Lib Novel Page 47
She had to force herself to do this, because she could feel the anxiety simmering in her chest, as if ready to squeeze her throat shut and cut off her air supply if she dropped her guard.
She pulled her gaze away from the alien.
In the short time since she’d met him, he’d seen her at her most vulnerable and she didn’t like it.
She hadn’t had a panic attack like this in a long time.
The last one had been when she’d been carried in a box to Riv at the Sanctuary, but this was a stark reminder that she still had a problem.
At least the guy didn’t appear to be judging her.
He seemed confused and concerned more than anything else.
For the next few minutes, they sat in silence while Nia focused on her breathing.
The longer she worked on it, the easier it became.
13
She reckoned a quarter of an hour passed before she was able to breathe normally again.
And in all that time, the alien beside her hummed. He was watching her, too, observing her every movement.
His presence was…surprisingly calming.
Glancing around them once more, Nia repeated the question she’d asked before her panic attack had flared up.
She motioned to the space around them. “What is this place?”
He stopped humming then, and his gaze followed her movements as he looked around.
She wondered if he would understand what she was trying to ask.
Just how could they communicate when her words probably sounded like gibberish to him?
“This was food storage long ago,” he said after a few moments, and Nia felt a jolt of triumph. He had understood her, somehow. “I doubt Herza will look for you, for us, here.”
Herza. That damn female captain.
If she hadn’t been so greedy…
Nia’s gaze flicked over the gray walls.
And if her rescuer hadn’t known about this place…
She’d heard when Herza ordered that the henchmen should kill her on sight.
A bit drastic, but she’d long come to realize that this new world was an unforgiving place.
Nia breathed out a hard, steady breath.
Just how had she found herself in this mess?
As the silence surrounded them, her senses alerted her to something else.
The little room was warm, but that warmth was slowly becoming almost unbearable.
She fanned a hand in front of her face to try and get some of the air moving, but it had little effect.