by Lili Zander
“Oh, wow.”
“It’s a lot to take in, right?” She flashes me an understanding smile. “Don’t worry about it. Enjoy your space honeymoon.”
I sit up. “Honeymoon?” I feel faint. Probably blood sugar or something. I take a sip of water and eat a handful of nuts. “Who said anything about a honeymoon?”
She gives me a puzzled look. “Dariux didn’t tell you? When they set up Fifth’s cover identity, it was just for him. So the story needed some modifications. I believe today’s the day of your bonding ceremony, and because Danek can’t bear to be parted from his new bride even for a second, you’re accompanying him to Noturn.” Alice is laughing at the expression on my face. “Come on, Naomi. It’s all very romantic.”
Newlyweds. Danek and I are going to have to pretend to be newlyweds. Touching all the time. Never too far from each other. Constantly sneaking away to have sex. A shiver runs through me. Part nerves, part pure anticipation.
What on earth have I signed up for?
We’re a lot slower on the way back. It’s later than I expected by the time we reenter the compound. “Kadir’s probably freaking out,” Alice says. “He hates the idea of me running outside the compound without him.” She grins. “Poor guy. I better go soothe his ruffled feathers. You don’t leave for another few days, right?”
“Correct. Not until Friday. Alien-Friday. You know what I mean.”
Alice grins. “I do,” she agrees. “Okay, let’s run again the day after tomorrow, if you’re not too busy? We can go to the beach and run on sand, if you’re in the mood for a challenge.”
“That sounds great,” I tell her sincerely. Alice is so good to me. “Thank you so much for taking me along on your runs.”
“Of course.” She squeezes my hand. “Us Earth girls have to stick together.”
I head to my apartment. I strip off my sticky clothes and hop into the shower. I pushed myself on the run, and my muscles are registering their protest. I linger under the water for longer than I usually do, then I towel dry and dress in another grey jumpsuit.
Now what?
Dariux left me a thick stack of reading material about Noturn, about the House of Cindifin, and about what I would encounter when I arrived on the mining planet. I’d read some of it this morning, but I still have plenty to go through. I should do that.
But my small apartment suddenly feels stifling. The walls are closing in. Outside my window, the park is lit in anticipation of the encroaching twilight. People are outside, enjoying the afternoon. I can hear conversation. Laughter. Notes of music.
You should join them.
Before I can talk myself out of the impulse, I shove my feet into sandals and head outside. There’s some kind of celebration going on. The park is shaped like a rectangle. There’s a band playing in the far end. I don’t recognize any of the instruments, but the music makes my feet itch. Once upon a time, I used to love to dance. Food stalls line the perimeter. Drones hover around, offering samples to passing customers. The evening air is redolent with spices. My stomach rumbles, reminding me it’s been a long time since my last meal.
Still, I hesitate. It’s not that I don’t have money—I do—and it’s not like I’m afraid of trying strange foods—I’m not—it’s just that everyone here looks like they belong. They’re sitting on blankets, picnicking, and chatting with each other. Pets run around on stubby legs and fly around on brightly colored wings. There are even a few children, chasing each other in a wild game of tag.
I’ve never felt like more of an outsider.
It’s my fault. Alice has invited me to her apartment for dinner. Olivia has asked me more than once to join her and Dor at their weekly happy hour. The healers who took care of me—Vinasa, Rivie, and Mala—have offered to take me shopping and show me where and when to get the best fresh produce. Rivie is a passionate amateur mycologist who researches mushrooms as a food source, and she’ll talk my ear off about them at the slightest chance.
I’ve pushed them all away. I’ve chosen isolation, and now it’s biting my ass.
“Naomi!” A familiar voice calls. It’s Cassie, sitting with a small group of people. The only one I recognize, apart from her, is Taman. I flinch involuntarily when I see him, which isn’t fair. Taman, one of the handful of scientists who have allied with the Rebellion, had come up to Cassie and me a month after we arrived. “I want to apologize for what those butchers did to you,” he’d said, his expression distressed. “We are not all terrible people. Many of us—most of us—don’t care about politics and power. We just want to be left alone to discover the secrets of the universe.”
