Read Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) for Free Online

intangible and thus unimportant,” he stated, sure that he’d struck a nerve.
    “Wait, are you saying that my work is unimportant?”
    He nodded. “That is a logical extrapolation.”
    Aevum’s mouth fell open in shock; she stammered a couple of times before she wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood. She quickly ensconced herself in her jacket and fastened it all the way to her neck.
    “Thank you for your opinion Karincin. I’m glad that we discovered our fundamental differences now rather than later, after we’d wasted more time trying to Pair Bond with one another.”
    Karo sat immobile, shocked that she’d risen from the table. “You’re leaving?” he clarified, although he already knew the answer.
    “I think it’s best, don’t you? Goodbye, and good luck with your work.”
    Karo watched as Aevum quickly weaved through the tables of patrons and exited the restaurant. He saw several of the people seated nearby turn in their seats and look at him. It was clear that there had been an audience to their argument. Anger, shock, and embarrassment washed over him. He wasted no time paying their bill and leaving.
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 5
     
    When Karincin entered his family’s building he was immensely relieved that his parents weren’t waiting at the door to ask about his evening. He would have been forced to tell them the truth—that his First Meeting with Aevum had gone so badly that she’d left after the third course and declared their pairing finished.
    He couldn’t believe the nerve of her! Who was she to question his work?
    Karo was madder than he could ever remember being. He stormed straight to his rooms, threw his jacket onto a chair, and began to pace back and forth as he analyzed exactly where the evening had went wrong.
    Of course it was all her fault! She was the one who’d strayed from the recommended cue cards. She was the reason they’d broached the topic of the Scout missions, and it had been her who’d criticized his work.
    Needing a better way to burn off the boiling anger than pacing a hole in the floor, he changed into light-weight clothing and headed to the building’s exercise rooms.
    He contacted his closest friend Reus on his wristunit, and thankfully was able to talk him into a game of virtual ochtoball this late in the evening.
    The Abishek family’s exercise rooms took up an entire floor of their building. It was sectioned into individual spaces that allowed for focus, but Karo only ever used one. Set into the back corner, his favorite room was packed with the latest in virtual technology, most of which he’d designed himself.
    As he entered, the virtual system automatically configured the room’s lighting, floor density, and temperature to his predetermined specifications.
    “Load program delta-two,” Karo barked at the virtual room.
    The room changed again, this time transforming the window panes into solid walls and configuring them into an octagonal shape. Holographic equipment hung from racks near the entrance and Karo quickly selected his favorite racket. He waited impatiently until a holographic image of Reus stood in the middle of the room.
    Reus also had a virtual exercise room in his apartment, which he and Karo had installed. They often linked their systems and played “together” using the interface.
    “I’m assuming your first date didn’t go well?” Reus asked without preamble.
    Karo’s response was a vicious glare at his friend’s holographic image.
    Reus held up his hands in a sign of surrender. “Whoa, I’m not the enemy! Direct your venom elsewhere!”
    “Can we just begin the match and not talk about my evening with Aevum?”
    “Sure. I just can’t remember us ever playing ochtoball this late in the evening. Thought you might need to get something off of your chest.”
    Karo’s reply was to serve the ball. It bounced off one of the eight walls, and Reus took a few quick steps to get his racket within range.
    “So, do you want to