“I will never abandon you,” he promised, knowing it was true with every cell inside him. And along with that came another realization. “And I will never make you do something you do not want to do. Or go where you do not want to go.”
With a thought, he slowed the ship, the constant hum altering in cadence. Their momentum wavered, then settled as the engines powered down.
Swiping at the tears on her face, Wynn straightened. “What are you doing?”
“I will not take you to Sector Ten if you do not wish it.”
No matter what his orders were at the beginning of this mission, he could not fulfill them if the outcome harmed her. She had been through enough and deserved peace.
Bracing her hands against the terminal, her gaze flicked from the stars in front of them to his face and back again. “But—” She licked her lips and shook her head. “Where else would I go?”
“I do not know. But you did not wish for me to collect you, so I will not.”
Her happiness, her contentment, had become too important to him. He would rather incur the wrath of The Four, to never return home if that was what she wished, than be another person who forced her to go somewhere against her will.
As she stared at the stars, her breaths expelled from her lips in rapid bursts. New, erratic emotions surged upward, ones very similar to what he had experienced at her outpost. With a shaky hand, she reached for the space of skin where her nails had gouged her body, covered them, and squeezed.
His chest tightened, and he reached without thinking, laying his hand on hers. It pained him to see her hurting. He’d thought to ease her stress by offering her a choice, but in doing so, it appeared he had added to it.
“Where else would I go?” she repeated as a shuddering breath expelled from her lips. “Tellusian space? Home?” She scoffed a wet sound. “The CORE will search for me everywhere. There will be bulletins with my picture, and people already know what I look like from the recent news coverage.”
She shook her head again. “I don’t understand how anyone could have known I was different. Why would they have sent Sawyer after me? I’ve lived my life according to CORE law, and I’ve never gone against the government. I didn’t even know I was adopted.” She turned and met his gaze. “How did you know to come for me?”
He went over the series of events that had happened prior to receiving his assignment, all the communications he had viewed, and those he had heard secondhand.
They had chosen him for his youth and memories of a life barely lived, as well as his willingness to follow orders and his physical capabilities. He had no strong attachments before he left either, making him a prime candidate.
They had also thought his curiosity about Earth would be an asset. Not only had he studied the planet as a child, but even after coalescing with other Calypsons, his interest in Earth remained. He had read many volumes of data about the planets in this solar system and in Epsilon Eridani.
As for how they knew how to find her…
“The newsreels,” he said simply.
She swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“She recognized you.”
“She?”
“Briar Galloway.”
The color in Wynn’s cheeks waned, and her brow furrowed while displeasure rose between them.
“I think I have a lot to say to that woman.” Wynn gritted the words between clenched teeth.
A tentative hope bloomed at her angry words. “Does that mean you want to travel to Sector Ten?”
She lifted her gaze, and her eyes searched his again. “Why did you come for me, Iax? You could have left me to my fate and gone home.”
“I already told you—”
She interrupted. “And you also said you wouldn’t take me to Sector Ten against my will, so your mission can’t be the only reason.”
He held her gaze, but did not answer, his mind racing for ways to explain.
“Tellme, Iax. Why did you come for me?” She turned to face him fully, then gripped his arms. “Please tell me.” Her voice broke.
“I needed to protect you.” The words came out with such vehemence her head snapped back.
