by Lili Zander
If only. I fix Tarish with a stare. “Commander, there’s one thing you need to know about the Crimson Force. We don’t give up. Ever. We weren’t made that way.”
Dariux clears his throat from his spot on the window ledge. “Be that as it may,” he says. “Right now, there’s a more urgent matter at hand. It’s the Time of the Testing. In the past, one of two things happened to the Draekons that tested positive. If they were lucky, they were exiled to the prison planet. If they were not, they ended up in one of Brunox’s secret laboratories.”
“But this year, the Empire cannot send Draekons to the prison planet,” Tarish finishes. “Not after they discovered the existence of the city of Ashara. And, as long as we hunt for Brunox’s laboratories, they won’t send the Draekons to be tortured either. They will imprison them.” His expression hardens. “And we will break them out.”
“Where is the prison?”
Dariux glances at his tablet. “With Theldre’s help, we’ve narrowed it down to four possible locations. Vao 33 is a remote outpost with only five thousand residents. Erilia is domed, and the domes are at capacity. Sigion’s surface is so hot that the ten thousand residents dwell underground. There’s plenty of space where you can hide people, but they have to import hydrogen to synthesize water.” He looks up. “And then there’s Noturn.”
The name sounds familiar, but try as I might, I can’t remember why I’ve heard of the planet. “Why do I recognize the planet?”
His lips thin. “Because Noturn drives people crazy. It’s not the atmosphere; Noturn is domed. It’s the planet itself. They’ve tried to explain it to me, and I don’t really understand it, but it’s something about the planet itself. The core vibrates in resonance with our brain waves…” His voice trails off. “Adrashians can’t set foot on the planet. Neither can the Makpi. We can, but we can only tolerate it for three months. Any longer, and it drives us to insanity.”
Cold trickles down my spine. “You’re telling me the Empire is planning to imprison Draekons on Noturn, knowing full well that—”
“That it will destroy their minds?” Raiht’vi speaks for the first time. “Are you really so surprised, Fifth? You, better than most, know what we are capable of.”
The urgency of Tarish’s mission makes sense now.
I should help.
But I’m not going to.
Not now. Not when Naomi is still so fragile. As much as I have a sense of obligation to the Draekons, they are not my first priority. Not any longer.
“I can’t do it. Find someone else.”
Shock fills Tarish’s face, swiftly chased by anger. “There is no one else,” he explodes. “Sixth is still looking for his humans. The Rebellion’s resources are stretched to the max. Everyone who is capable of handling this mission has already done a stint on Noturn. For Caeron’s sake, Fifth. Last year, two thousand Draekons tested positive. Who knows how many will fail the Testing this year. This is not the time to cling to your fury. Yes, I ordered you poisoned. Yes, I regret that. If I could go back in time and do things differently, I would. But don’t take your anger out on them. They test sixteen-year-olds. Children. Show some fucking compassion.”
I cannot. Not when she—
I banish that thought before it can sink its hook into me. “I’ve made up my mind.”
Dariux gets to his feet with a shrug. “I thought that might be your answer,” he says. “We’ll go to our backup option.”
There’s something in his expression that I don’t like. At all. “I thought you didn’t have any other options.”
“I would have preferred not to ask Kadir,” Dariux replies. “He has a bondmate, and he’s needed here. But you leave me no other choice. Unlike you, the Second of the Crimson Force has never shirked away from his duty.”
Rage rolls over my eyes. “No,” I growl. “You will not approach Kadir with this problem. He has a mate. Alice will insist on going with him. The humans have risked enough. This is not their battle.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Fifth,” Tarish snaps.
“There is no risk to Alice,” Dariux says calmly. Smugly. Too calm. Too smug. I could take a step toward him, wrap my hand around his throat, and jerk him off his feet. He would struggle. Fight back. But Dariux is not one of the Crimson Force. He was not created for battle. It would take only seconds to squeeze the life out of him.
And I would be responsible for yet another dead Draekon.
“Explain.”
