not until now.
And it was almost scaring the life out of her.
     

Chapter Thirteen
    Warmth
     
     
    “Ready?”
    “As much as
I’ll ever be.”
    “All right.
Just watch your balance.”
    The sterile glow
faded, and Will felt the bed start to tilt, feet first.
    “Let me
know if you sense any pain,” Killjorn instructed.
    The bed
continued to tilt, until the soles of her feet touched the cool floor.
    “Stand.”
    The bed halted
its descent, allowing her to lean forward until she was clear of it. Next thing
she knew, she was erect.
    Killjorn stepped
in front of her after scrutinizing every inch of the Captain’s body.
    “Talk to
me, Willis.”
    Will
straightened. “No pain, although I feel like I’m still wrapped up.”
She glanced down at herself and giggled softly. “I’m as pink as a Protean
amoebae.”
    “Your skin
will lose that tint the longer it’s in contact with the oxygen in the air.
You’re certain you don’t feel any pain?”
    Nodding her
head, Will answered.