“We have,” I said.
CARYS
Brevan led me out of Rylos’s office.
His quarters were near the aft section. Private. Secure. The door recognized his biometrics and opened.
The space was simple. Bed. Desk. Storage. A viewport showing the stars beyond. Nothing decorative. Nothing unnecessary. Just function.
“This is yours?” I asked.
“This is ours,” he said. “If you want it.”
I moved to the viewport. Looked out at the stars. “We’re really off Valyria.”
“We’re really off Valyria.”
Flinx jumped onto the desk. He sniffed the air, then settled, curling into a tight ball.
His eyes dimmed to standby mode. Conserving power. Trusting us enough to lower his guard.
I looked at Brevan. He was still standing by the door, watching me. The adrenaline was gone. The chaos of the chase, the escape... it was all over. It was just us.
“Rylos’s offer,” he said, his voice quiet. “You don’t have to take it. We can still drop you on a safe world. New identity, credits. A clean start.”
This was it. The last time. I was safe. I was free. I had seen the crew, seen the other women. There was no duress, no threat, no adrenaline. Just a choice.
I turned from the stars to look at him. “Brevan, I told you. On the bridge. In the transport. My choice is made.” I walked over to him, stopping just inches away. “I’m not an anomaly here. I saw the others. Tamsin, Bronwen, Sabine. This is a... family.”
“It is,” he said.
“I want to be part of it. I want to be with you.” I took a breath, my hands shaking just slightly. “I’m already certain.”
He took my hand, his thumb tracing my pulse. “Then there’s one last thing. You’ve seen the others. You know what it means.”
“The claiming,” I said. My voice didn’t waver.
“But you need to be certain. It’s not just a mark. It’s permanent. It will change you.” He moved closer, his other hand coming up to trace the raw, chafed skin of her neck. “You’ll carry my sigils. You won’t be fully human anymore.”
“I haven’t felt fully human in six years,” I said. “I was property. An asset. An artifact.” I moved closer, standing on my toes to kiss him, soft and sure. “I’ve been yours since you looked at me in that museum and saw a person, not a pet.”
I pulled back. “I want it. I want you. Claim me.”
That broke the last of his control. He lifted me, carrying me the few steps to the bed. He laid me down, following, his body covering mine.
“Once I do this,” he whispered, his voice rough with an emotion I couldn’t name, “I can’t undo it.”
“Good,” I whispered back.
He kissed me then, and it wasn’t the desperate claiming of the cave. It was a promise. His hands and mouth were everywhere, relearning the skin he’d already memorized.
He kissed my throat, my collarbone, and the world tilted. His tongue swept over my skin, and that dizzying jolt of pleasure from the cave returned, but a hundred times stronger. He wasn’t holding back. The euphoric agent in his saliva flooded my system, making my skin feel like it was buzzing, turning every nerve ending into a live wire.
“Brevan,” I gasped, my fingers tangling in his hair.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, his mouth moving lower. He licked a path between my breasts, and I arched off the bed, my body already clenching.
This was different from the cave. This wasn’t just lust and adrenaline. This was... worship. He took his time, learning every inch of me, using that incredible, chemical-laced mouth to drive me insane. By the time his lips moved back to mine, I was weak, pliant, and desperate for him.
