I felt Vraax's desperation to know where he came from. It was hard reading his mind; the Ohrurs had erased his memories to make him into the killing machine they needed to increase their immense wealth. I wasn't a complete brute; I could understand Vraax's desire to know more about his origins. "The Darlams were the last of our… creations. One last attempt to—" I stopped myself when I realized Sloane had just manipulated me into answering more questions. "You're good."
"I had to try." She shrugged, looking pleased with herself. "So you mixed with the original Darlams?"
"And condemned them to death because of it, yes." I nodded. The sadness for the Darlams that overcame me surprised me. Maybe it was because they were our last creation. The closest we had ever come to making someone in our own image. "From my species to yours. We are incredibly sorry for what happened to you and hope that whatever happens next will make up for it."
"What do you mean?" Vraax grabbed Sloane's hand.
"The universe has its own way of righting wrongs. Now, if you'll excuse me." I moved around the two of them, eager to get back to Ella.
Zaph had plannedto go straight to Pandrax. He’d said it more than once—insisted on it, even—but the universe seemed to find endless amusement in rearranging his carefully laid plans. Four days later, instead of Pandrax’s orbit, we arrived at Astrionis, the detour forced on us by the rescued women, Sloane’s insistence, and the need to keep Zaph’s presence hidden.
We dropped through the atmosphere over a world that looked like a half-forest, half-stone dream. Astrionis wasn’t built so much as grown—itsbuildingswere colossal rootrocks, twisted arches of living stone that continued to grow, their hollow insides turned into homes and halls for both humans and Pandraxians. The grass at the landing fields would have reached nearly to my shoulders, each blade thick as my arm, bending in an updraft as if the planet itself exhaled.
Garth’s stronghold rose ahead like an ancient cathedralshaped by geology and time. A narrow bridge was the only entry over a defensive moat—a bubbling, viscous band of heat that licked the air. I didn’t get to meet Silla, the Lord Protector’s human mate who’d survived Cryon cruelty, and who now helped Garth settle the rescued, though I saw both the leaders of this planet at the reception for Sloane, Vraax, and the women we had saved. Unfortunately, Zapharos needed to keep himself hidden, so I stayed with him.
On the other side of the landing strip stood two more spaceships—one for Zaph and me, the other for Sloane and Vraax.
Vraax and Sloane were somewhere on the far side of the airfield, talking with Garth and Silla. The Pandraxian leader, an imposing figure, shimmered in a purple metallic hue.
I watched as they all moved away toward the palace, then Zaph grabbed my hand, squeezed my fingers, and led me on a dash toward our new ship. I was only a little sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to Sloane and Vraax, but after Sloane shot Zapharos multiple times and he nearly lost his temper to the Dark Abyss, things had been… a little tense between us. Despite Sloane and me being the only humans for God knew how many lightyears around until we landed here.
Once inside the new spaceship, Zaph hit the ramp control, and the hatch slid shut on the clamor of Astrionis, sealing us into a pocket of dim light and the faint, steady hum of drives cycling up. The ship lifted with felinegrace, turned its nose toward the star-littered dark, and leapt.
For the first time since my abduction, I got to be entranced by the simple fact that I was in space.
It wasn't an aspiration I had ever entertained; my passion was Earth, history, and dirt, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that the sight wasn't breathtaking. A floor-to-ceiling window stood in our bedroom, and it was fast becoming my favorite spot. No matter how many times I stared out into the dark void, there was always something new to see. Earlier, it had been a supernova in the far distance, still bright enough to nearly blind me; now it was a deep green planet, so huge, I was sure our spaceship was merely a speck of dust against it. We were alone.
"You're enjoying the view?" His deep voice reached me, even before his arm slung around my waist, pulling me against his side.
"It's amazing," I replied honestly, still staring at the green giant, which gave the impression that it was made completely out of jungle. But my eyes had already started to gravitate toward the golden hunk next to me. I didn't think I would ever get tired of staring at him.
He wasn't wearing a shirt, and the feel of his hard skin next to mine aroused many different emotions in me. Desire was one, but it wasn't all. I felt pulled toward him like a moth to a flame. When he wasn't in the same room with me, it felt empty. I felt empty. He filled parts of me that I hadn't known were empty.
Wasthis love?
I had fancied myself in love several times over the years. The typical puppy love/crush to the quarterback of our high school football team, the first stirrings of love with my first boyfriend in college, and an adult version of love to another boyfriend years later. But none of those emotions came even close to what I was experiencing with Zapharos. He exasperated me in one second and made me want to melt in his arms in the next. He made me want to kill him, but I knew I would be unable to live without him.
I was drawn to him in ways I never had been to anyone before. I felt a deep, ingrained desire to see him happy and balanced. I could feel his lapses toward the darkness even before they became visible in his aura. I was attuned with him like nothing I had ever thought possible.
Frank, the man I had broken up with shortly before the Cryons abducted me, and I had been together for three years, and I thought I knew what love was then. We both liked spaghetti and old movies. We both liked digging in the dirt and reading about ancient civilizations late at night. We were crazy about each other. Well, we were until he cheated on me with a ballet dancer, but that wasn't the point, though; the point was that I thought he had been the love of my life. That we had beendestinedfor each other. That weperfectedeach other.
I had never been more wrong in my life. What I had been destined for was Zaph.Heperfected me. He made me the person I was meant to be.
We had known each other a lot less time than I had known Frank when he became thelove of my life, butduring that time, I had gotten to know the real Zaph a lot more than I ever had Frank.Timewas only a relative term. So relative, it seemed insignificant and made me wonder why I had ever put so much meaning into it.
We had flown by a myriad of galaxies and planets, each one with its own time zone. One planet took three hours to rotate, another three years. I had no idea how long we had been gone from the Dark Void. And it didn't matter in the least.
Just like it didn't matter if I had known Zaph for hours or years, I knew, deep down, in my soul, my heart, and my blood that he wastheone. He might call it Aelyth. Soulmates? I wasn't sold on that yet, but I was getting there.
"What are you thinking?" Zaph asked.
"About how strange and different everything is out here. And how strange and different you are." I looked up at him, saw the arrogant line around his lips. The urge to touch it was nearly overwhelming.
"Strange and different, eh?" He nodded, satisfied. "I like that."
"You would." I snuggled closer into his side.
"What's going to happen next?" I finally asked the question that had been burning inside me for a while.