I’d kept silent. Cassie had not. “So, you turn a blind eye to the torture,” she’d shot back. “You might call it single-mindedness. I call it apathy.”
I’d expected him to be angry, but he’d nodded gravely. “You’re right,” he’d said. “We have been blind, intentionally or otherwise, but things are changing. Many of us are waking up to the truth.”
After what we went through, I would have thought the last person Cassie would have befriended was the scientist, but they’re undoubtedly sitting together. Are they friends now?
Cassie waves me over. I hesitate, and then start to walk to her. I’m distracted by the drones with the tempting samples, and I’m not really watching where I’m walking, which is why I run smack dab into a broad chest.
Danek.
I take an automatic step back and tilt my head up. No more half-naked Danek—alas!—he’s clothed again. My eyes fly to his lips. The lips I kissed yesterday. I feel myself start to blush. “Sorry,” I murmur. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No harm done.”
No kidding. Running into him is like running into a brick wall. “Relaxing in the park?”
“Actually,” he replies. “I was looking for you.”
“You were? Why?” I give him a suspicious stare. “Are you going to try to talk me out of going to Noturn again?”
“Trust me, if I were trying to talk you out of it, it would have worked.”
“If you say so.” I give him a skeptical look. “So what now, you’ve had a change of heart, and you’re perfectly okay with me coming along?”
“Don’t push me, Naomi,” he growls.
God, that growl is sexy. He’s wearing a dark blue t-shirt and grey pants. He looks good. Really good. The shirt has short sleeves, and the fabric clings to his biceps. If I were looking, Danek would be extremely easy on the eyes.
What do you mean, if you were looking? You did more than look yesterday. You kissed him.
“I wanted to talk to you about something else.” He runs his hands through his short hair, and it sticks up in spikes. His ear sticks out of his head, ever so slightly, marring the masculine perfection of him, making him more human somehow.
Human. Ha, ha. You’re an idiot, Naomi. He’s not human; he’s a Draekon.
“What?”
“I don’t really know you,” he says. “I need to get to know you better. For the mission.”
Oh. Disappointment stabs me. “Of course. For the mission. That makes sense.” I don’t know why I expected anything else. It’s not like Danek is interested in me, why would he be? I’m a forty-year old woman who’s afraid of her translator. Sure, he sat at my bedside when I was sick, but that’s just because he’s a good person. After all, he didn’t have to search for Cassie and me. He didn’t have to save us from the rogue scientists that tortured us, but he did.
But in my dreams, he’s always there for me. In my dreams, when I’m drowning, he extends his hand and pulls me to safety.
He returned your kiss yesterday. There was definitely some tongue action.
I shove that thought away. “Didn’t you read my file?”
“Your file doesn’t tell me things a bondmate is expected to know. What’s your favorite color?”
“Pink. What’s yours?”
“I don’t have a favorite color.”
“How predictable,” I murm
ur. “Let me guess. You’re too tough to have a favorite color.”
His eyes glitter with amusement. “Something like that.”
God, he’s sexy when he’s trying not to laugh. “Do you have a favorite food? Or do you chew rocks for breakfast?”
“Only the hardest of rocks,” he agrees, deadpan. “At the first sign that it has any flavor, I spit it out. Spice is for suckers.” He grabs a drone out of the air and offers me its contents. “Have you tried the sugar puff explosions at Fradish’s stall?”
“Spice is for suckers?” I laugh out loud. “Okay. Favorite drink?”
“The tears of my enemies,” he quips. “Though I wouldn’t say no to a beer.”
Argh. He’s so charming I have to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep myself from grinning like a fool. “Favorite flower?”
“Do thorns count?”
“They do not,” I tell him severely. “Favorite place? Favorite game? Favorite activity?”
His gaze caresses me. “I really don’t think I should answer that last one in public.”
Cassie is watching our conversation with rapt attention. So are other people. My cheeks heat. “Do you have any favorite things?”
