Owned by Luna Voss
26
Barion
My eyes snap open to the sound of my communicator ringing. Huh? I thought I left it on silent. I turn over, annoyed. Whoever it is will hang up soon.
They don’t. And a moment later, I realize that the sound I’m hearing is my emergency ring tone.
“What is it?” I ask, groggy as I put the device to my ear. Next to me, Melyta stirs.
“Barion,” says Korva’s voice. “Thank god I caught you. This is the third time I’ve called.”
The urgency in his voice immediately puts me wide awake. I jump out of bed and head to the other room, not wanting to disturb Melyta.
“Nullion has been digging,” Korva tells me without preamble.
“And what has he dug up?”
“A nurse. From the hospital. She checked on Gurtion right after he was killed.”
My blood runs cold. I remember a nurse. I bowled her over, if I’m recalling correctly. But I didn’t think she had a chance to see my face.
“And has that nurse said anything?” I ask, my apprehension growing.
Korva pauses, and then:
“Yes. She said she saw you. Or at least, she identified you from a picture Nullion showed her.”
“Fuck,” I snarl, a pit growing in my stomach. If Nullion knows that I killed Gurt, everything I’m building with Melyta could go up in smoke.
“I’m not going to ask any questions, but I take it this is a problem for you?”
“A big fucking problem. Has Nullion told Sarizor yet?”
“Not yet. But he’s going to.”
“What’s he waiting for?”
“He wants to gather more evidence, make the most convincing case he can. Barion… he’s looking into Melyta.”
“What?”
My best friend’s voice is almost tortured. “He’s looking into her background. I don’t think he knows anything, but he suspects. He already grabbed this busboy. Someone he saw Melyta with at one of our parties or something. He isn’t playing games.”
Melyta appears in the doorway of the bedroom, looking worried.
“Korva, I have to go,” I tell him. “But thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. Promise me you’ll take care of…” My voice almost breaks as my eyes land on the woman I love. “If anything happens. Take care of Melyta.”
“Of course,” Korva replies cautiously. “But I really don’t like the way you’re talking right now. Barion, you aren’t thinking of doing anything stupid?”
I try to force a smile as I hang up. For Melyta’s sake. “When have I ever done anything stupid?”
* * *
Melyta
I may not have heard Barion’s entire conversation with Korva, but I heard enough.
“What happened?” I ask him quickly. “If we need to leave the planet, I can be packed in 10 minutes.”
He tries to smile at me, but he can’t. The look he gives me as he slips his communicator back into his pocket is full of sadness, full of pain.
Full of loss.
“You should pack,” is all he says.
Immediately I start throwing clothes, shoes, essential items into a bag. Fuck it, I can be ready in five minutes. I can skip the bag if that’s what it takes.
“Nullion knows about us, doesn’t he?” I ask, turning my closet upside down.
Barion nods, looking numb. “He knows about me. He knows that I… that I killed Gurtion.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard him say it out loud. And somehow, the finality of that scares me.
“And you don’t think you’ll be able to convince Sarizor otherwise?”
He shakes his head. “Sarizor trusts Nullion more than he trusts me at this point. You were right about that. You said you thought that’s why he enlisted Korva.”
I keep throwing items into my bag, trying to grab anything I might need. Barion continues speaking, a worrying sense of resignation in his voice.
“He’s on to you, too. He hasn’t confirmed anything yet, but he will. He’s talking to that busboy. The one who knew you from your old life.”
“He’s talking to Henry?”
“Henry. Yeah. I think we have a day, maybe two at maximum before he finds out who you are.”
I zip my bag closed. “Finished. Are you packed already? I’ll go look up the flight schedule at Dalax Interstellar and find the best ship out of here. Does it matter what planet we and up on? Probably not, since we can just take a connecting flight.”
Despite the rush, despite the dire urgency of the situation, I feel a surprising sense of calm. Months ago, I had to mentally prepare for the idea that I would be forced to leave Tarsheb 8. This doesn’t feel so different. I can do this. I can put up with whatever is necessary to survive, now that I have Barion by my side.
But Barion doesn’t move. When I look at his face, I’m dismayed to see that his eyes are shiny. His mouth trembles, as though he’s using all the power he has not to break into tears.
“Why do you look like that?” I ask angrily, my entire world sinking as I worry that I already know the answer. “Why aren’t you packing?”
He hesitates, grim, miserable resignation on his face.
“I’m not going,” he tells me, and it worries me more than anything that his voice is steady.
