Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

What did he have to be afraid about?

As the ship slowed down, Nia turned her gaze back to the view screen.

Space was dark—at least, this section of it was.

It was like staring into…nothing.

To think that Earth was out there somewhere…it was hard to imagine even though she knew it was true.

As she stared through the view screen, something appeared out of the dark void.

One minute, she was looking at nothing, and the next, a ship was in front of her.

Nia jumped back and bumped into Ka’Cit.

She hadn’t realized he’d been standing behind her.

“Don’t worry. It’s him.”

Him.

She had no idea who “him” was but if he was helping other humans somewhere in this nothingness, she guessed he was a good person.

The other ship moved around theirs to position itself at the back and soon, the AI spoke. “Vessel docking. Airlock integrated.”

“He’s boarding,” Ka’Cit said and moved forward.

In the next few moments, Nia held her breath and reached for her blaster.

Ka’Cit glanced at her, his gaze moving to the gun in her hands. “Won’t do much damage against him with that.”

Huh?

She’d seen it burn a hole through metal and burn a living being to a crisp.

“He won’t hurt you either…I don’t think.”

Nia’s eyes widened and she gripped the gun tighter. Just what the hell did that mean?

“Not that I’d let him.” Those last words came under his breath as if he was talking to himself but now there was tension in her veins as she gripped the blaster.

In the next few seconds, the red light above the door changed to green and the doors opened to a…

Nia blinked, surprise catching her off guard.

A robot?

“V’Alen.” Ka’Cit took a step forward.

The robot blinked and he ignored Ka’Cit for his gaze found her immediately.

Nia didn’t know what to do. She could only stare.

She’d seen a lot of shit since leaving Earth, she’d even seen robots at the Exchange. Shit, even Riv had robots on his farm tending the hay fields, but none of the robots she’d seen looked like this one.

His body was completely metal, except for his face, which looked…human.

It was…unnerving and interesting at the same time.