He takes a look at my face, and the smugness is wiped off his expression. “Humans are unaffected by the vibrations,” he says, taking a half-step back. “Theldre said that Diana Behrman has been on Noturn. The Ektons couldn’t handle it, but the planet had no effect on her. Her brain waves were unaffected by the planet.”
“She could be an anomaly.”
“The other human, Lisa Kwok, has also been on Noturn. Same result.”
I still don’t like it. Dariux is right. The moment Kadir finds out that Draekons were at risk, he would charge to the rescue. Alice would insist on accompanying him. She might not be in danger from the planet, but she is still human. She’s as tough mentally as anyone I’ve ever met, but she wasn’t designed to be invulnerable. She can be too easily hurt.
Alice is like a sister to me. I can’t expose her to danger.
Especially not now. She’d approached me one night, a couple of weeks ago, at the tail end of one of the ‘happy-hours’ the humans enjoy. “Danek, can I ask you a question?”
I’d waved her into the seat next to me. “You just did.”
“Ha ha, hilarious.” Her fingers had played with the fabric of her skirt. “I’ve been thinking about children,” she’d said. “I want to have one. Maybe two.”
I’d blinked in confusion. “Shouldn’t you be having this conversation with Kadir?”
“That’s just it.” She’d leaned forward. “This is an awkward question, and I don’t want to ask him. Can the five of you even—” She’d flushed. “Does the plumbing work? I mean, I know Kadir has the right equipment, but if he’s shooting blanks…”
“You’re asking if we’re capable of reproducing?”
“Yes.” She’d creased and uncreased her skirt. “I want children, but if Kadir can’t have them, then I’m not going to bring it up. I’m not going to risk hurting his feelings. I love Kadir. He’s more important than a biological clock.”
“There’s nothing physical stopping us from fathering youngling,” I’d assured her. “The Supreme Mother was nothing if not thorough. When we were too old for battle, she planned to use us as studs for the next generation of soldiers.”
Alice’s eyes had narrowed. “Have I ever told you how much I loathe the Supreme Mother?” she’d asked. Then she’d squeezed my hand. “Thank you, Danek.”
I don’t know if Alice has talked to Kadir about youngling. All I know is that she wants to start a family, and my brother would make an excellent father.
Unless something happens to him in Noturn.
I don’t want to leave the Rebellion base. Naomi is not recovered yet. She could need me. If she does, and I’m not around…
The humans have an expression. Caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Fine. I’ll go. Brief me on the mission.”
Dariux consults his tablet again. “The House of Cindifin owns Noturn and runs the mining operation there. Their security is pretty tight. Only Cindifin ships are allowed to land on the planet surface. Every three months, a shuttle lands with a fresh supply of miners. You’ll be on the next one. You have a cover identity—you’re a safety inspector.” He looks pleased with himself. “A miner will have no reason to go from one dome to another—each dome is designed to be self-contained. But as a safety inspector, you’ll be expected to travel to all of them. It’s perfect. If Cindifin has agreed to house the Empire’s prison on Noturn, there will be telltale signs. A new dome, perhaps, or new secure buildings in existing domes. There’ll be something. Keep your eyes open, keep a low
profile, let us know if you find anything. That’s it.”
“That’s the plan?” Raiht’vi has an incredulous look on her face. “Dariux, you cannot be serious. You’ve spent too long on the prison planet. Do you even remember what a safety inspector looks like? They don’t look like him.” She gestures to me. “Fifth might pass as a miner. But safety inspectors are soft. They don’t look like they’re fantasizing about snapping your neck.”
Ah, she noticed that, did she?
“He can’t be a miner,” Dariux responds. “They can’t leave their domes. Noturn is dangerous, and Cindifin takes no chances. He has to be a safety inspector.” He studies me, and then grimaces. “I see your point. Fifth, can you look less dangerous?”
I refuse to deign that with a reply.
Dariux persists with a blinding disregard for his own safety. “What if you smiled?”
I bare my teeth at him.
He takes an inadvertent step back. “We might have a problem.”
