When Fieri glances down at me, I see a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “My Storm’s desire to mate died when she did. Cinuska just reminds me of her.”
“Then come on. Don’t let the closest thing you’ve found to your love get away from you again.” I loop an arm around one of Fieri’s. “Don’t fight a pregnantfemaleon this.”
Fieri sniffs the air and relents. “Fine. But only because I do not want Jorusk mad at me.”
We walk through the hallway toward the hangars, and Fieri calls Aura to inform him that he’s going with us.
As we climb the ramp, Osiris and Cinuska turn to look back at us.
Cinuska gets up. “Fieri? What are you doing with us?”
He wipes his eyes and clears his throat. “Not ready to let Jorusk out of my sight.”
Her brows quirk, and she glances at my arm looped inside his.
I nudge him in the side. “Go talk to her.”
“I am not atalker,” he growls.
“Then sit at my defense systems, buttellherthe truthbefore you lose your chance.”
Fieri slumps, takes in a deep breath, and marches himself to the defense controls.
Cinuska looks between us. I give her an encouraging tilt of my head before taking the pilot’s seat beside Osiris.
“Welcome to Black Sun,” I tell him. “I’m glad you’re joining us for this trip.”
He smiles. “It’s nice to get to spend some time with humans. Sometimes, the Drathious anger really gets to me. They can be so cynical, sadistic, pessimistic...”
“Hey, shut up.” Rykarn hobbles in with a foot in a brace and his right arm in a sling, eating a sandwich with his good hand. He sits down in the navigation seat.
Vryskas sighs as he joins us. He bends over and belts Rykarn in.
“Thanks,babe,”Rykarn says, throwing Vryskas a kiss through the air.
“Ugh.” Vryskas gags.
“Love you back,” Rykarn snickers.
Vryskas pats his shoulder and takes the seat next to him. Sidius calls out from the back that Gypsy Star is secure, and my plants are ready for the trip.
“Hang on.” I find Jorusk’s ship and chart a path behind him.
“Portal generation ready,” my new AI system reports. “Jump sync with DIA?”
“Please.”
Green light swells at the nose of my ship and swallows us in a ring of fire, an Amphiran upgrade I like. We drop out into space outside a fiery nebula beside DIA. All around us, Drathious ships pop into view.
Nervousness tenses my stomach, and I call Jorusk. “Be careful, love.”
“I will.”
Climbing out and onto DIA’s roof is my sexy mate, flaming wings stretched out and trailing embers.
He ventures deep into the nebula. I try to follow but quickly lose him in the clouds.
“Jorusk?”
