Maddison leaned into Havoc, resting her head on his shoulder. “I think our luck might finally be changing.”
He kissed her forehead gently. “Mine already has.”
CHAPTER 13
Ragewasclose,at least when compared to the distance between star systems, but it still took more than eight hours before they got a reply. They spent the time talking, fucking, and resting.
Once the message arrived, he was more than ready to go home. He had news to share, and despite Rage’s confidence that there was no threat anymore, Havoc did not want to risk broadcasting what he knew to anyone within range.
They replied one last time, letting Rage know the coordinates he needed. Then it was time to return to the surface and prepare for guests.
“Should we let Bysshe and the others know we’re on our way? We’ve been gone so long they will be worried,” she said.
“Once we’re back in the atmosphere we’ll let themknow. There’s not much open space around there. Hopefully Bysshe will have some idea where we can land.”
When they reached out, Bysshe responded immediately. He assured them that the rest of his brothers had returned from the crash site, and they’d brought the rest of the survivors of theHarvestwith them. Some of his brothers had even found mates, but not every female had been claimed, which added weight to his theory that there was more to the bond than simply being in the same proximity.
“Where have you been? How did you get a ship? Oh, and Loris is demanding to know if Maddison is alright.”
“The ship belonged to a mercenary team. I killed two of them and Maddi took out the third. They didn’t leave a guard, and Maddison was able to work with the AI. I had no idea these things could fly themselves!”
“Not all of them can,” Bysshe said.
“Let me talk to Maddison!” Loris shouted. “Maddi, did I hear that right? You fought with mercenaries? What the fuck happened?”
Maddison laughed. “It wasn’t a fight. He stood right in front of my hiding spot, so I hit him with a stun wand. It turns out, logarians aren’t as tough as they look.”
“You killed a logarian? On your own?”
“I didn’t mean to. It just sort of happened that way, but I’m okay. What about you and Joy?”
“We’re fine. Better now I know you’re safe. We’ve been worried.”
“Sorry about that. There was a reason we didn’t reach out sooner. Havoc will explain once we’re all together.”
Bysshe took over the conversation again. “You aren’t the only one to commandeer a ship. We have three now. Risk brought in one and nearly crushed my orchard in the process. The mercenaries who went after the survivors at theBountiful Harvest’scrash site kindly donated one to our cause, too. They won’t be using it anymore. We’ve cleared enough space for you to land next to the others. Your AI should be able to manage it no problem.”
“We’ll be there in less than an hour,” Havoc said. “Bysshe, I need you to call everyone together. We have good news to share.”
“You mean the fact that Rage is alive? We heard. It’s incredible. Isn’t it?”
Havoc grinned despite the fact the link was audio only. “That’s related to my news, but this is bigger.”
Bysshe hummed in surprise. “I see. I’ll spread the word. See you soon, and do not let that AI land on my orchard!”
Once they were safely on the ground, Havoc freed himself from the safety harness and raced for the door.
Maddison followed him, but she wasn’t in the same rush he was. In fact, she seemed hesitant.
“What’s wrong, little star? We survived and made it home. We won.”
She bit her lip and sighed. “Some of us survived.Bysshe didn’t say how many they found, but I doubt it was everyone. All those lives lost, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s my fault.”
He turned around, the need to see his clan forgotten. Maddison was more important than any of them. “You didn’t cause any of this.”
“Not directly.” She raised her hands and then threw them out and down in a gesture of frustration. “Logically I know I didn’t do this, but people are dead, and someone needs to answer for that.”
He opened his arms. “Come here.”
