We gasped together, our bodies locked together, our hearts beating in perfect synchronization as pleasure washed over us in waves. I collapsed against him, my head on his shoulder, our bodies still joined. His arms wrapped around me, holding me close despite the pain it must have caused his injured ribs.
"I've got you," he murmured into my hair. "I've got you, my love."
"I've got you too," I whispered back, and I meant it with every fiber of my being.
"I love you," he murmured into my hair. "Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to remember that. I love you more than anything."
"I love you too," I said. "And we're going to survive this. We have to."
We stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other in the dim light of the cell. Eventually, I shifted off his lap and helped him lie down on the bench, then curled up beside him. It was cramped and uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I needed to be close to him. Needed to feel his warmth, his presence, the steady rhythm of his heart beating in time with mine.
"I wish there was a way to warn them," I said quietly. "During the council call. Some way to let Ako and the others know what's really happening without Riuondo realizing."
Cullen was silent for a moment, his fingers tracing idle patterns on my shoulder. Then he said, "There might be."
I lifted my head to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Morse code," he said. "It's an old Earth telecommunications system—ancient, really. Predates modern technology by centuries. It uses patterns of short and long signals to represent letters and numbers."
"I don't understand."
"You tap out messages," he explained. "Short taps and long taps in specific patterns. Each pattern represents a letter. String the letters together and you have words, sentences, entire messages." He shifted slightly, wincing. "The military used it back in the early days of warfare. It fell out of use when better technology came along, but some of us still learned it. Tradition, mostly."
Hope flickered in my chest. "And you know this code?"
"I do. And I taught it to Chloe when she was young." A small smile crossed his face. "We used to tap messages to each other across the dinner table, drove Catherine crazy."
"So if Chloe was on the council call..." I sat up, my mind racing. "If she was there, and I could tap out a message—"
"She'd recognize it," Cullen finished. "She'd know something was wrong."
My mind was already working through the possibilities. "I need to request a private communication before the full Council call," I said slowly, thinking it through. "With specific people."
Cullen shifted to look at me. "Who?"
"Duke Ako, for one." I sat up fully now, the strategist in me taking over despite our circumstances. "The Council will follow Ako's lead—they always have. If he accepts my abdication as legitimate, the others will fall in line. Riuondo knows this. He'll want Ako to lend credibility."
"Smart," Cullen said. "Who else?"
"Chloe." I met his eyes. "I'll tell Riuondo she's become my new assistant. That I need to give her instructions on handling the transition—what files to transfer, who to contact, how to manage the handover of power. It needs to sound official, necessary."
Understanding dawned in Cullen's expression. "So you can tap a message to her."
"Exactly." I felt the first real spark of hope since our capture. "Riuondo wants this abdication to look legitimate. He needs the Alliance to accept it without question, or his claim to power falls apart. He'll agree to a private communication if I frame it correctly—if I make it seem like I'm cooperating, making this transition smooth and believable."
"That's brilliant," Cullen said quietly. "You're still thinking five steps ahead."
"It's what I do." I allowed myself a small smile. "You need to teach me this Morse code. Every pattern, every letter. Well compose the message I need to send and you can teach me to tap it out exactly. I can't afford to make mistakes."
"Then we have a plan." Cullen reached up and cupped my face. "I'll teach you the code. The basics, at least. Enough to get a message across."
"How long will that take?"
"A few hours, maybe. It's not complicated once you understand the pattern." He pulled me back down beside him. "We'll practice until you have it memorized. Until you can tap it out without thinking."
"What should I say?" I asked. "What message?"
Cullen thought for a moment. "Keep it simple. 'Held hostage. Riuondo alive. Send help, planet Msituni.' Something like that. Short, clear, impossible to misinterpret."
