Chapter 36
With the Tellusian fleet in sight, Nia’s heart pumped an anxious rhythm in her chest. The sight of two Destroyers, their armaments glinting in the light cast by the other smaller ships around them, made her stomach clench in a tight knot, adding to her nausea.
Lexi. Oh no, Lexi.
She couldn’t get the sight of Mace’s sister’s bruised face out of her head. Her stomach threatened to empty itself. Would Lexi be suffering like she had with those mind moles? Would her throat be raw with screams? Could something worse be happening to her?
Nia couldn’t stop the morbid cycle of her thoughts.
She and Mace hadn’t spoken as they’d traveled to the new co-ordinates Lexi had sent. Those were some of the longest hours of her life.
Panic had clawed her as they’d waited for some sort of communique. Thoughts of all the ways they would suffer if stranded in deep space bombarded her. Running out of food, air, freezing to death—it became a never-ending loop of doom.
When Grey finally got in touch, she’d never been more relieved.
Now the Tellusian fleet neared, each of the smaller ships becoming more distinct.
“That’s a CORE freighter,” she murmured, leaning forward. “How would you get one of those?”
“We have our ways,” Mace said, voice flat and body rigid. His hands moved over the controls, then his vambrace.
Every part of her ached for him. Her battle-ready warrior could do nothing for his sister, and he’d had only time to think about it on their journey here.
“This is what’s going to happen,” said Mace as he drew nearer to the one Destroyer, his arms tight against her shoulders and his voice soft in her ear. “I’m not bringing you aboard officially. We’ll get you emancipated, then you’ll stay out of sight until I can get you on a transport. Understand?”
She nodded, her throat too tight to speak. After all her insisting she wanted to go home, his words stabbed her heart.
Mace circled around one of the Destroyers and flew the Condor into the starboard aft hangar, passing through its shielding with a sizzle. Shuttles, fighters, and smaller transports lined the deck and inner bulkheads. Once between two shuttles at the rear of the hangar, Mace lowered their ship.
Two warriors stood by, both looking about as deadly as anyone could in a casual way. The fighter’s hum disappeared to nothing as Mace powered down, then the canopy opened. Besides a few maintenance workers, the hangar was quiet.
Hands on her hips, Mace lifted her over the edge. Glad to get out of the cramped fighter, Nia climbed out and descended the retracting ladder.
Her feet hit the deck with a satisfying thud. She turned, eyeing the two warriors.
The one on the left, tall and lanky, wore dark glasses that concealed his eyes. Tattoos wrapped around his neck. The other warrior was shorter, stocky. A wicked scar sliced downward into his eye socket.
How could he have survived such a wound?
The one with the glasses raised his eyebrows at her frown, and the other stared at her with an assessing gaze. Once Mace joined her on the deck, they stepped forward to embrace his forearm in turn.
Mace spoke in Tellusian, his eyes sliding to her before he stepped closer and ran a hand down her spine. She leaned into him.
“Everything is arranged,” Mace said to her in Common. “We need to go take you to processing.”
Her heart leaped at the word. He must have seen the trepidation on her face, because he added, “It’s where we need to go to emancipate you officially. I want there to be no question you are free if someone were to happen upon you before you get on a transport.”
She nodded even though her stomach clenched and churned at the thought of leaving.
Mace tipped his head to the two men in front of them. “This is Spiro,” he said, indicating the one with the dark glasses who gave her a nod. “And Betel.” The other man only grunted. “You can trust them.” He turned to his friends. “Did Cache survive? Did she pick up the shuttle my sister tagged?”
“Cache is kicking,” Spiro said. “We know nothing of a shuttle.”
“Who’s planning the offensive?” Mace asked.
“Admiral Krispin,” Betel answered, his voice coming out like a scratchy bark.
“Good. There isn’t another I’d trust more with my life. What about the tyros? How are they doing?”
“Recovering,” Spiro answered, his mouth grim. “They weren’t ready for battle.”
“No,” Mace agreed.
Nia swallowed, remembered the young ages of Mace’s trainees.
“What of Lexi?” Spiro asked.
Tension snapped through his body. “A Guardian picked her up.”
Betel growled at the same time as Spiro cursed in Tellusian, making her jump. Mace gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder.
“We won’t rest until we get her back,” Mace said, his voice harder than she’d ever heard it.
The other two nodded their agreement.
“Let’s go,” he said to Nia, running his hand to her hip. She tucked herself into his side and headed out of the hangar.
Everything was quiet as they stepped into the corridor, like it was nighttime hours. They traveled in a strange formation, Mace at her side with Spiro in the front and Betel at the rear—like all three of them expected trouble on their own ship.
They didn’t encounter any as they took a lift downward. With Mace at her back and the other two in front, the lift felt incredibly small.
Processing had the same feel as it did on Orion, sterile and impersonal, a medicinal scent hovering over everything. A shiver of apprehension tickled her spine when the processor, a woman with long brown hair, took them into one of the small rooms. Nia sat at one side of the table, the processor on the other. The three warriors behind her formed a formidable wall, and the processor kept glancing at them as she went through the emancipation procedure.
Every so often, like when the processor asked her about her missing bonds, Mace would bark a response in Tellusian back at her. The tension in the room kept escalating, the processor’s expression more shuttered. Long minutes later, Nia was given a palette, a clean uniform marking her as a civilian, and an ID number attached to her one name.
