Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (hardest books to read txt) 📕

raced to piece together where I was. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and my limbs tingled with lingering energy. From the darkness, a soft hand reached out and cupped my face, freezing me in place.

“Lux? Are you okay?” Lia asked, lying just inches away from me. “You were breathing so heavily in your sleep, I was worried.” Her other hand pressed flat against my chest as she felt my heartbeat. “Was it another memory from Hedaat?”

“I’m...I’m fine. Thank you,” I stammered. “I was having a dream. It was...strange. Not like any of the ones I’ve had before.” I placed my hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry that I woke you.”

“It’s fine,” she said sweetly as she rolled over. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” I draped my arm over her waist and took her hand as I tried to get comfortable again.

I’ll try, Amaya.

***

7. A SIMPLE CONVERSATION

“Lia, your father needs you down in his workshop,” Hana called out from around the corner. “He says it will only take a minute.”

Lia groaned as she pushed away from the dining room table. “If I’m gone longer than five minutes, please come and get me.”

“Oh, no,” I grinned as I waved her away, “I think it’s your turn now. I’ve had my fair share of one-on-one conversations with him.”

She took one last angry bite of her toast and stared me down as she chewed, then turned and walked away in a huff. I couldn’t help but laugh knowing what she was walking into; with Valandra arriving within the hour, we had been waiting for the moment when Marten would call on one of us to impart some fatherly advice. Kicking my feet up on her now vacant chair, I spread an extra layer of asperberry jam on my toast and enjoyed my small victory.

Hana’s head poked out from behind the wall Lia had disappeared behind moments before. “Lux? Do you have a moment?”

Her sudden appearance took me by surprise, and I scrambled clumsily to straighten in my chair. “Oh, um, of course,” I said, my mouth half-full of food. A nervous tingle sparked in the back of my neck as I came to the realization that I had never had a full conversation alone with Hana before. She crossed the room and sat down at the table, clearing the plate in front of her to make a space to rest her elbows.

She scanned me intently with her chin resting gently on her clasped hands. Apart from the two rounded ears poking up through the hair on her head and the faint creases of her face, her resemblance to Lia was uncanny, a fact which only added to my strange feeling of nervousness. I could feel my insides squirm in the uncomfortable silence as I waited for her to speak. Relief came after what felt like an eternity under her inquisitive gaze. “How are you, Lux?”

The question was not one I expected, given how my prior discussions with Marten had gone. “I’m...well, thank you. Uh, how are you?”

A small smile spread across her face, accentuating the well-worn laugh lines in her cheeks. “I’m a bit anxious this morning. It isn’t easy to watch your only child embark on a mission that may take her into danger.” My face flushed as I moved to apologize, but she waved me away. “That being said, there is nobody I would rather her be with than you.”

“Oh,” I said as the heat in my face intensified. “T-thank you. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I’m sure you won’t!” Her head tilted from one side to the other, and her smile grew as she examined my face again. “Lia was right about you.”

“Oh?” I repeated myself. Get ahold of yourself, man.

“I’ve done my best to respect her boundaries, but as her mother, I needed to know more about who she decided to travel with.” Hana watched me thoughtfully. “I didn’t get much out of her, but she told me you’re a kind person behind the tough front you put up; that has never been more apparent to me than right now,” she said with a soft giggle.

“I’m glad she feels that way,” I said, partially regaining my wits. “It’s easy for me to be kind when I’m surrounded by kind people. I’ve never felt more welcome in a home than I have in yours.” My warm tone became tinged with bitterness as I continued. “Unfortunately, good people can be hard to find out there. I’ve found that a sharp edge is better than a kind heart in most situations.”

She nodded as a pained expression crossed her face. “We’ve all learned a hard lesson about that recently.” Her interlocked fingers tightened under her chin. “Lia also said that you...carry a great deal of pain,” she said haltingly, “and that you’ve gone through some terrible things.”

I paused to consider how much to tell her. “More than most,” I finally agreed. “The constant fighting and meeting the worst people the world has to offer is certainly tiring. It’s a tough thing to go through alone, and I was alone for a long time.” A smile spread across my face as I continued. “But I’m not alone anymore. I truly enjoy travelling with your daughter; she’s a very special person.”

Hana’s eyes grew misty as she smiled. “We’re very proud of the young lady she’s become.” After a brief pause, her hand darted across the table to rest on mine. “Lux, I know it isn’t my place to pry, but I hope that you and Lia can—”

Her next words were lost as a door slammed open around the corner from us. “Honestly!” Lia shouted as she thundered her way across the house. Rounding the corner in a fury, she hardly seemed to notice us as she stormed outside. Her face was a deep shade of red, and she stared out with a deadly glare.

Wordlessly, Hana and I stood from the table and moved to assess