Khiva could hardly believe it.

He could hardly believe that a Keriv’i male he knew was in front of him, on Dumera, on the transport vessel to the mines.

“Khiva?” Kavik asked, just as incredulous. “Demav, I thought you were…”

Kavik didn’t finish his sentence, though his thought was clear enough. Instead, the male rose from his seat, placing his wrist to his chest, an ancient Keriv’i gesture of respect, one that Khiva mirrored.

The Laoti female behind him made an impatient sound, breaking him from his dazed stupor. Behind him, a small line had formed where he’d held up the aisle and he inclined his head in apology, quickly sitting beside Kavik, who also reclaimed his seat.

A thousand questions raced in Khiva’s mind. How he had come to be there, had he been on Dumera long, and if not, where had he been in the twelve years since Kerivu had been destroyed? Did he know what had happened to Khiva’s mother and brother, if they made it to a safe colony? Or…if they didn’t make it?

There were too many questions, too many possible answers, that Khiva didn’t even know if he could utter a single one.

Kavik’s father had worked closely with Khiva’s own family line, as a trader advisor for when they exported firestones off planet. Khiva didn’t remember a time when he hadn’t know Kavik, but while they’d never been particularly familiar with one another, Kavik had been a close friend of Khiva’s younger brother.

“I can hardly believe I am seeing you here, after all this time,” Khiva said softly, when he finally found his tongue. “How…how have you come to be here? When?”

Kavik seemed just as struck by their chance encounter as Khiva and it took him a moment longer to recover.

“I have not been here long,” Kavik said. “I came from Jetu.”

“Jetu?” Khiva repeated, surprised and concerned. “I did not know they had accepted surviving Keriv’i.”

Or any race for that matter.

Kavik murmured, “Not quite accepted. Taken, more like. I worked in their research facilities. They wanted me to recreate firestones.”

Khiva froze. “Why?”

Kavik shook his head. “Their fuel resources were severely restricted by the United Worlds after…”

“With good reason,” Khiva said, anger bursting hot in his chest. “They aligned with those that destroyed our planet and yet you worked for them.”

Kavik threw him a sharp look, “I had no choice. It was Jetu or a mining vessel in the Third Quadrant. Do not judge me so harshly, Khiva, for the choices I needed to make.”

Khiva’s jaw unclenched. Mining vessels were notorious for outlawed criminals and species cast-offs. Rapist and murderers and thieves.

“You are right,” Khiva murmured, knowing he was in no position to judge. He inclined his head, “Please accept my apology, Kavik. That time was difficult. For us all.”

Kavik stared. “Did the Prince of Firestones just utter an apology to a lowly trader’s son?”

Khiva huffed out a long breath just as the transport vessel slid into smooth motion. The journey to the mines wasn’t long and Khiva had many questions to ask, since it was likely they would be working in different sections.

“I have changed,” Khiva murmured. “As we all have.”

Kavik’s expression grew somber and he inclined his head in agreement.

“Did you?” Khiva asked softly, eyeing his younger brother’s closest friend. “Did you recreate the firestones?”

Kavik exhaled a sharp breath. “Even Pevka would not teach me. Only your line knows how.”

Hearing his brother’s name was like a whipped lash across his back. Old wounds that had never quite healed properly.

Khiva couldn’t wait another second before asking, “Have you heard from him? From my mother? Do you know if they managed to escape Kerivu that day?”

Khiva’s chest felt tied in knots and he fought hard to breathe past the lump in his throat. His heartbeats slowed and then quickened, his mind not quite knowing if he wanted to hear the truth, or if he wanted Kavik to lie to him.

“I have not,” Kavik said and Khiva’s hands shook so hard he had to clench them, though whether it was from relief or dread, he didn’t know. “On Jetu, I was more a prisoner than a researcher. I only just escaped. I was…punished. Often.”

Khiva inhaled a sharp breath and said softly, “I am sorry for your suffering, Kavik.”

The Jetus were notorious for their mistreatment of their prisoners. Khiva didn’t know if Kavik suffered their infamous cruelty or if he had been spared, but something in the Keriv’i’s gaze told him that he hadn’t been.

“He have all suffered,” Kavik said after a moment. “But I am here now. I am free. As are you.”

Khiva inclined his head, his gaze sliding away from the male.

“Now that I am here, however,” Kavik continued, “I think I know of a Keriv’i I can contact that might have your answers.”

Khiva jerked his head to regard him closely. “You do? Who?”

“I met an Opinu when I was traveling to Dumera, who described a Keriv’i I believe we both know.”

“Who?”

“Dhrika,” Kavik said.

Dhrika. An old friend of his mother’s. Khiva’s head spun. “How do you know it’s him?”

“The Opinu named him. He even commented on Dhrika’s demav mark.”

“The mark on his cheek?” Khiva questioned slowly.

Kavik nodded. “The Opinu said he lived on his home colony and lived near him. He gave me a patch number so I could contact him.”

Hope grew in Khiva’s chest. If any Keriv’i knew where his mother and brother might be, or what happened to them, it would be Dhrika. And though Khiva renewed his application to the Missing Beings branch in the United Worlds annually, he knew that there were simply too many missing beings. If the branch happened to pursue his case, it would be a small miracle in itself. Even still, Khiva had searched for information for the past two months on Dumera with no luck.

Any lead was worth pursuing.

“And did you? Connect with him?” Khiva asked.

His stomach sunk in his belly when Kavik shook his head. “I have tried. The colony might be in blackout, but the patch number seems to be correct.”

“You are searching for your father,” Khiva murmured, realizing that Kavik had also lost a family member in the chaos of that day.

Kavik inclined his head. “Yes.”

“May I have the patch number?” Khiva asked. “I can keep trying as well.”

Kavik apparently had it memorized because the male sounded it off and Khiva committed it quickly to memory himself.

“I cannot believe you are here, Khiva,” Kavik said after a brief moment of silence. They were nearing the mining drop already and they would be separated soon.

“Will you meet me at the depot after this day’s work?” Khiva asked. “There is still so much we must discuss. So many questions.”

Kavik jerked his head in a nod, just as the transport vessel slid to a brisk stop. All the beings stood from their seats as the doors slid open.

“I will.”

Relief filled his chest and Khiva inclined his head, stepping into the line that once again formed.

“Khiva,” Kavik said, stopping him before he exited. Before they went their separate ways, Kavik said, “I am thankful to the demavs, to see you again. To see you well.”

Alive, Khiva knew he meant as the crowded lines pulled them away from one another.

Alive.

Because so many Keriv’i had been lost that day, that day he didn’t want to remember, and many Keriv’i had been lost the many days that came afterwards.