Page 53 of Dark Princess: Shadows

It was as if her mouth had forgotten how to form words.

Then she remembered him telling her his name.

Bran-don. Perhaps she could start with that. Just saying his name.

Hesitantly, she extended her tongue and licked her lips. They felt sticky, coated with something that the medics must have applied to soften them.

The taste was unpleasant.

She swallowed, trying to bring more moisture into her dry mouth, and then formed the syllables of his name. "Bran-don," she said slowly, and the triumph felt even greater than her earlier victory of opening her eyes.

"You said my name." He gently squeezed the hand that was still pressed against his chest. "You can talk. Oh, Princess. You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Something struck her as odd about his response. His lips hadn't moved in synch with the words she'd heard, and she realized that the sound had come from a small device hanging from a cord around his neck.

Curious, she reached for it, and to her surprise, her hand responded to her command.

He allowed her to hold it, watching as she examined it with questioning eyes. She wanted to ask what it was, but forming her earlier words had drained what little energy she had for speech.

"It's a translation device," he explained, seeming to understand her unspoken question. "It translates my native language to Kra-ell."

Morelle managed to lift her head slightly, looking down at her own chest, but she found nothing similar there. How would he understand her when she didn't have a similar device?

Not that she'd said much, just his name, and now she felt too exhausted to say more. Perhaps he could understand her, or maybe the device worked in both directions?

Brandon smiled, touching something in his ear. "I have earpieces that translate what you're saying in Kra-ell to my language. When you feel well enough, you'll get a pair of these so you can understand those who don't have a teardrop." His hand dropped to the translator hanging from his neck, which was indeed shaped like a teardrop.

Morelle had so many questions about the technology, about this new world she'd awakened to, but one concern pressed more urgently than all others. "Ell-rom?" she managed to ask.

"Ell-rom has them, too," Brandon replied.

He'd misunderstood. "Here?" she clarified, condensing the inquiry after her brother into one word.

Understanding dawned in Brandon's eyes, followed by what looked like disappointment, and she realized that he thought she was dismissing him in favor of her brother.

Didn't he understand that she'd listened to him for so many hours and felt like she knew him well already, while she'd only had a few precious moments with Ell-rom before exhaustion had pulled her under again?

"I'll tell him you're awake," Brandon said, releasing her hand and turning toward the door.

"Bran-don," she said softly, waiting until he looked back over his shoulder. "Thank you."

His smile returned, and he nodded before opening the door.

35

ELL-ROM

When Brandon emerged from Morelle's room, Ell-rom rose to his feet. "Is she awake?"

Brandon nodded. "She's asking for you."

Ell-rom's heart skipped a beat. "She spoke?"

"Not much. She said my name, which was nice to hear, your name, and here, which I understood to mean that she wants you there. She then said my name again and added thank you. I'd say that's absolutely spectacular progress in one hour since waking up after thousands of years in stasis."

The words had Ell-rom's chest expanding by a few inches.

"My sister is a fighter." He turned to Annani, who was practically vibrating with anticipation beside him. "Both my sisters are fighters. Would you like to come meet her?"