Broken

.9.

Rhex knocked on the door in front of him and I smiled as Ghilesh opened it. He raised an eyebrow as he took us both in. The look he gave was questioning and I tilted my head, my smile widening. "You're supposed to babysit me." I wanted to laugh at the look on his face but I refrained.

"Liviya, you are twenty-five years old, you do not need a babysitter." His tone was sharp and I shrugged, giving a flippant gesture towards Rhex.

"Tell that to Rhex. We were at the Council today where I was given an Orrian citizenship but Rhex needs to go report to his commanding officer." I ignored how Rhex stiffened at my words. "And as I refused to be stuck inside of that apartment by myself any longer and there is the ever present threat of someone throwing me over a balcony if I'm alone. It was decided I needed a babysitter." I could feel my smile turn brittle as I clenched my teeth.

I watched as a flash of amusement crossed Ghilesh's face. "I could use some amusement for the day. Besides, I am in need of someone with your expertise." He held up the door for me to come in and I gave him a smile, ignoring Rhex as I moved past the older man into his cluttered apartment.

"Liv, I will be in the military bay if you need me." Rhex's voice made me turned around so I could give him a tight smile but didn't reply. I was a little testy from being thrown into the teleporter after being told Ghilesh would be 'watching' me for a bit.

"Go do what you need to do, Rhex. She will be fine. Not much trouble we can get into I'm afraid." Ghilesh waved him off but Rhex continued to look at me intently.

I gritted my teeth. "Ghilesh and I are going to be fine. Just go." I turned away from his gaze to look around Ghilesh's sitting room. Dusty books littered the area and there were odd trinkets hanging from the ceiling. I reached up, letting my hand run through the polished glass that hung from the ceiling above my head. I could hear the door close and Ghilesh's mutterings as I continued to reach up and touch the odds and ends hanging from the ceiling.

"Those are important, make sure not to misplace any of them." At his words I pulled my hand back and turned to look at him. He had grabbed a leather bound book and picked up a pen. "Okay, Liviya, I have a few questions for you." He took a stack of books off of a chair before sitting down.

I gave him a small smile as I cleared off the chair across from him to sit on. I settled into the high backed chair, pulling my feet onto it. "Alright, go ahead." I wrapped my arms around my knees, waiting for him to begin.

He paused, muttering under his breath as if trying to gather his thoughts as he shuffled through the pages in the leather book he was holding. "Okay, where is it? Oh, here we are." He pulled out a folded piece of paper and opened it. He scanned it for a few moments and then looked up at me. I gave him a smile. "Alright, Liviya. When you saw Rhex for the first time, when you realized he was your soulmate, what happened? What did you feel?"

I frowned slightly. "That's a really odd question. When I first saw him I had no clue he was my soulmate." I chuckled at the puzzled look on Ghilesh's face. "I had spent seven years believing I had no soulmate and wasn't capable of having one and then suddenly I was confronted with someone who seemed to be the impossible." I shrugged with a small amused smile. "It was impossible. He was impossible."

I shifted in my seat. "I was broken. I had felt that way for seven years. So being given what I had believed was an impossibility made it not click in my head right away." I let my knees go before putting my elbow on the arm of the chair and leaning my chin against my palm. "I was seriously flawed and he was Orrian. It was impossible but he made my world stop anyway. I remember looking at him and for a moment as I looked at him, as I took him in, we were the only two people in this world." I felt the smile grow on my face as I remembered that moment. It was a moment of pure connection to another person, of being suddenly completed for the first time in your life.