Earthrise (Her Instruments Book 1) by M.C.A. Hogarth

reason Reese still has any of her digestive system’s because it hasn’t found an organ bank to defect to.”
    A laugh surprised its way out of Hirianthial. He sealed the clamp. “Yes, I noticed. And we’re done here. How do you feel?”
    “Like I don’t trust my body,” Sascha said, pushing himself up on his palms. “Is it safe to walk around?”
    “Walk but not run. Be gentle with it. Have you had a bone set this way before?” When Sascha shook his head, Hirianthial said, “Don’t expect to sleep much. You’re going to be hungry often enough to wake in the middle of the night, probably several times. That’s normal: your body is burning through your stores generating new cells at several times the usual speed. Eat until you’re sated whenever you’re hungry and we should be able to take the clamp off in two days, maybe three.”
    “Right,” Sascha said. “Look, doc, let me give you a tip. In the next few days Reese is going to try everything she can think of to get you to go away. Just ignore her and she’ll make you an offer.”
    Hirianthial stared at him. “Why would I ever stay if she wants me to leave?”
    “Because she doesn’t really want you to leave,” Sascha said. He chuckled. “Look, you’re exotic and you fascinate her, just like the rest of us. Who doesn’t want to know more about a real Eldritch? But you arrived in her life in a way that makes her feel like she’s lost control, which means she has to get it back even if she ends up forcing the decision in a direction she doesn’t want. Let her feel like she’s in charge and she’ll let you stay.”
    “You keep presuming that there’s some reason for me to stay beyond ministering to your captain’s stress-taxed biology,” Hirianthial said. He no longer made the pretense of putting away the medical kit but looked at the tigraine directly.
    “Well, like I said, it’s not like you have some other place to go,” Sascha replied.
    “And how do you divine that?” Hirianthial asked, careful to project only curiosity and not his alarm.
    The other chuckled. “Look, arii , I’ve been around a while. I’ve been through times where there’s been no place to go. Not because there wasn’t, but because I just couldn’t, wouldn’t go to the places that were left. I know your patience. It’s the kind you get when there’s nothing pressing pulling you on.”
    Though appalled, Hirianthial showed only polite interest. Still, something in his face must have changed enough for the tigraine to see.
    “Hey, it’s not like it’s some terrible crime!” Sascha said. “We’ve all been there, most of us. Certainly all of us on this berth. And like I said, this isn’t all that terrible a place to work. We see a lot of interesting places, hauling cargo. Some of them are good and some of them are bad and all of them are new. It’s something to do.”
    “I really need to get back to work,” Hirianthial said, finding his voice at last and tapping the kit. “This is what I do.”
    “For now, anyway,” Sascha said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t look too old and your people live longer than tortoises, right? What’s a couple of years... a couple of decades, even! To someone who lives that long?”
    “Time is always precious,” Hirianthial said softly.
    “Only if you fill it with something,” Sascha said. “Otherwise it’s marking the hours.” He gingerly rolled onto his knees. “Speaking of marking hour, I need to get back to repairs.”
    “Don’t let something else fall on you, ah?”
    “No,” Sascha said. “Definitely not in my plan. Thanks, arii .”
     
    Reese surprised herself by falling asleep, rocking in her hammock with Allacazam burbling the white noise of a brook. She wasn’t sure if that was his way of lulling her or his version of snoring, but she liked it either way. She woke feeling better, if not completely hale, and decided that was healthy enough to go keep an eye on things. On her way off