It cut through the din like a blade, sharp and clear. The sound of her despair sliced through the thick fog of rage and desperation clouding his mind. That cry, laced with pain or fear, shattered him. Her plea was an echoing expression of vulnerability he had never heard from her before. A shiver of dread rooted him to stillness for a heartbeat too long.
It was as if the universe came to a standstill and forced him to confront a terrifying reality of what mattered most.
Morgan.
Every one of his muscles tensed and shoved against the weight of the Ozevroc. He thrashed harder, frantic. The panic of losing Morgan ignited something primal and deadly within him. That she could suffer, hurt, just a few feet away as he lay here pinned and useless was unthinkable. A true nightmare come to life. Everything dimmed around him. His vision tunneled as his mind fixated on that cry, replaying it over and over. Unable to dislodge his snarling captors, he felt a knife of helplessness cut deep into his heart. He screamed in rage and anguish.
Then, just as fear threatened to paralyze Ari, something stirred deep within. His desperation morphed into something dark. Something strong and sinister. It went far beyond mere anger. It was an all-encompassing violence so intense it burned the fear away and left a singular, savage determination.
Save Morgan.
Then, a familiar sense of internal power struggled to awaken. The overwhelming urge to protect his woman, the woman he needed more than life itself, took over. She was the one person who defined who he was. He had to save her. Nothing else mattered.
That cry—Morgan’s cry—was the catalyst that ignited the storm, a raw spark that shattered every restraint and unleased the binding chaos inside him, waiting to erupt.
Something snapped.
His fury and love, fear and desperation, collided and merged, exploding into a torrent of energy that shattered the chains holding his memories—and his powers. Ari let out a primal roar, the sound more animal than human, as the dam within him burst with the psychic power he had long forgotten. With it came something ancient and powerful that was an intricate part of him. Freedom wrapped around him as memories, distant and yet achingly familiar, surfaced, thrusting him savagely back to a time when he had been more than just a man. More than just flesh and bone. A part of something greater than himself.
Time stood still as those memories rushed back in blinding detail.
Chapter Ten
OnboardthespaceshipElemi, heading to the edge of Federation Consortium space, one month prior
“That is just about the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The mechanical undertone of JR12‘s observation about the bright-pink sexbot Arakiba saved from FiPan made him chuckle. “Sparky, you’ve only been alive for less than two months. I hardly think you’re some kind of expert in beauty.”
He concentrated on the CPU inside the android and ignored the bot skirting around the workstation.
The sharp tips of the spider-shaped gold-and-silver bot’s eight legs made a light clicking sound.
Squinting, Arakiba made some final adjustments.
“Oh, my darling,” the sentient sultry, wispy voice of the spaceship,Elemi, piped in. “While I may not have the bright, youthful eyes of your cute little spybot, it saddens me to say I agree with the thing.”
“Him.” JR12‘s tone was sharp. The two of them had had this conversation more than once since their crazy journey began. “I’m a him, missy. Stretch your circuits and try to remember that, hmm?”
“Well”—the coy feminine voice had a trace of laugher in it. Like an adult patting a clueless child on the head—“I’ll endeavor to give it a try.”
”’Do or do not, there is no try’—I’d appreciate it if you take the great Yoda’s words to heart.“ JR12 huffed.
Arakiba studied his handiwork. Yes, it looked like everything should work. Now he’d find out if it was worth having taken the time to teleport it back toElemiwith him before they left FiPan. In the short time he’d enjoyed his freedom from slavery, Arakiba found he had an affinity for all things mechanical. His brothers might have thought he was only interested in the services the droid might provide, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the pink android to see if he could make it work. It was a challenge just calling out to him.
Okay, the moment of truth. He pushed the circuit at the back of the droid’s neck to get it fired up. Nothing happened. “FrukTiamat’s titties!“ He fisted his hand on his hips. What was he missing?
“So sorry to interrupt you, my love.” Elemi cooed. “But we have a potential hostile heading straight for us.”
Arakiba jerked around to face the main viewscreen. He clicked a button on the side of the workstation to make it disappear into the wall and keep the android secure. He’d worry about it later.
“What kind of hostile?” He plopped onto the captain’s chair to study the schematicsElemibrought up. There, in the distance, was a definite outline of a small ship headed in their direction.
“Why, I believe it’s comprised of the same crystalline properties your brother Abalim provided us before we left.”
Arakiba’s stomach dropped. He wasn’t anywhere near finding the human woman Morgan yet. All this time, he’d been relying on the brief vision he’d had of her when he was on FiPan. There he’d been able to tune into her psychic energy. Which, if he was honest, was quite exciting. Most human women lacked any trace of psychic ability. But finding one who had it? That opened endless possibilities he couldn’t wait to explore.
He squirmed in his seat at the memory of that vision. There she stood, at the edge of the dimly lit prison cell, her silhouette sharp against the blurred scene surrounding her. For a moment, everything else had faded—the low hum of his brother’s voices, the distant chatter of JR12 on his shoulder. It all became background noise as his gaze locked onto hers.
