Chapter 26: Please Touch Me

Thane Drogos

I never considered Evelyn wouldn't want to go home. How could she choose the life forced upon me when she had so much waiting for her in Avalon?

Then it began to make sense.

A pretty cage is still a cage. And Evelyn's wings were meant to fly.

When I didn't answer her right away, she started to ramble, twisting one of her locks in her fingers. She went on and on about how much she could offer me. Maybe she could be a translator or an apprentice, but I wasn't listening.

She didn't need to explain her worth to me. I already saw it.

From how she asked my mother about the water filtration system to how she learned the mechanics of an anchor. Evelyn helped Shep with the livestock and watered the plants in the galley with One-Eye. I didn't ask her to learn these things or be interested in the ship, but she was.

I saw.

I tried to stop her from rambling, but she kept going, not noticing. Evelyn's loveliness struck me again. The soft flush on her cheeks. Those