“Things, no. People, yes.”
Oh. Oh. My fingers involuntarily brush my lips, and the memory of our kiss rises, unbidden. “You do?” I whisper. “Who?”
Before he can answer, his comm beeps. A hologram of Ruhan tears into existence in front of us. I jump back, my heart racing. I’m never going to get used to the tech here.
“Brothers,” he says, his voice urgent. “A pair of Class A destroyers just jumped out of the closest wormhole. They’re on their way to Bestea. They’ll be in range in less than two hours. Evacuate. Now.”
6
Naomi
Klaxons begin to sound. A loud voice fills the park. Tarish, I think. “The Empire is on its way,” he barks. “Commence evacuation protocols. Repeat. The Empire is on its way. This is not a drill. Evacuate immediately.”
Blood rushes to my head.
“Bast,” Danek swears under his breath. He takes a step toward me. “Naomi, are you okay?”
No. Klaxons would blare every morning in my cell, waking me up for a fresh day of torture. This sound is sending me back, and it’s taking all the strength I possess to keep standing. I want to run away, find a dark closet, and hide.
Nobody else seems to be panicking. If you are part of the rebellion, you must be used to this sort of thing. The drones are gone, the food stalls are packing up, and the park is emptying. People are moving at a fast walk, but no one is screaming, no one is running around in a blind panic, and no one is flipping out.
Just me.
You’re at the rebellion. You’re safe. The rogue scientists that tortured you are dead. Deep breath, Naomi. Breathe in for five, hold it for five, breathe out. Repeat.
It takes me almost a minute to reply. “Yeah.”
Danek doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
This time, my reply is stronger. “Yes. What should we do?”
“Stick to the plan. The Empire’s timing isn’t coincidence. They’re hoping to weaken the rebellion before this year’s Testing.” He flashes me a reassuring smile. “Cindifin’s shuttle to Noturn leaves from the Wekat Exchange. We’ll just head there early. My ship is ready. I just need to pack some weapons, and then we’ll leave.”
Why won’t the alarms stop? The noise, shrill and relentless, is burrowing a hole in my head.
“Naomi,” Danek says. “Listen to me. Can you pack your belongings and meet me in the docking bay in a knur?”
I give him a blank stare.
“Fifteen minutes,” he clarifies. “Is that okay? Do you want me to come with you?”
The alarms stop abruptly, and sweet silence fills the air. The clamp on my brain eases its pressure. I replay Danek’s end of the conversation. He’s staring at me with concerned eyes. He doesn’t think I can pack on my own. That’s how he sees me, frail and fragile. That’s how useless I’ve become. “Of course not,” I say stoutly. “It won’t take me any time to get my stuff. I’ll see you at the docking bay. What’s the name of your ship?”
“The Aheat,” he replies. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
The klaxons start up again as soon as I enter my apartment. “This is not a drill,” a voice drones. “The Empire’s ships are on their way. Attack is imminent. Please follow the evacuation protocols.”
God, I hate the alarms. Doing my best to ignore the noise, I pull a duffel bag from the bottom shelf and set it on my bed. The wall has sixty-one charcoal scuffs on it. If the Empire’s soldiers sweep the place, what would they make of the markings? Or would they not even bother to land on Bestea, choosing instead to bomb it from the sky? I don’t know.
Move, Naomi. You don’t have a lot of time.
My knees shake as I go back and forth from my closet to my bed, packing my meager belongings. Grey jumpsuits, a couple of colorful blouses, my running shoes. My tablet. I’d packed a photo album when I set off from Earth, but it’s long been lost. When we were abducted, it wasn’t as if our captors allowed us luggage.
My heart is hammering in my chest. My palms are damp and sweaty. If the Empire lands here, if they find me, they will take me captive. I’m sure of it. They will torture me again. The scientists will come for me, in their blue robes, scalpels in hand—
The door bursts open. A man in indigo robes moves toward me. A scientist. What is he doing here? Has the Empire already landed? Have they already come for me? He’s saying something, but I can’t hear him over the pounding of the blood in my head. He’s shouting, gesturing… I back away, my throat dry, and the backs of my knees hit my bed. You’re a fool, Naomi. You should have run for the door. Now he’s going to hurt you, and there’s no way out.
