“No. I refuse to become my father.”
Eluni hugs herself and makes a surprised face at Blaize, muttering something about myglow.
Blaize thinks he’s covert as he points at us and makes a suggestive gesture. When he sees me watching him, he shrugs. “What?”
I shake my head and let my door shut behind me. Slumping back on the bed, feeling overwhelmed, I hug Jovie to push back the memories of the chamber.
“How did it feel?” she gently asks.
“Cold. Empty.” I weave my fingers into the loose, wavy strands of the braid she’s undone and soak in her softness. “Hopeless.”
Jovie eases out of my arms, gathers up blankets, layers them around me, and then crawls in with me. Her tenderness reminds me of Elix and Zariah, and how he built her a nest after they’d crashed on his frozen homeworld.
She doesn’t know how much the little things mean to me. Jovie wants me to be comfortable, safe, and happy as much as I want those things for her. Never in my life have I found anyone so attentive. But I think the way things are with Jovie is how they’re supposed to be between mates, not the kings’ ideas.
“How—” I start.
“Allele found you. Fieri had a contact among the Elders. Eluni knew someone in the arresting facility. I think they’ve been with the resistance longer than anyone realized.”
“Maybe.” I think back over the years and try to find signs, but I’m just not sure. “Why did you take such a risk to save me? Imean, I didn’t want you to have to meet my people or visit one of our ships in such a manner. I’m sure you joined ABR expecting abetterlife.”
Jovie tilts her head and smiles at me. “I finally have a hunky man all to myself, one who’s loyal and caring. Thisisa better life. And someone thinks they’re going to take you away from me? Hell no. They can suck an electrode.
“So Eluni, Tal, and I got the programming taken care of while the others broke you out. Blaize, Fieri, and Jorusk were on combatant duty. They cleared the way, then we did our thing.”
“So there are rebels among the Elders?”
She nods. “Pretty sure they’re everywhere, and they’re a far larger portion of the population than one might think at first glance.”
Jovie taps a modified gauntlet screen and displays a list of readouts. “We picked up Talros on the way to you. Talros has a host of custom drones he built, so we’ve launched them to various ships to coordinate an escape.
“We didn’t have you to make the call, so we collectively decided to help those of Genesis coordinate a plan to peel apart from New World, quietly and quickly, with less conflict. Jorusk says it’s what his people did with the Talhuskins.”
“Thank you.”
She kisses me. “For now, all we have to do is finish the race. Are you up for that?”
“I already have what I want.”
“Me too. But if we want to broker peace, we have to show others that it’s possible. The galaxy needs to seeus.”
27: Jovie
After a long nap, I wake to see Aura staring up at the ceiling, a hand tucked behind his head. There’s a distance in his gaze that worries me.
“What’s on your mind?”
“So many things and yet nothing useful.” Aura holds me against him, draws in a breath of me, and tension leaves his body. “I’m afraid of how many others were there, not because they were criminals but because they didn’t follow the same Storm rituals or lack thereof. I just keep thinking that there has to be a way to free them of Storm arrest and let them live in a normal cell where they can still enjoy food and conversation. At least, maybe we could sort through them, release the ones who never actually hurt anyone.”
I hook a leg over his hips and leverage myself on top of him. “Why don’t you just focus on your current situation for a little while? Let’s get you back into shape before we take on anyone else.”
A mischievous grin decorates his face. Aura collects me, rolls us over, and positions me beneath him. His erection is hot as he gently grinds into my hips.
“One part of you isn’t cold,” I mutter.
He chuckles, strips me out of my race suit, and then clambers to his feet and tears himself out of his. Aura is all firm electric flesh as he gathers me in his arms, finds my opening, and buries himself in me.
With every thrust, warmth floods back into his body until he is radiant again. He kisses my neck, rakes his teeth down my shoulder, and clutches me against him.