“Of course you’re going!” I practically yell. “Fuck that!”
He shakes his head. “I can’t. You would never be safe.”
Tears well up in my eyes as I argue with him. “That’s bullshit. I’ll be safe if I have you protecting me.”
“Not if the Dultaz Family knows I killed Gurtion. Melyta, I killed the boss’s son. Do you think they would ever, ever stop looking for the man who did that?”
“You did it for me,” I shoot back, my vision blurry as tears fall down my cheeks. “That’s not fair.”
“And I would do it again. A thousand fucking times, I would do it again. But now I have to do this for you. Give you a new chance at life.”
“I don’t want to new chance at life! All I want is you!”
Barion pulls me into his arms and I melt against his chest, sobbing. I clutch him with everything I have, taking comfort in his presence, his warmth, his love. I can’t lose this. I can’t.
“Melyta, I’ve never cared about anyone or anything… even a tiny little fractionof how much as I’ve cared about you,” he tells me, his voice cracking. “I love you. With everything I have. You’re my mate, my vulta, my everything. Nothing will ever, ever change that.”
“So don’t do this,” I beg. “Don’t leave me. We can leave the planet together. Start a new life together. Make a new home somewhere else and… and maybe even start a family.”
Hot tears trickle down his cheeks into my hair as he holds me, and his body shudders as though wracked by a silent sob. When he speaks, however, his voice is determined, even though it cracks.
“I want that more than anything. But Melyta, it can’t happen. I’m sorry, it just can’t. That’s not the world we live in. They’ll never stop looking for me. Never. The only way you’re safe is if you leave, and I stay.”
“Then I guess I’m just going to have to take a fucking risk,” I inform him resolutely, separating from the hug and dropping my bag on the floor.
“I can’t allow that. As your mate, I can’t allow that.”
“Like fuck you can’t. I’m staying.”
The pain on Barion’s face is so evident that all I want to do is hold him. But then his expression hardens, and it’s like he’s willing all his affection for me to be gone in this single moment.
“You’re leaving,” he growls, “and that’s final. I’m still your fucking mate, I’m still responsible for you, and what I say goes. I’m putting you on a spaceship today, and I don’t give a fuck what you have to say about it.”
* * *
Barion
I feel broken. Absolutely broken.
Broken, but with a sense of purpose.
Even broken things can still have a use.
My use is to save Melyta. To make sure that everything I’ve done, everything I am, doesn’t hurt her anymore than it already has. I owe her that, at least.
I owe her more than that. So much more. But after everything that’s led us to this point, this is the only thing I have left to give. My life, or what remains of it. My useless, pathetic, broken life without her.
It just hurts that I won’t get to see her bloom. That I won’t get to grow old with her, watch her learn to use her power, find out what she’s like as a wife, as the mother of my children. If she finds love again, it will be with someone else. If she has babies, they won’t be mine.
“I hate you,” she says as we pull into the passenger drop-off area of the spaceport. She’s been crying the entire drive, and it’s taking everything I have not to do the same. “I hate that you’re making me do this.”
I can’t bear to look at her. I think if I do, I might shatter, or not have the power to go through with this. I stare ahead, tears welling up in my eyes.
“Look at me!” she nearly screams, punching the dashboard. “Can you not even fucking look at me before you send me away like I mean nothing to you?”
“You mean everything!” I yell, turning to look at her for almost the first time since we got in the car. “Can you not understand that? Why the fuck do you think I’m doing this?”
She just stares at me, her eyes raw, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to comfort her. Nothing except the one, single thing she’s begging me to do.
“Please,” she whimpers. “You can come with me. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“It does,” I tell her, looking straight ahead. “Now get out of the car. Your ship leaves in an hour.”
“Barion, I—”
“Get out of the fucking car!” I scream, forcing myself to sound angry, to drive her away. I can’t allow myself to grieve right now. I can’t think about how much this hurts. Not until she’s on a ship and leaving the planet.
Melyta steps out onto the sidewalk, sobbing openly. I try to give her a last look, but I break it off quickly. It’s just too much to bear.
I steel my face as I drive away, not allowing myself to peak in the rearview camera display. The last I see of the woman I love, she’s crying and alone outside the spaceport with nothing but her bag and the credit chip I pressed into her hands.
I break down the moment I leave the terminal, parking on the side of the road and allowing myself to sob for several minutes, my shoulders heaving.
Then I gulp, wait for my breathing to calm, and prepare to turn myself in to Nullion.
