The Celestial Code

Chapter Ten

Dessa jerked her head up, her grip on the tablet tightening as she glared with wide eyes at Zaire. "Is this where we're going?" she whispered.

Zaire made a face as he held his hand out for the tablet. Dessa hesitated. That wasn't really what she had been looking for, but she couldn't exactly go through the tablet now with Zaire standing there. Reluctantly, she handed it over.

"Is it? What's Project Polphemius? What were they doing there? It looks like the scientists went insane or something."

Zaire shut the tablet off and took a step forward. He reached around her and Dessa froze, every nerve in her body acutely aware of how he close he was as he leaned around her and set the tablet back down on the console. His bare arm brushed against hers and Dessa jerked away, folding her arms protectively around herself. The prince had changed and now wore a pair of black jogger pants and a black tank top - similar to hers - only it showed muscular, toned arms and the start of a ripped chest poking out from beneath the upper part of his shirt.

The body of a honed soldier.

"Yes," he said, straightening. "That is where we're going."

"And?"

"And?" he repeated

Dessa scowled. Why did he have to be so infuriating?

"And what's this project? What happened to that scientist?"

Zaire seemed to think about it for a moment and then shrugged, folding his arms as he leaned back against the wall. "I've only heard rumors."

Dessa blew out an aggravated breath. Did it always have to be twenty questions with him? "And what are the rumors?"

"Just that my father sent a bunch of scientists out into space and provided them with test subjects to experiment on. Some of the test subjects became a bit... unruly and picked off the scientists. There's one left that I know of. My father has all but abandoned the project. It was a failure. He's recalled her, but she refuses to return. She says her work isn't complete," he explained it all so matter-of-factly like it was nothing that they were heading onto a ship with a crazed scientist.

Dessa gaped at him. "Why do we have to go there again?"

Zaire smirked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jogger. He blew a strand of silvery hair out of his face. "Because I need something from there. I have it on good authority that one of their projects did succeed and this scientist can give it to me."

"It'll help with the war?"

Zaire tapped his fingers against his forearm. Dessa kept her eyes on his face, purposely not noticing his very toned, very touchable biceps. He was Celest. A handsome Celest with a really nice body and pretty eyes, but still a Celest. The son of the man who had ordered her mother's death.

"Something like that," he mused.

Dessa scowled. She was getting really tired of this. There was no way for her to control the ship or steer them to Tarra. Whether she liked it or not, she was along for this ride, and if that was so then she just couldn't go on like this. He may be a Celest, but at the moment they were all each other had.

A small headache began to pulse in her forehead. She winced, rubbing at it as she scowled at him. "We aren't doing this."

"Doing what?" he asked, cocking his head with a slight grin like he found her annoyance funny.

She glared at him and for a split second an image flashed across her mind. A picture of Zaire sitting in a chair running his hands through his hair. He had a pensive look on his face when he glanced up.