Nia took a step away from the hatch, heart slamming in her ears, stomach dropping into the deck. There was nowhere to hide.
“None taken,” Mace replied as he straightened. He focused on her and his whole body went rigid, expression shuttering.
Every part of Nia tingled in warning.
Mace took one step to her side. “Turn around. Start walking. Don’t stop until you’re back in my quarters.”
Nia couldn’t move—even with the heavy threat sinking every word into her gut.
“Now,” he added between clenched teeth. He didn’t touch her, but the force of the one word made her jump in a half-circle and scurry toward his quarters, the sound of his boot steps following close behind.
“Commander,” said the woman holding the baby. “Can you tell us what’s going on?”
“Some glitch in the power grid,” he replied as Nia stepped over the threshold to his quarters. “Should be rectified shortly.”
She spun around, fists clenched, ready to be reprimanded. Mace reached above the door, pumping the manual release until it sealed them inside the dimly lit room.
Nia stayed still, waiting, her breaths shallow.
His posture hadn’t relaxed. He paced in front of her like he was trapped. “Do you know what would have happened if a processor or enforcer found you wandering the corridors unescorted?”
She didn’t move but kept tracking his movements back and forth.
“The rights you’ve earned so far would’ve been taken away.” He ran a jerky hand through his hair. “You’d probably put in the common holding with all the other captives, and I wouldn’t be able to protect you. You might be fine, sure, but then again, you might not.”
He dropped his hand and kept pacing. Heat crept up her throat. Seeing him like this made her senses prickle.
He stopped and abruptly turned to her, making her head jerk.
“If you were in the corridor when the power returned, you would’ve received a painful shock. Or worse yet, if you’d made it to—oh, I don’t know, let’s say the docking bay—your bonds would’ve killed you.”
Her stomach dropped. Of course she should have considered that possibility. He’d basically told her so in the med bay. But after today, after what she’d seen in the theater, she needed to get off this station.
The lights returned to full power, and Nia gasped at Mace’s expression. Haggard. Tortured.
“What the hell am I doing?” He ran a hand over his face. “Elec told me…” He shook his head and walked away to brace his palms against the bulkhead, head bent.
Heart pounding, Nia stayed where she was, hands by her sides. The lights on her bonds were back on. She swallowed.
When he straightened and turned around, his face had become an impassive mask.
Nia fisted her hands. “Let me go home.”
He closed his eyes briefly. “It’s impossible.”
She shook her head, not believing it. There had to be a way.
Then he met her gaze straight on, his jaw locked. “Unless you want to experience something similar to those traitors, Euphenia Jannex.”
All the blood left her head. It was the first time she’d heard her full name since leaving the CORE. Bright light flared in her eyes, her skull becoming weightless. Before she realized what was happening, Mace was there, strong arms around her waist as he stopped her from hitting the deck.
She blinked the fog from her eyes. They sat on the bed, his arms cradling her. Every part of her felt secure. But she knew it was a lie.
“You’re safe.”
She shook her head at his words.
“I will not allow that to happen to you,” he asserted.
