“To unexpected allies,” Mattie said, raising her glass.
“To new beginnings,” Alina added.
Jeb hesitated, then lifted his own glass. “To complications.”
They all looked at Rhyx.
He considered for a moment, then raised his glass to match theirs.
“To mates,” he said. “And the protection of those we love.”
Alina’s cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t look away. Something warm passed between them—a promise, a commitment, a bond that grew stronger with every passing day.
They drank.
The liquid burned going down, but Rhyx found he didn’t mind. It was another sensation to catalog, another experience in this strange new existence.
I am alive,he thought.Against all odds, against all expectations, I am alive. And I am not alone.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Leaving Rhyx was like tearing off a piece of her own skin.
Alina stood in the airlock of Jeb and Mattie’s habitat, her breathing mask already sealed in place, watching him through the inner door. He filled the small space behind the transparent panel—golden skin catching the artificial light, blue eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her chest ache.
One more night, she thought. We only had one more night.
They’d slept tangled together in the narrow guest bunk, his massive body curled around hers like a protective shell. She’d woken twice in the darkness to find him watching her, his strange pupils dilated in the low light, one clawed hand tracing gentle patterns on her arm.
“You’re sure you have to go?” Mattie had asked over breakfast, her voice soft with sympathy.
“If I don’t show up at the lab today, Martin will notice. He’s already suspicious.” Alina had forced herself to eat, though every bite tasted like dust. “The longer I can maintain the appearance of normalcy, the more time we have.”
Jeb had nodded, his enhanced eyes thoughtful. “I’ll start reaching out to my contacts today. Carefully. The cyborg networks aren’t monitored as heavily as corporate communications, but GenCon has eyes everywhere.”
Now Rhyx pressed his palm flat against the inner door, and Alina raised her own hand to match his through the transparent barrier. His fingers dwarfed hers—each one as thick as two of her own, tipped with those wickedly curved claws that could tear through metal but had only ever touched her with devastating gentleness.
“I will come back,” she said, knowing he could read her lips even if he couldn’t hear her through the sealed door.
He nodded once, his jaw tight.
She turned away before she could change her mind.
The rover journeyback to Border Town felt endless, though it couldn’t have been more than two hours. Alina drove on autopilot, her mind churning through contingencies and escape routes, trying to plan for scenarios she couldn’t fully predict.
If Martin knows—if GenCon knows?—
But they couldn’t know. Not really. If they had proof of Rhyx’s existence, they wouldn’t be playing political games. They’d have sent armed teams to the mountains days ago.
They suspect, she reminded herself. Suspicion is dangerous enough.
The research station came into view—a cluster of pre-fab modules arranged around a central dome, all of it coated with the omnipresent red dust of Mars. Home, for the past twoyears. The place where she’d built her career, her reputation, her carefully ordered life.
None of it mattered anymore.
She parked the rover in the vehicle bay and went through the decontamination process on autopilot, brushing dust from her suit, checking her mask seals, logging her return in the station database. Normal. Everything normal.
The corridors were quiet at this hour—most of the researchers would be in their labs or sleeping off night shifts. Alina moved quickly towards her quarters, already mentally cataloging what she’d need to pack, what data she’d need to secure?—