The door slides open. I look up, expecting to see either Kadir or Alice. Only family have auto-access to my apartment. But it’s neither of them. It’s Naomi.
“Hi,” she says, giving me a tentative smile. My heart speeds up. Then her gaze falls upon Raiht’vi, Tarish, and Dariux. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you had guests. I’m intruding. I’ll leave.”
“No, please don’t. They were on their way out.” Naomi hasn’t left her apartment without a reason ever since she moved in. She ran with Alice yesterday; the two of them have no plans to meet today. What is she doing outside? Why is she wearing a translator, a device she’s regarded with fear for the last month? “Is something wrong?”
“No.” She shuffles her feet. “I thought I’d explore the place. I heard your voice and the door opened…”
I flash her a smile. She’s worn her translator. She’s exploring. Those are good signs. Great signs. “Come on in. Sit down. Make yourself at home.”
“That’s it.” Dariux’s voice reminds me the others are still in my apartment. The former spy sounds triumphant. “That’s the smile. That’s what we need.” He surveys Naomi speculatively. “You could take her. Humans aren’t affected; there would be no risk. She could pose as your bondmate. It would go a long way to fortifying your cover.” His voice rises in excitement. “This could really work. If they can afford shuttle space, Cindifin allows workers to bring their families.”
“No.”
Ignoring my protest, Dariux glances at Raiht’vi. “You know what would be even better? If they had a youngling. You don’t know anyone who can lend them a child for three months, do you?”
“Are you insane?” Raiht’vi bites out.
“Oh okay, fine,” Dariux relents. “I’m getting carried away. No youngling. We’ll get them a pet.” He turns to Naomi. “Naomi Knoll, we need your help.”
I entertain another fantasy of snapping his neck like a twig. “Naomi is not going. We will finish this conversation later. Leave.”
Then Naomi looks up at me, her brown eyes shining with curiosity. “Naomi is not going where?”
Fuck.
3
Naomi
Danek shoots me an exasperated look. “Naomi,” he says with exaggerated patience. “As Raiht’vi pointed out, Dariux is clearly out of his mind.”
“Where am I not going?”
“It’s a planet called Noturn,” Dariux says, his voice eager. “It’s an easy mission. Nothing dangerous. We need to find out of the Empire is building prisons there for Draekons that fail the Testing. We’ve created Fifth a cover identity; he’s a dome safety inspector. For three months, he’ll go from dome to dome on the planet surface, and if he sees any sign of construction, he’ll let us know. Easy.” He smiles at me. “If you pose as his bondmate, he’ll blend in even better. You leave in a week.”
Bondmate. They want me to pose as this muscled, grumpy Draekon’s fake fiancée.
Danek glances at my face. “It’s out of the question,” he declares.
I try not to bristle and fail. “You don’t want to pretend to be my bondmate? I’ll try not to be offended.”
He gives me another deeply exasperated glance. “That’s not what I intended to say. It’s not safe for you to go on this mission. It could get dangerous.”
“Dangerous,” I say mildly. After spending months getting tortured, I’m an expert at coping with danger. “Shocking. I wonder what that’s like.”
“You could get hurt.”
“Huh. Imagine that.” I turn to Dariux. “It’s safe?”
Tarish answers before Dariux does. “To the best of my knowledge, yes.” His voice takes on a gentle tone that sets my teeth on edge. Most people talk to me this way, as if I’m so fragile that if they spoke to me in a normal voice, I’d fall to pieces. Come to think of it, only two people don’t treat me like that. Alice, and Danek.
Which is probably why it rankles that he doesn’t want me along. Which is probably why I make my decision. “Okay,” I say, a thrill shooting through my spine. “I’ll do it.”
“Once again, no.”
I grit my teeth and swivel toward Danek. “You might have saved me, but you don’t control me. I want to do this.”
“Demonstrate your gratitude to the Rebellion in a different way.”
I fantasize about punching Danek’s strong, square jaw. “I came to space because I wanted to travel. See new planets. Explore. I’m tired of sitting around on my ass. I can’t stay caged in my apartment forever.”
