Enthralled by Tiffany Roberts

Chapter 7

Though it had only beenfour days, it was strange to once again be standing in the bright white stasis room, the one part of the Somnium untouched by time. Ivy swept her gaze over the cryochambers on either side of the room. Out of twenty, only seven were functioning. Seven remaining humans—eight counting Ivy herself. They were all that was left. Five thousand hopeful colonists cut down to eight.

Ivy clutched the strap of her bag. Sweat dampened her palms, and apprehension swirled in her stomach. She’d wanted this, but now that she was here, she was nervous. She was about to pull seven people out of stasis and introduce them to a harsh, alien world that was home to giant talking spider people, and on top of that, she had to be the one to tell them that any friends or family they might have had on this ship were very likely dead.

It’s the right thing to do.

She knew it was. There was no way that Ivy could have gone on with her life knowing that everyone left here would die within two years. They deserved a chance.

Ivy just…didn’t know how to go about waking them.

“What is wrong, my heartsthread?” Ketahn asked from behind her.

“I’m scared.”

He placed a hand on each of her shoulders and gently guided her to turn around. Once she was facing him, he cupped her cheeks between his lower pair of hands. “Nothing will happen to you. I will protect you, Ivy. Always.”

Regardless of her stinging tears, she kept her gaze locked with his as she turned her face into his palm. In this bright room, his eyes were so vibrant a purple, gleaming with tenderness and affection, but even the powerful artificial lights could not overcome the shadows in the depths of his gaze. He’d suffered at the hands of the queen yesterday, and the weight of everything was clearly taking its toll on him.

Guilt and doubt flooded her, sour and thick in her belly. Was she doing the right thing? Was she being selfish? How could she allow Ketahn to suffer like this just to assuage her own remorse?

“My nyleea,” he rumbled, stroking the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “Tell me. What troubles you?”

Her chest constricted, and for a moment, it was hard to breathe. Despite what he’d been subjected to, despite all he’d endured for her sake, Ketahn’s only concern was for Ivy.

She flattened her palm on his chest over his hearts. Her vision blurred as those tears filled her eyes. “Am I doing the right thing? Am I… Should we just go? Right now, far away from here, far away from the queen, to somewhere you’ll be safe?”

He chittered; the sound was warm and gentle, a little amused and a little sorrowful. “We will go, Ivy. Soon. But this”—he lifted his chin, gesturing at the pods behind her—“is right. You are right. We cannot leave them to die, not when they have a chance to live.”

Ivy stepped closer to him. Ketahn dropped his lower hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her. One of his forelegs came forward and brushed intimately along her calf. His fine hairs were soft, teasing her bare skin.

“I’m scared because I…I don’t know how they’ll react. I don’t know how I’ll make them understand without making them panic. How I’ll keep them calm, keep them focused… I don’t even know if they’ll listen to me.”

Ketahn tilted his head. “Why would they not listen?”

She frowned, dropping her gaze. “Because I’m…no one. As far as this colony was concerned, I was just going to be a laborer and a breeder. I don’t have any special skills, don’t have any special knowledge, don’t—”

Ketahn silenced her by pressing a finger to her lips. Once she met his gaze again, he leaned down to tip his forehead against hers. “You have survived the Tangle for many eightdays, my heartsthread. You have taken lessons on hunting, trapping, tracking. You know more about the jungle than any of them.”

Ivy drew in a slow, deep breath, and let it out in a shaky exhalation. “Because I have you.”

“And you will always have me. But you are enough. Do you know what I say, Ivy?”

Warmth filled her chest, easing some of the tightness there. “I do.”

He brushed the seam of his mouth across her forehead in a delicate kiss, holding her just a bit closer as he did so. “Good.”

She savored his embrace, drawing all the strength and comfort she could from it. When he relaxed his hold, Ivy turned and once more faced reality. She set her bag on the floor, stepped to the nearest functioning cryochamber, and gazed down at the woman sleeping within.

“Her name is Ahmya Hayashi,” Ivy said, studying the woman’s delicate features and long, black hair. “I met her during training.”

Ketahn moved into place beside Ivy. “She is a friend?”

“Kind of? I think I was too scared to let anyone get close, and she was really shy and usually kept to herself. I think…I think if I had allowed it, we could have become friends.”

“The chance has not passed.”

Ivy stared down at Ahmya’s face, and her lips curled into a small smile. “No, it hasn’t.”

