had told him.
Aliens couldn’t be trusted, but that hadn’t stopped me from pouring my heart out to him. Despite that, I wasn’t sure what I regretted the most—telling him that I wanted to kiss him, or not kissing him.
7
Soren
A line of holographic warsas marched across a valley of crumpled sheets. Oblivious to the world around him, Dylan watched the little images move over the plains of his bed, mimicking the creatures’ growls and snorts as he orchestrated the herd’s movements. Even though I had come into the room to check up on him, I merely stood there and watched him play.
“Have you ever seen a warsa before?” he suddenly asked me, lifting his gaze up from the hologram.
“I have.” Resting my elbows on the bed’s frame, I smiled at Dylan. “They look pretty fierce, don’t they?”
“That’s because they are!” Pointing to one of the tiny warsas, Dylan made a face and roared, then giggled. He was showing no signs of a fever this evening, but that didn’t necessarily mean it would stay that way.
Although Rahl’s tinctures had helped, Dylan’s progress was made of deep valleys and jagged peaks. One morning he’d wake up feeling perfectly fine, and the next he’d be burning up. It had been an entire week of this. What really worried me, though, was that I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. The bloodwork results hadn’t revealed anything of notice, nor had any of the other medical tests I had ordered.
“You wanna know a secret?” Lowering my voice, I brought one hand up and used it to partially cup my mouth. “Do you know what Kain’s warsa is called?”
Dylan shook his head, but it was clear I had him hooked. Like most kids his age, he was fascinated with Raider and its warriors, especially their leader.
“He calls her Sweetie,” I whispered, and Dylan started giggling right away. He clamped one hand over his mouth and shook his head.
“That can’t be!”
“Oh, but it is,” I said. “I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true. Make no mistake, though—Sweetie is one of the bravest warsas I’ve ever seen. Kain goes hunting dinosaurs with her, so you can imagine how fierce she must be.”
“Aunt Maya says that dinosaurs used to live on Earth a long time ago.” With his toys now forgotten between the sheets, he scooted to the edge of the bed, clearly more interested in our conversation. “Did dinosaurs live here on Hollander too?”
“A long, long time ago,” I replied. “Unfortunately, they aren’t around anymore. You can still see them on Raider, though.”
As I said it, I imagined walking through Raider’s zoo hand in hand with Maya, the two of us following after an excited Dylan as he pointed out every little creature on our path. Even though I had promised Maya that nothing would happen between us, at least not before Dylan was better, I couldn’t stop myself from playing all these scenarios inside my head.
Every time I thought of her, my insides got all twisted up. My thoughts became tied in knots, and my sanity seemed to be eroding with each passing day. Every single morning, my first thought was of her.
Still, I intended to keep the promise I had made. Even though I saw her regularly—she was now splitting her time between the hospital and the school—I hadn’t brought up our almost-kiss. When I told her that I wanted Dylan to get better before anything happened between us, I had meant it.
The last thing I wanted was for her to feel pressured into anything. She hadn’t brought it up either and, really, who could blame her? She was working full-time while tending to a sick child, which definitely meant that she had a lot on her mind.
I was pulled from my reverie when my Holopad buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket, read the message on the screen—We’re ready—and tucked it away.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, gently patting Dylan’s shoulder. “Care to walk with me into the next room? You can bring your warsas if you want.”
Quietly, Dylan slid down from the bed and put his slippers on. He grabbed the holographic projector and then reached for my hand. I was surprised at how comfortable Maya’s nephew had become around me, but I wasn’t complaining. Even if things didn’t work out between the two of us, Dylan was still a great kid.
“I’ve asked some of my friends to call me,” I explained as I led him into the adjoining room. The bed Maya