Chapter 7

“When you mention duties…um, does that include…sex?”

Nev’s laugh was a bitter snort. “No. He might grab me by the throat to siphon energy from my body, but I don’t think he ever thought of me as human enough for sex.”

“I think that might be a good thing. He sounds like a nasty son of a bitch.”

Nev closed his eyes and slowly went limp in Jamal’s arm. For a minute, Jamal panicked, checking to make sure Nev was breathing and had a pulse. Yes and yes. Given all that happened in the past hours, the logical assumption was that Nev had fallen asleep once the tea began to lessen his pain.

* * * *

“Let’s start with basic information,” Captain Bhati said. Another soldier, who Nev had not seen before, was stationed at a desk with a pen, ink, and paper.

Nev was seated in a wooden chair in the captain’s office. He’d been given an ankle length cream colored tunic that the healer referred to as a thawb. Anxiety knotted his gut every bit as much as his non-traditional biology.