Her own colleagues, her own superiors, the very institutions she’d spent her career serving—they wouldn’t let him go either. Oh, they’d dress it up in different language. Scientific necessity. The advancement of human knowledge. The potential benefits to the colonization effort. But in the end, the result would be the same. Rhyx would disappear into some research facility, and she would never see him again.
I can’t let that happen.
The fierceness of her own conviction surprised her. A month ago, she’d been a researcher—dedicated to her work, yes, but ultimately obedient to the systems that governed her life. Rulesand protocols and proper channels. That was how science worked. That was how civilization worked.
Now she was running through underground tunnels with an alien who called her his mate, willing to throw away everything she’d built rather than see him caged.
What happened to me?
She knew the answer, of course. He happened. Rhyx, with his impossible existence and his absolute devotion and his way of making her feel like the most important thing in the universe. He had awakened something in her that she hadn’t known was sleeping—a capacity for defiance, for passion, for the kind of love that didn’t care about consequences.
“Alina.” Rhyx’s voice was low, urgent. “Stop.”
She froze, her hand still gripped in his.
“What is it?”
“The vibrations have changed.” He was pressing both palms against the tunnel wall now, his expression focused. “They’ve split their forces. Most are still in the main cavern, but a smaller group is moving…”
He trailed off, his brow furrowing.
“Moving where?”
“Toward the surface exit I was leading us to.”
Ice flooded her veins.
“They know about the tunnel?”
“No. They can’t.” But he sounded less certain now. “Perhaps they’re simply covering all possible exits from the mountain. Standard search protocol.”
“Or Martin figured it out.” Alina’s mind raced through the possibilities. Martin was arrogant, yes, and she’d always thought that arrogance blinded him to anything that didn’t fit his preconceptions. But he wasn’t stupid. If he’d gotten access to detailed geological surveys, if he’d studied the lava tube networks that honeycombed this entire region…
“It doesn’t matter how they knew.” Rhyx’s voice hardened. “We have to keep moving. They’re still far from the exit—we can reach it first if we’re quick.”
“And if they’re waiting for us when we get there?”
He looked at her, and in the faint luminescence of the mineral deposits that lined the tunnel walls, she could see something shift in his expression. Something predatory.
“Then I will deal with them.”
“Rhyx—”
“I will not let them take you, Alina.” The words were quiet, absolute. “Whatever happens, whatever I have to do—I will keep you safe.”
She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that keeping her safe wasn’t worth throwing away his own life, that she would rather surrender than watch him be hurt. But the words wouldn’t come, because she knew—knew with a certainty that went beyond logic—that he wouldn’t listen. That arguing would only waste precious time.
“All right,” she said instead. “Let’s go.”
They ran.
The tunnel grew narrower as they ascended, forcing them to move single-file with Rhyx in the lead. Alina’s lungs burned despite the suit’s oxygen supply, her legs aching from the uneven terrain and the constant upward slope. But she didn’t slow down, didn’t complain, didn’t do anything except follow the golden gleam of Rhyx’s scales and trust him to lead her somewhere safe.
Just a little further. Just a little more.
The light changed first—a gradual brightening that told her they were approaching the surface. Then came the temperature shift, the cold Martian atmosphere seeping into the tunnel and making her shiver despite the suit’s insulation. And finally, the exit itself—a jagged opening in the rock face, barely wide enough for two people to pass abreast, spilling pale Martian daylight into the darkness.
Rhyx stopped at the threshold, holding up a hand to halt her.
