Page 60

The xilo ignored him and kept eating.

Blaze rested his head back. Leandra said you couldn’t force love. You got one shot at the real thing. That concept sat uncomfortably with him. He thought he had it figured out.

If only he’d never met Eden. He’d have been content with this freedom, grateful even, to have had the chance to be a normal guy, fighting for a cause he believed in. He could have returned to his home victorious and settled into a life of luxury and privilege. There were worse futures.

But it didn’t feel enough. Not now he’d had a taste of Eden.

The xilo’s head shot up. The food he was eating fell from his mouth.

“Hey. There’s nothing to worry about,” Blaze said.

The lights overhead flickered.

Blaze looked at the door Leandra had left through. She’d been gone a while.

He made a step toward it, when the lights blinked out, plunging the room into darkness.

Blaze tensed, his senses tingling. The animals in the room behind him were calling out their fear.

He eased his gun from its holster and inched toward the exit. His hand was on the door, when gunfire rang out.