of the Soulless moving around began slowly, gaining intensity as we lay there, regaining our strength. Finally, I thought I had enough energy to move and pushed myself up on weak, trembling arms.
“What happened?” Con asked. Before I could answer, he continued, “The panel lit up and started blaring. Then you were back.”
“Strike that number. Planet doesn't exist,” I said, trying to keep my words to a minimum.
“Well, I'd wondered what would happen when you ran into that problem. Probably won't be the last one, either. Are you sure you want to continue?” Con's voice softened at the end, but it only served to stoke a rising fire inside of me.
We would have never been forced to try that sequence if someone hadn't stolen the worlds.
“Just give us a bit,” I murmured and flopped back down.
My brain had trouble piecing too many things together, but I began to plan. Someone had done this. Not the obliteration of a planet. After all, that happened on occasion. No, someone held at least three planets of souls, and I couldn't come up with a reason. The loose essence really had no purpose, no benefit, and the endeavor must have been complicated. So, why?
Chapter Forty-Nine
By the time Grace and I left the trio that binal, we'd found four more destroyed planets and eight more blocked planets. I'd sent the others to rest while I took the final trips alone. There was no need for everyone to suffer the effects of being smacked on the bottom of a stream that had no outlet. Of course, they'd argued, but I won if you wanted to call it that, in the end.
After that, they were responsible for completing the list we had. Meanwhile, Grace and I needed to collect the data from the various sectors. We were gone for a few binals, taking care of the data transfers and the issues that had developed since we'd last been in that sector.
We'd just returned to Orusian, dropped a note to Corin that we would need to see him, and were walking home when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. That sensation of someone watching had been increasing in frequency since the first time I'd noticed it. As usual, when I glanced around, I noted nothing out of the ordinary. Even switching on my Sight didn't reveal anything.
Grace didn't seem to be affected, so either it was merely paranoia, or she wasn't very attuned to such things. Either way, she continued chatting, and I kept watching. Once we entered an eatery to pick up some meals for all of us, it abated, so I shrugged it off.
Once we reached the unit, the trio hadn't arrived home yet, so we ate quickly and caught up on the chores that we'd been putting off during our trip. I was in the middle of preparing my uniforms for drying when the click of the door drew my attention.
I dropped the clothes on the floor and hurried towards the gathering room. Before I reached the threshold, I cursed myself and turned, picking up the wet uniforms. What am I doing? Running to them like a pet that's been left at home for a while?
The light, fluffy mess inside me edged too closely to feelings, the kind I wanted to avoid. Besides, I didn't want to seem to be overeager, did I?
That's why I was bent over when hands gripped my hips, and someone pulled me back, pressing me against a warm body. Still bent, I twisted to look over my shoulder and saw Trace standing there, a lazy smile on his lips. Then he caught himself and scowled.
“Did you wash mine, too?” he growled.
“Nope,” I answered lightly.
As I stood straight, he maintained his hold on me and pressed his face against my cheek. “And why not?”
“Because you're a big boy.” I leaned back against him, closing my eyes for a moment while I soaked in his warmth. A sigh built up in my chest, but I held it in.
“Yes, I am.”
His tone made the innuendo clear, but I ignored it, content to stand there for a while longer.
Apparently, he wasn't because he shifted on his feet, jarring me. When I tried to step forward, intending to turn around, his fingertips dug into my hips, keeping me turned away from him.
He cleared his throat once, then once more before words spilled out of his mouth so rapidly, I almost couldn't understand them. “Want to go somewhere with me when things