“You haven’t been sitting around on your ass,” he throws back, his dark eyes glinting. “You’ve been healing. You’re not ready to embark on a mission. Too many things could go wrong.”
He’s making sense, but I’m not ready to hear this message. Especially not from Danek, who has always made me feel capable. When everyone else insisted on treating me as if I were wrapped in cotton wool, Danek was bracingly kind and never patronizing. “You’re infuriating, you know that? Who made you the expert on all things Naomi?”
“I might not be able to protect you.”
“I wasn’t asking you to. This isn’t ancient China. You saved my life once, but that doesn’t make you responsible for me.”
He gives me a blank look. “What are you talking about?”
“Never mind.” It’s not like I know enough about ancient China to explain it to an alien. “It’s not important.” I lift my chin. “I can take care of myself. I survived the scientists’ torture, didn’t I?”
“I’m the infuriating one?” He exhales in frustration. “Naomi, you are incredibly strong. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. What the scientists did, it has left you with deep wounds. It is not a weakness to take time to recover.”
You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. More than anything, I wish Danek was right. But he’s not. I have a burning desire to prove to myself that I am still me. That even though I am afraid to leave my apartment, even though I flinch whenever I see someone wearing the deep blue robes most scientists wear, even though I freaked out when I inserted the translator in my ear, I haven’t been irrevocably altered. I need to know that this terrified version of me isn’t permanent.
“I’m recovered. I’m ready. I left Earth for a space adventure, and I’m going to have one.” I turn back to the others. “Count me in.”
That’s when I realize they’re gone. I’ve been so busy squabbling with Danek that I didn’t notice Raiht’vi, Tarish, and Dariux leave the room.
Huh.
Danek looks around. He appears surprised by the empty room. “Did you see them go?”
“No.”
He shakes his head in bemusement before returning to the argument. “You can’t pronounce yourself better. It doesn’t work that way.”
“I’ll see you in a week.”
He regards me for a long instant, and then his expression changes. His eyes turn inviting. Warm. Sexy as all hell. “You’ll need to pretend to be my bondmate, Naomi.” His voice lowers suggestively. He takes
a step closer, and his breath caresses me. “Do you think you can handle it?”
For a second, all thought flees my brain. Can you blame me? Up close, Danek is big and broad and one-hundred-percent sex appeal. Then his words sink in.
Asshole. He’s tried forbidding me from coming along; it hasn’t worked. And so, he’s decided to switch strategies.
He’s watching me now, a trace of smugness in his expression.
Am I supposed to be intimidated by his nearness? Come on, Danek. You’ll have to try a little harder.
“I don’t know,” I murmur. I close the gap between us and stand up on tiptoe. “Can you?”
Then I kiss him.
Danek is hard muscle from head to toe. But unlike the rest of him, his lips are soft. Warm. He smells of pepper and vetiver and smoke, earthy and all male. I inhale deeply as our lips meet.
For an instant—a long instant—he’s stiff with shock. My move has taken him entirely by surprise. I’m starting to wonder if I should pull away when he relaxes. His arm winds around my waist and he tugs me closer, and that’s my signal to keep going.
My tongue darts out, an almost involuntary reaction. I trace the outline of his mouth, and I suck his lower lip between my teeth, greedy for him, greedy for more. I press against him, my breasts mashing against his hard chest—
This is an object lesson, you idiot. You’re showing him he can’t push you around, remember?
I pull my lips off his with difficulty. My pulse is racing. My breath comes out in little gasps. I need more than a moment to collect myself.
Then I give him a sweet smile. “I’ll see you in a week.”
And, before I change my mind and do something stupid, like throw myself at him once again, I run away.
The door shuts behind me. When I’m alone in the corridor, I touch my lips. I can still feel Danek. Feel his touch. I inhale, and I smell him in my nostrils. The pepper and the smoke and the sheer maleness of him.
The next three months are going to be very interesting.
4
