Page 51 of Starfighter’s Salvation

I rocked back on my heels. My hands shook now that the work was done, the fine, post-adrenaline tremor I usually hid until I reached my car. Corvan wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and put a ration bar in my hand.

Great. This was just an alien granola bar in a fancy new wrapper.

“Eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I did not ask.”

No negotiation. Right. I looked at him. “Are you trying to use nurse voice on me?”

“Pilot voice. More effective.”

“Debatable.”

"How about mate voice?" He opened the ration bar and held it to my mouth. I took a bite because, mate voice, for the win. If he looked at me like that, with those dark eyes and chiseled cheeks and dropped that bossy, sexy voice on me I had zero resistance.

I chewed slowly. I was wrong. This was far worse than a granola bar. This tasted like chalk and pressed protein. Still, no one had ever noticed the shaking and fed me before. The stupid ration bar almost made me cry. I chewed harder and blinked until my tear ducts decided to behave themselves. That lasted until Corvan wrapped his arms around me and tucked me against his chest again.

“When we return to Arturri,” he whispered into my hair, “I am going to keep you in bed for a week. There will be no patrols. No launch clock. No one bleeding.”

“And then what?” Oh, yeah. Talk dirty to me. I badly needed a distraction.

His mouth touched my ear. “And I will make you come until you forgive me for being four days late, until you never want to think about leaving me again.”

I swallowed the next bite with difficulty. Wouldn't take much convincing. I never wanted to leave his side now. “That sounds serious.”

“I am a serious male.”

“I'll make a note of that in your chart.”

Above us, the patrol's continued. Corvan turned off the small light. His arms tightened around me, and we waited for dawn.

13

Corvan, the Ferros Trench

* * *

At dawn, I waited for the latest search patrol to pass our location and move on. I'd been timing them all night and noted that a new batch of hunters appeared about once an hour. I brought the ship online one system at a time. The port thruster was at fifty-eight percent and unstable. Starboard at full. Not great but good enough to get us out of here if no one was shooting at us.

I doubted we'd be that lucky. But sitting here for a full day was certain death. They would find us eventually. I'd rather take my chances out there than sit like here waiting to be slaughtered.

Dawn starlight poured a copper glow onto the trench walls. It was almost time. In a few minutes, the planet's giant star would be perfectly positioned at the opening of the trench. If we flight straight into it, any pursuit would be flying with blinding light in their eyes.

So would I, but I wasn't trying to shoot down a moving target. The damaged thruster sent a vibration through the entire ship that I felt in my teeth.

“Patients secure,” Gina reported. “Tavar is holding steady. The new antibiotic helped. Cassia and Brennix are threatening each other, so I assume they’re fine."

Her voice came through the comms calm and reassuring—her nurse voice. It worked and the muscles across my shoulders eased a fraction.

“We launch in thirty seconds," I warned her.

“Ready.”

The rising sun hit the mouth of the trench. I lifted the ship on minimal power, cleared the overhang, and pushed both thrusters to full. For three seconds, the plan worked. We were so close to the exit. All I needed was a couple minutes to get us there.

Unexpectedly, they stopped jamming my sensors. Comms came online, as did my targeting controls. I expected one, maybe two ships to be wandering around looking for us.