It was over, she was free, a Tellusian citizen.
The processor scurried from the room like it held a plague.
Standing from the table, Nia turned and regarded the three warriors.
These were her people now. Until I reach home.
Swallowing the panicked feelings bubbling in her throat, Nia took Mace’s hand when he offered it and followed the other two out. They traveled to another deck, then the pair who’d met them at the hangar gave Mace a nod before leaving them in front of a door.
“These are my assigned quarters,” Mace said as he scanned his hand. “You’ll be safe here until your transport.”
The quarters were small, about the same size as the ones she’d had on Elara Five. There was one narrow bed, a refrigeration unit, and a desk-type table and chair affixed to the bulkhead on the other side.
Tugging on her fingers, Mace sat on the bed, and pulled her between his legs. His hands stroked her arms when he spoke.
“Your transport leaves at oh-nine-hundred. Don’t leave this room until then. Go straight to the hangar, board using your new ID. Keep your palette close. You’ll need it to make your connections. Don’t talk to anyone. They’ll know your CORE right off from your accent, and they’ll expect bonds, or for you to speak Tellusian. They’ll test you if they’re suspicious. And if you’re put through the system again, the way I’ve gone about things to keep you safe, I don’t think they’d bother to contact me. Don’t get caught.”
She licked her dry lips. “What do you mean? What things?”
“When you first arrived on Orion, your DNA was flagged as ruling class and I had to pay to bury it.” A haunted expression crossed his face. “I’m not proud of how my people treat captives, but I can’t change it. Not overnight. You don’t deserve any of this.”
He pressed his face into her stomach, holding her close. “I couldn’t have released you before, not safely. But if you keep your head down, this will work.” He tipped his head to meet her eyes. “Betel acquired contacts for your journey. Everything is set up on our end until you reach a hub closer to Jupiter. From there you need to get to your family. No military. No administrators. Do you understand?”
She nodded, her throat so tight she couldn’t even ask questions.
“I would send a warrior detail with you, but it would draw more attention. You need to do this as quietly as possible.” His fingers squeezed her hips. “And when I leave here tonight, I won’t be returning. We’re going to take back Orion. This is our goodbye, Nia.”
Fear for him, of his upcoming mission, assailed her. He’d disregarded his people’s laws to see her free. She lifted her hands from his shoulders and sank them into his hair. Closing his eyes, he groaned and pulled her to him, his cheek against her sternum.
Tears pricked her eyes. This was it. Her last few hours with him. Then she’d never see him again.
How had her perspective changed so much in such a short time? How was the thought of leaving this man wounding her like no other pain in her life? How was the idea of returning home filling her with more apprehension than remaining with the people who were supposed to be her enemy?
Releasing a slow breath, she leaned away enough to take the hem of her shirt and pull it over her head. She cupped his face in her hands, the short growth of his facial hair tickling her palms.
“I need you,” she whispered, throat tight, then kissed him with all the desperation climbing through her chest.
He moaned against her lips, tongue sweeping inside. She yanked at his uniform, fumbling with the zipper, relieved when he took over to reveal his gorgeous chest and arms. Wherever she touched, she tried to memorize every detail, to imprint the essence of him on her mind.
Frantic, they tore at each other’s clothes until naked. They tumbled sideways to the narrow bed, a tangle of limbs. Every place their skin made contact induced gasps, shivers pebbling her skin.
His touch never demanded, only coaxed and guided. These hands she’d see kill, handled her like she was breakable. Every tender stroke made her heart ache.
Their lips drank from each other, the edge of desperation never diminishing. It only increased, but in a reverent way.
She would have almost rather this been as wild as their first time—to ease the anguish overtaking her chest.
When he finally entered her, thick but gentle, tears leaked from her eyes.
He shifted their positions, rolling, until she was on top. She rocked against him, her movements subtle, trying to make it last as long as possible. She should be running away from this man and every lethal part of him, but she couldn’t. She loved him. With how everything started between them, it didn”t make sense, but it was the truth.
The realization did nothing to ease her anguish. On a ragged moan, she rocked faster. Her fingernails bit into the skin of his chest. His hips met hers, but never pushed them over the edge of frantic.
Keeping their eyes locked, he cupped her breast, his fingertips toying with her nipples in light squeezes. Pleasure swirled through her, taking over her mind. She could only feel and stare, his icy eyes full of emotion, mesmerizing.
Her breaths became staccato, heat crawling up her spine. Pressure built inside her chest and stomach. He reached between them, thumbing her clit, and she came on a cry of surrender. Pleasure rushed through her, hot and tingly, then she collapsed forwards, burying her face into his neck.
Fingers dug into her hips as he thrust, more aggressive. His groan turned into a shout, body shaking, as he came inside her. She kept rocking against him, taking each one of his tremors, then bit his jugular gently.
With or without enhancers, she’d never experienced intimacy like this before, and doubted she would again. Forever more, this man had changed her.
Their breathing leveled. Pulling out, he rolled, taking her with him until they cuddled front to front, her legs tucked between his. She lifted her chin to meet his gaze and more tears pricked her eyes.
The way he looked at her…her throat constricted.
He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, then settled on her lips with the gentlest pressure before pulling away again. “For as long as I live,” he whispered, his voice ragged, “I will never love another as I love you.”
Her chest squeezed so tight, she thought her heart shattered.