Page 83 of Enslak

Not someone I needed to protect from the world, but someone who would stand beside me against it.

"Together," I said finally.

"Together," she agreed, and smiled—fierce and determined and absolutely fearless.

The fear didn't disappear entirely. I didn't think it ever would. The thought of losing her would always terrify me in ways I couldn't fully articulate. But I understood now that trying to keep her safe by keeping her away from danger wasn't protecting her.

It was insulting her.

She wasn't fragile. She was a warrior. And she'd chosen to fight beside me.

The least I could do was trust her to do it.

Chapter 18

Enslak

We moved through the night, using the darkness to cover our approach back toward the ship. Slowly, methodically, we used every bit of cover the forest provided, slipping past the tracking party in silence. The Ulkommenian weren't expecting us to double back—they were still pushing deeper into the forest, following the thermal trail we'd deliberately left by running in the opposite direction before dousing ourselves in the cool creek water to mask our heat signatures.

But as we got closer to the clearing, I heard them.

Not just one or two. More. Many more.

I held up my hand, signaling Niki to stop. We crouched behind a massive fallen tree, its trunk easily three meters in diameter, and peered through the undergrowth to count voices.

Seven Ulkommenian stood between us and our ship. They hadn't spotted us yet—still scanning the forest in the wrong direction, weapons held ready. The search party had obviously split into two groups, and we'd run straight into the larger one.

"Shit," Niki breathed beside me, her voice barely audible even to my enhanced hearing. "That's more than we planned for."

I opened my mouth to suggest she stay hidden while I handled them. The words were right there—Stay here. Let me take care of this. I can move faster alone.

But then I caught it. That flash in her eyes. That spark of defiance that told me exactly what she'd think of that plan.

"We can do this," she said, absolute certainty filling her voice. Not bravado. Not false confidence. Just the calm assurance of someone who'd assessed the situation and found it manageable. "We just need to be smart about it."

I studied her face. Her mind was already working, calculating angles and approaches and weaknesses. Her eyes tracked each soldier's position, noting their spacing, their weapons, their blind spots.

"Ideas?" I asked.

"You draw their attention. Make noise, make them focus on you. I'll flank from the north side—there's better cover there, and the sun's at my back so they'll have trouble seeing me clearly." Her eyes never stopped moving, never stopped analyzing. "When they're distracted, focused on you, I take out as many as I can before they realize I'm there." She pulled the blaster from her waistband and grinned.

"That puts you alone—"

"For maybe thirty seconds." Her eyes met mine, and I saw no fear there. Only focus. "Trust me, Enslak. I know what I'm doing."

And I realized I did trust her. Completely. Not just with my life, but with the plan itself. With the execution. With everything.

"Thirty seconds," I agreed. "Then I'm coming for you."

She smiled—fierce and wild and absolutely fearless. "I'm counting on it."

I pulled her to me before I could think better of it. My mouth found hers with an urgency that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with need. The need to taste her one more time. To feel her alive and whole against me. To memorize the way she fit against my body, the way her breath caught when I deepened the kiss.

She made a small sound—surprise, then surrender—and her hands came up to grip my shoulders. Her fingers dug in hard enough to bruise, holding on like she understood exactly what this was.

What it might be.

When I pulled back, her eyes were bright. Fierce. Alive.