I inspect the spark arrestor and find a small green indicator in the center. “I don’t know. I mean, it beeped when I was onboardBlack Sun.”
“Who were you with?”
“Why?” I ask her.
Eluni’s eyes light up with electric arcs. “Whowere you with, Jorusk?”
I shrug, not wanting to answer because I don’t know what it means. “Explain what the fuck is going on first.”
She squirms like she’s frustrated. “As an experiment, I programmed spark arrestors to monitor levels and not only indicate extreme levels of activity, so we can auto-lock bulkheads on our ships, but also to determine when Storms, or Infernos like in your case, find…balance.”
“So Brynna balances me? What does that even mean?”
Eluni covers her mouth with a hand. “She just left.”
“I know.What does that mean, Eluni?” I reiterate.
Allele responds for her. “Brynna is to you as Jovie is to Aura.”
Eluni grimaces. “Probably still some residual poison in your body. You took a lot of hits, Jorusk. I’m certain that’s why you’re confused. Did you feel nothing?”
“A lot of things.But it felt so different that I didn’t know how to deal with it.” I get up and pace, my Inferno writhing inside me. “What am I supposed to do about it now? She’s already on her way to the race.”
Aura casually leans in behind Eluni, dressed in armor and decked with weapons. He crosses his arms and grins at me. “We’ve got a solution for that.”
“Is it ready?” Eluni asks him.
“I finished it a few days ago. Just been running tests. Come on, both of you.”
Eluni steps out into the hallway, and Aura motions me to him.
“Do you remember that vessel you told me about finding as a hatchling?” Aura asks.
“That was decades ago,” I reply. “What about it?”
He leads us through ship passageways to a private hangar. “It’s not unfamiliar to you. You just don’t remember that you arrived in it. You wouldn’t. You hadn’t hatched yet.”
Aura opens the door. “After you.”
When I step inside the hangar, I stop. The ship is far larger than the pieces I remember. It’s glossy black, not dust black, and has three sets of wicked-looking wings.
“Eluni and I have been working on a few projects,” Aura says. “We know you didn’t get to go to your race because of the war. We just wanted to do what we could.
“Some of the systems don’t work for me because I do not have an Inferno.” Aura leads me to the rear ramp. “But with a combination of help from Allele and my Lazariot brother, Elix’s ship’s AI system, MONA, we were able to repair everything that was damaged. It’syourship. This belongs to you. Cinuska wanted to be a part of this, but she’s gone in your place to help the cargo ship, I hear.”
I’ve flown Rogue ships, fought in many different star suits. But I’ve neverowneda ship or anything more than the armor on my body.
Aura rests a big purple hand on my shoulder with a jovial pat. “Don’t look so forlorn, my molten friend. You saved my mate’s life, fought with my people for our freedom, and you helped Thorians and Mindorans get their females back from Denarso. You are not a demon. You are a Drathis, aDragon. You are a Rogue. You are one of us, and you are more.”
“I would’ve helped if you’d told me,” I say.
He smiles at me. “You were busy. I wanted to surprise you. Besides, I think our shipyard is a bit more advanced. So you got a few upgrades.
“You have three days to get acquainted and get your fiery ass to that race. I submitted the forms. All you have to do is confirm. Everything is already loaded onto your screens. I’ve added uniforms, food, and other supplies.”
Guilt storms through me, and I shake my head. “Aura. I can’t take this without repaying you. Tell me what you want.”
Aura lifts his hands. “Don’t fight me on this, Jorusk. Having you protect Jovie and fight alongside us when our initial meeting was not well-received means everything.
