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Holly’s gaze went to Talyn. “The hard work begins now.”

Sinead brushed her hand across Talyn’s face. He was out cold. That last push to get on the ship had knocked everything out of him. “I’ll do it. Just you see. I’m never letting this guy go again.”

She meant it. Whatever it took, she’d convinced Talyn that he belonged in her life.

Chapter 22

That had been the weirdest dream he’d ever had. Talyn was used to his fair share of eclectic dreams, but he’d never remembered one so intensely. The pain and confusion, bright lights, and shouted voices. He shifted and felt cocooned in warm softness. His half-waking brain felt ridiculously calm.

He let out a contented sigh. At last, he had the peace he’d longed for. His expunge had worked. Talyn no longer felt the emotions of others. It was just him, alone inside his head. This would take some getting used to.

His mouth felt dry and his leg sore as if it had been bruised. Maybe it was something that happened during the procedure. He remembered little about it. It didn’t matter. He’d gotten what he wanted, to end the torment in his head and forget about everything. Forget about Sinead.

Talyn’s breath hitched. He remembered Sinead. He’d promised himself that, if he could remember a single memory, it would be of her. But this wasn’t one memory he recalled. He remembered everything. From the first time they met and how shocking her energy felt, to that first touch and their first kiss. And how he’d told her he didn’t want her. And then...

This wasn’t right. His memory was intact. Had the expunge failed? Talyn shook his head as he recalled his dream. Sinead was peering over him, forcing him to stand and making him run. She’d said she loved him. And she’d kissed him so hard his lips felt tender.

Talyn took in a long, slow breath. Was there something more to this dream he recalled? Sinead had gone. She wasn’t there, was she?

“Sinead?” His voice came out croaky, drifting in the darkness of the room he was in.

“I’m right here.” A hand traced down his bare arm. “I went to get water. I felt you stirring and thought you might be thirsty.”

Talyn grabbed her hand and yanked her toward him. “You’re here? You’re real?”

She laughed softly. “Give me a second to put the water down.”

Talyn couldn’t wait a second. He tugged her closer. It was her. He recognized her scent. “Lights on.”

“No! Lights not on. We need to make sure you’re okay. Resting in the dark was Booby’s order.”

Talyn felt dizzy as he tried to process everything spinning through his head. Saying goodbye to Booby, Sinead trying to change his mind, being taken for his expunge. “What did you do?”

Sinead’s beautiful face looked down at him, concern filling her eyes. “Helped you. How are you?”

He replied by kissing her. He couldn’t stop. Their tongues met, and he filled himself with her taste. She was here, and she’d come for him.

Sinead pulled back, her breathing heavy. “Take it easy. You’ve had an adventure. You’ll be woozy from all those drugs. Booby ran a tox screen on your blood. You had enough sedative to kill a person.”

Talyn shook his head, still stunned by her presence. His hand ran down the silk of her hair. “You’re real.”

Sinead prodded him on the shoulder. “As real as you are.”

Talyn touched the soft skin on her neck. “I thought it was a dream. I thought I’d been expunged.”

“You did your best to make that happen. We decided you needed more time to think.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you mad at me?”

Talyn raised a hand to rub the familiar ache in his forehead but paused. It had gone. He felt no pain. “I don’t understand. The last clear memory I have is of saying goodbye to Booby. I came back to the clinic, and the nurse prepared me for the procedure.”

Sinead breathed out softly. “We were almost too late. They’d given you the medication and only needed to start the machine to remove your ability. Luckily for us, you have an amazing ship. She cut the power in the clinic and gave me time to get you out.”

Talyn nodded slowly as the hazy memories returned. “There was someone else helping us to the ship. Another human?”

“That’s Holly. She’s a friend. She brought me here. She’s gone now, piloting her own ship back to Prodigy.”

Talyn was silent for a moment. It felt too good to be true. His head was calm. Sinead had saved him, and she was right here. “I’ll have to thank Holly.”

Sinead’s smile was tentative. “You don’t mind what we did?”