“No,” I say. “Wesurvived.That’s more than most.”
A pause.
She stares at me.
“You were on the boarding team,” she says slowly. “I saw you. Before the rupture.”
“Yes.”
“You killed my commander.”
I hold her gaze. “Yes.”
Her jaw tightens. She doesn’t look away.
“But you didn’t kill me,” she says. “Why?”
I could lie.
But I don’t.
“Because you’re mine,” I say simply.
Her breath catches.
I see her hands tremble.
She doesn’t run.
“I don’t know what that means,” she says, voice sharp.
“It means what it feels like.”
She shakes her head. “No. No, I’m not some prize. I’m not?—”
“I didn’t say you were.” I step closer, slow. “I’m saying we don’t have to understand it yet. But it’s there. You feel it. So do I.”
Her eyes burn. But she doesn’t deny it.
“I don’t trust you.”
“Good,” I say. “I don’t trust me either. But I’m not leaving you here to die. So get up. We’ve got work to do.”
A long beat.
Then she pushes to her feet, wobbling once before she steadies.
“You got a plan, lizard-man?”
I grin, teeth sharp. “Yeah. Don’t die.”
She snorts. “Real inspirational.”
Together, we start moving.
Side by side.
Through twisted corridors and failing lights. Toward whatever comes next.
