Page 62 of Thexan

“That will not remain partial.”

“No,” I said quietly. “It won’t.”

I crossed the room without rushing, moving toward the door while my thoughts ran ahead of me, trying to line up everything that was about to happen whether I was ready for it or not. Until now, I hadn’t had the space to think about this part of it. Keeping him alive had taken everything I had, and once that was no longer the immediate threat, the hunters had demanded the rest.

Now there was nothing left to keep this from catching up with me.

My people.

My responsibility.

And the alien warrior sitting behind me was no longer just someone I had saved, but someone tied to me in a way none of them were going to understand.

Not right away.

Maybe not at all.

I stopped with my hand resting against the door, letting it stay closed for one more moment while I steadied myself. I wasn't afraid to face them, but I knew exactly how this was going to look from the outside.

“They’re going to ask questions,” I said.

“They should,” Thexan replied.

I glanced back at him.

He remained near the cot, still bandaged, still too large and too alien for this small room, but his focus was on me now rather than the door.

“A settlement that survives by caution will not accept an unknown threat without challenge,” he said. “Their suspicion is reasonable.”

“They’re not going to like the answers.”

“No,” he said, quieter this time. “And some of that dislike will fall on you.”

I let out a slow breath, pressing my palm flat against the wood as I worked through the only decision that mattered before I stepped outside.

“I know.”

“You will lose trust with some of them by standing with me.”

The words landed harder because he didn’t sound guilty. He sounded precise, as if he had already calculated the cost and hated that I was the one who would pay it.

“Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not. But hiding you would cost more.”

His gaze held mine.

“Yes,” he said. “It would make me a secret instead of a choice.”

That tightened something in my chest.

“I’m not hiding you,” I said.

“I did not expect you to,” he replied. “But I needed you to understand that I know what it asks of you.”

“I’m also not handing you over to anyone who thinks they get to decide what happens to you.”

There was a brief pause behind me, not hesitation, but consideration.

“That may create conflict,” he said.