Sammi shook her head, wanting to tell him it was all a mistake—that she hadn’t submitted to him because she felt stuck, but because she’d fallen in love with him.
But Roark clearly didn’t understand.
“I’ve already scheduled the Severing,” he told her in a low voice. “Doctor Liv has told me you should be able to leave the Med Center in a week. On the day you’re released, we’ll go to the Sacred Grove and one of the priestesses there will perform it.” He took a deep breath. “Once she does, the bond between us will be formally severed.”
No! No, no, no! But Sammi was so horrified she couldn’t even mouth the words. She just stared at him, feeling like her heart was breaking all over again. Her eyes began to sting with hot tears.
He doesn’t want you, whispered a little voice in her head. This whole Severing thing is just another excuse to never see you again.
Roark rose to go while she was still reeling.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, looking at Sammi with eyes full of anguish. “So sorry for how shamefully I have wronged you, Samantha. I’m doing the only thing I can think of to make things right between us. I hope that some day you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Then he turned swiftly and left the room, leaving Sammi to sob silently into her hands.
Sixty-One
“Sammi, honey? Are you okay?” Meg came to sit beside the bed and squeezed Sammi’s hand.
Sammi tried to smile but she could feel the effort fall flat. She hadn’t been able to feel anything but a dull sadness ever since Roark had come a week ago to tell her they would be severing their relationship both formally and permanently.
“Are you still thinking about that jerk, Commander Roark?” Meg demanded, frowning. “I can’t believe he had me fooled into thinking he was a nice guy when he’s actually such a jerk! I can’t believe—”
She was interrupted—to Sammi’s great relief—by a knock on the door. She still couldn’t talk so it was almost impossible to stop her friend from going on and on about the one subject that was so painful Sammi could barely even stand to think about it—let alone discuss it.
She’d been trying all week to put Roark out of her mind but today she couldn’t avoid him. Because today was the day of the Severing. In fact, it was probably Doctor Liv at the door right now, getting ready to release her from the Med Center.
“Come in,” Meg called, since Sammi couldn’t. Sure enough, a blonde head popped through the door and Liv said,
“Excuse me, Samantha—we need to talk to you.”
We? Sammi wondered but her question was soon answered when a little hairy creature that looked like a cross between a baboon and a hound dog walked into her room right behind Liv. He was wearing a miniature lab coat and his long ears flopped when he walked.
“This is Yipper, the Tolleg Surgeon who helped save your life when Commander Roark first brought you in,” Liv said, nodding at the little creature.
He nodded vigorously at Sammi.
“It’s very nice to meet you. Yes it is, yes it is!”
Sammi just nodded back, since she was unable to speak.
“Are you here to release Sammi from the Med Center?” Meg asked hopefully. “And to tell her when she can speak again? We can carry on a conversation just fine because we’re so close, but it’s going to be hard on her if she can’t talk to anyone else,” she added.
“Well, that’s what we’re here to talk about.” Liv had a serious look on her pretty face that struck fear in Sammi’s heart. Instinctively she put a hand to her throat. It was still a little bit tender but no longer sore or painful—she seemed to be healing well, so what was the problem?
“Samantha…Sammi…” Liv came to sit on the side of her bed and took one of Sammi’s hands in hers. “You know that your trachea was partially crushed during the attack you suffered down on Earth, right?”
Sammi nodded and raised her eyebrows. Yes, and…?
“Well, your larynx—your voice box—was also damaged, we fear permanently,” Liv told her. “We’ve been hoping that spending a week of complete bed rest might enable it to heal some but, well…I understand from your friend Meg that you still can’t make any sounds?”
Well, I haven’t really tried since I’ve been under orders not to, Sammi wanted to say. She opened her mouth and tried—really tried—to talk for the first time since she’d woken up in the Med Center.
Nothing came out.
Sammi tried harder. She voiced a shout…that came out as soft choking sound and a rush of air. The effort felt like a knife in her neck and she gasped and put a hand to her throat, her eyes tearing up with pain.