He stalks toward me, and I go very still. Maybe he’ll go away if I’m quiet. If I’m good, maybe he won’t hurt me. I hold up my hands in front of me. “Please,” I whisper, though begging has never been useful. “Please don’t hurt me.” The room is spinning. I sink onto my bed, and scramble backward. The scientist is still talking. His lips are moving.
Then Danek appears in the doorway. He takes a look at the man, and then at me. In two strides, he’s at the bed. “Naomi,” he murmurs, his voice soothing. “I’m here. You’re safe. Nobody will hurt you while I live, I promise you.”
He swings me into his arms.
Relief floods my body. I nestle against him and close my eyes. The world melts away, and with it my fear. I don’t need to be afraid any longer. Danek is here.
7
Danek
Fifteen minutes go by. Then twenty. There’s no sign of Naomi.
I don’t like it. She was pretty shaky when the sirens started. She was trembling. Her face was pale. I shouldn’t have left her alone.
Bast.
I sprint to her apartment, anxiety prickling down my spine. The door is open, and Naomi is on her bed, scrambling backward from a scientist. What’s his name? Taran, Tavan, something like that? Taman, that’s it. The scientist is blathering about needing to evacuate, and with every word he utters, Naomi’s fear intensifies. Can’t the idiot see how terrified she is?
“What the hell is going on?” I growl. “What the hell are you doing?”
He whirls around. When he realizes it’s me there, relief flashes across his face. “Fifth, thank Caeron. I don’t know what’s happening. I came in to check if Naomi Knoll knew where to go. I’m the evacuation coordinator for this section. The instant I entered, she started to react this way.” He wrings his hands. “She’s wearing a translator. I don’t understand why she’s not listening to me. She’s assigned to the colony ship Vestra. It’s docked in the Southeast quadrant. Destroyer ships are on their way. Naomi Knoll needs to get on board if she doesn’t want to be left behind—”
“Stop,” I snap, cutting off his litany. Taman is distressed, and I feel bad for him, but I’m also fighting a
strong desire to strangle the scientist. He might not understand why Naomi is reacting the way she is, but I do. The noise, the sirens, the stress—it’s all heightening her anxiety. Then Taman comes in wearing indigo robes, and of course it’s going to trigger a panic attack. How could it not? For almost a year after the Great War, I couldn’t hear the hiss of an ion gun without remembering Koval. “I will handle this.”
I stride to the bed and kneel at the terrified woman’s side. “Naomi,” I murmur, wiping the worry from my voice and injecting calm into my tone. “I’m here. You’re safe. Nobody will hurt you while I live, I promise you.” I lift her into my arms and hold her close. “Go check on your other charges,” I tell Taman tersely. “I have a cloakship. I’ll take Naomi.”
He exhales in relief. “Thank you.”
She’s packed. I grab her bag and her tablet, never setting her down. Her heart is racing. Her skin is cold to the touch. Mehr. She’s not well. She was badly tortured for months. How can all that damage be fixed in such a short time?
People give me curious looks as I stride down the corridors carrying the human woman, but I ignore them. Something on my face must give away how furious I am, because they scramble out of my way. Fucking Dariux. The spy master had better stay out of sight, because I’m ready to break every bone in his body. What possessed him to recruit Naomi on this mission? She shouldn’t be exposed to danger. She needs to be smothered in safety and care.
The ramp to the Aheat is down, and an Adrashian technician is finishing up the preflight checks. “You’re all set,” she says, shouting to be heard over the incessant wailing of the sirens. “Safe journey, Fifth.”
I nod my thanks, but she’s already sprinting to the next craft. I enter my ship, shutting the door behind me. The noise recedes to the background, thank Caeron.
There’s not a lot of living room on the Aheat—most of the space is taken up by engines, warp drives, and weapons. There’s a bedroom, a refresher, and a small galley.