Dropping her gaze to the control panel at the front of the pod, she tapped the screen. At the bottom was a red button which read EMERGENCY AWAKENING.

The pod’s interior lighting came to life, illuminating Ahmya.

“Colonist Ahmya Hayashi, number four three six,” said the computer in a disembodied voice from overhead. “Normal vitals. Confirm emergency awakening sequence.”

Curling her fingers into her palm, Ivy drew her lips into her mouth, bit them, and took in another calming breath before tapping the button again.

“Emergency awakening initiated,” the computer said. The floor beneath Ivy’s feet vibrated just enough for her to feel it. The tubes connected to Ahmya emptied of whatever vital fluids had been flowing through them and retracted, and the interior of the cryochamber filled with mist.

“Subject being awakened without recommended adjustment period,” the computer continued. “May suffer temporary lethargy, nausea, dizziness, disorientation, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Please consult a medical technician to report any issues.”

The pod hissed, repressurizing, and then the clear lid swung up and backward. The mist dissipated as the pod’s bed rose, lifting Ahmya so she lay at forty-five-degree angle. Still, she slept.

Ivy was tempted to reach out and touch her to see if she was real. Though one hundred and sixty-eight years had passed since they’d left Earth, it had only been two months since Ivy had been awakened. It was still a long time without seeing another human being, wondering all along if she was the only one left.

Stepping away from Ahmya, Ivy repeated the process with the other six colonists. There were three other women—Ella Lewis, Callie Wright, and Lacey Anderson—and three men—William Reed, Cole Walker, and Diego Rodriguez.

None of them stirred. Their eyes remained closed, and they continued to sleep peacefully. Ivy had been like this when Ketahn had stumbled upon this place and accidently released her. He’d stolen her from here, and she’d woken face-to-face with a monster in a dark, unknown place. She remembered her terror. While she expected confusion from these survivors when they regained consciousness, they’d at least be in a familiar place, and that would help calm them as Ivy explained everything. Except…

“Ketahn?”

He’d been staring at the humans with his mandibles twitching faintly, but he looked at Ivy upon hearing her speak. “Yes, my heartsthread?”

“I…think it would be best if you left.”

His eyes flared, and he turned to face her fully. “I will not leave you.”

“It would only be for a little while.”

Ketahn gestured toward the open pods. “I do not trust them. Not with you, Ivy.”

Ivy stepped closer to him and clasped a hand around his wrist, gently pulling it to her chest to place his palm between her breasts, over her heart. She felt the light prick of his claws and the roughness of his palm against her skin. “I will be fine. Trust me. Please?”

He cupped the back of her head in one big hand and held her gaze. “I trust you. Not them. I cannot protect you if I am away.”

“I’m not asking you to go far.” Ivy lowered his hand and slipped her arms around him, pressing her ear against his chest. She closed her eyes, allowing his hearts’ rhythm to soothe her, and when his arms encircled her, she felt safe and sheltered. “Do you remember how I acted when I first saw you?”

An unhappy sound rumbled in his chest, making it clear that he did indeed remember.

“They’ll be sick and weak when the wake, and if you’re the first thing they see, they’ll be frightened too. I’ll be fine.” She opened her eyes and tipped her head back to look up at him. “Just let me talk to them, tell them what happened, and prepare them for what they’re going to see. Then I will introduce you to them.”

For several seconds, he stared into her eyes, his gaze unreadable. His mandibles drooped, but the nod he offered was firm. “I will see to Durax. Better the others do not see what remains of him.”

“Thank you.”

Ketahn caught her chin. “You will call for me if you need me.”

“I will.”

When he bent down, she instinctively stood on her toes to press her lips against his mouth, gifting him a lingering, tender kiss that neither of them seemed eager to break.

She couldn’t lie to herself; she didn’t want him to go, especially considering that he’d been gone for most of yesterday, leaving her alone in the den, worried sick over what would befall him while he was in Takarahl. Their parting now, though almost insignificant in comparison, roused those same feelings.

It was Ketahn who finally pulled away. Gently, he hooked a few loose strands of her hair with a claw and tucked them behind her ear. “I will see you soon, my heartsthread.”

She smiled at him, and he lifted his mandibles in his version the expression. Then he released his embrace, turned, and left the room, his steps whisper-quiet on the hard floor.

Despite being surrounded by seven other people, Ivy felt more alone in that moment than ever before.