Vall's Will Read Online Free PDF

nearly
bumped into the figure leaning in the doorway.
    Will stopped
abruptly and stared up at Vall swaying slightly. He appeared to be confused or
disoriented. He was no longer naked. A pair of off-duty slacks hung off his
bony hips, but he had shed the pullover top. His wrists were bound in medicated
wraps, and she could see similar adhesive patches around his ribs and
shoulders.
    His face lit up
at the sight of her. His gritty thick hair had been pulled into a single rope
behind his back. For a moment, Will blinked at the sight of his chest. His male
nipples were heart-shaped. When he moved in her direction, she glanced back up
at him.
    “What are
you doing out of your cabin?”
    Golden brown
eyes looked pleadingly at her. There was no telling what the man was thinking,
but it was obvious something had persuaded him to move about the ship. Maybe
after all those years confined in his small cell on the Objurian ship, he
needed this freedom suddenly allowed to him. If that was so, why hadn’t the
sensors noticed him moving about before now, and summoned someone to come offer
to return him to his cabin? Surely someone was monitoring from the bridge.
    Maybe someone
did. Maybe someone tried to persuade him to go back, but Vall ignored them. If
Vall had refused to obey, no one would have forced him. He was their guest, and
as far as they knew posed no threat. Even if one of her crew members had
attempted to return him, either physically or with their shield, that person
would have had to answer to her for their actions. When it came to Vall, she
was quickly finding herself becoming increasingly protective of him as she
tried to learn more about his history with the Ben Objure.
    Giving him a
warm smile, she decided to change her tactic. “Hello, Vall. I’m thirsty.
What about you? Would you like something to drink?” She held out her hand,
which he took without hesitation. Together, they entered the room.
    She procured two
packets and filled them with water from a wall dispenser. After handing one to
him, she gestured for him to follow her, and led him back into the corridor.
    The lower part
of the ship, directly under the bridge, was a place where everyone came to
relax and enjoy the view via the immense, bubble-shaped dome that encompassed
nearly the entire chamber. Referred by the crew as the observation deck, the
place was empty this time of night, for which she was grateful. It would take
him time to adjust to being around humans.
    She led Vall
into the room, then paused to let the man soak in the view of space swirling
around them. After a few moments, she gave his hand a tug and led him over to a
small divan against the bulkhead. Here, the cushions were large and comfy, just
right for relaxing. With a little luck, she might become drowsy enough to fall
asleep.
    “I love to
come here when I’m tense or tired. Looking out at all those stars and planets
calms me.” She glanced over at where his gaze never wavered from the view.
In the distance, a small nebula blazed in shades of red, blue, and purple, and
the colors reflected across his face in the dark room. She watched as he drank
from the packet with audible gulps. Already, she could see a slight change in
him. Most of the grime had been wiped away, but overall he still wasn’t
completely clean. At least, he didn’t stink anymore. Plus, the medicines
Killjorn had given him appeared to be working.
    Time. He’ll
need lots of time. And he’ll have to take one step at a time to recover
mentally and physically. And baby steps, at that.
    She continued to
study him. Knowing he had been a prisoner of the Ben Objure explained a lot
about his muteness. Even more about his reactions. Her heart ached at the
thought of what a nine-year-old had been forced to endure, and continuously
endure for nearly twenty horrible years.
    “Tomorrow,
I think we’ll introduce you to the cleansing chamber. You’ll like the way you
feel after you go through it.”
    He took one last
draw on