Page 75 of Truthful Deceptions

I answered any question they asked, if the question made sense. There were a few that didn't translate well, so I ignored them.

“Some humans like to be in a crowd,” I said when someone made noise about humans being collectively owned. “Other humans, like me, can be upset when we don't have a clear person to, uh, own us. I'd be scared right now if I didn’t have Tolly.”

That led to another round of questions about how many Talins constituted a crowd and what humans did when they were upset.

When a few of the Talins asked Tolly if he was going to find a male to “breed” me with, I decided that was a good time to end the impromptu question-and-answer session.

I pretended to sway and need to lean against Tolly.

He sounded a worried rumble and picked me up. Purring, he cradled me against his chest as a wave of worried rumbles came from the crowd. Suddenly I went from pretending to be tired to honestly fatigued. I closed my eyes and rested my head against Tolly’s shoulder.

“She’s overwrought,” Narmuna said. “She needs quiet and rest.”

All the rumbles abruptly stopped, and the dead silence was unnerving.

“I’ve got you,” Tolly whispered. “You did so well.”

“We need to move swiftly or you’ll miss your exit window,” a maven said. “Can you move quickly?”

“We can keep up,” Tolly promised, and we set off at a jog. Soon I felt him run up a ramp and heard the hatch close behind us.

I let out a relieved breath. We were home.

Chapter 23

Opal

The trip back to Bright Star Station seemed to take forever. The guys attempted to keep me occupied with tasks, learning, and quizzes, but my anxiety kept making me restless.

By the time we finally docked, I’d probably lost weight from all the pacing, despite Tolly constantly trying to feed me.

“Scowling at the door won't make the docking tunnel pressurize any faster,” Tolly said with an amused rumble. Instead of docking in a bay this time, we were docking the ship to one of the outside clamps. I was sure there was room in a bay, but I think the guys picked this because it was the fastest way to dock.

They were as eager to get me on the station as I was to be there.

“Finally!” I exclaimed when the door display blinked to indicate a seal. After another few seconds it hissed, and the hatch opened.

“Let me get—”

I didn’t wait to hear what Tolly was going to say. I took off running down the ramp. I heard his surprised rattle but ignored it. He’d be fine, but I needed to get back to my quarters. I didn’t even acknowledge all the Massoc gathered around the station end of the tunnel as I barreled past them.

“Opal!” one of them yelled. “You’re alive!”

“Yes!” I called back, not slowing my pace at all. There was some kind of shuffle behind me, but I didn’t pay attention. My entire focus was on making my way through the familiar halls and corridors.

I was out of breath by the time I got to my quarters. Gulping air, I slammed my hand on the door display.

The main area was still full of familiar items but empty of any life. Fear shot through me, and I forced myself to walk into the room instead of rampage.

“Opal?”

I swung around to see my very pregnant sister-in-law step out of the elimination room. She was pale, with dark marks under her eyes and a bruise on her cheek.

The yellowing bruise made my eyes bug out. “Cleo, who hit you?”

She blinked as if confused. “You were abducted, and I thought I’d never see you again. Then almost a month later you reappear and that’s the first thing you say to me?”

“I’m back and no one is allowed to abuse you!” I shouted.