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“Smart girl. Of course she does. We’re awesome. Let’s move.”

When we got inside, the rest of the team was already aboard. Doc stood outside the room with her scanner up. Tambi had her tablet balanced on one knee, cross-referencing readings.

Monica leaned against the corridor wall with her arms folded. “Oh, good. The lovebirds are here. We got the notification and came straight over. Where have you two been?”

“Busy.” Cass nudged me in the ribs. “What you got?”

“Some freaky damn stuff.” Doc glanced over and grinned. “What did you do to make your hair look like that?”

“Not the time for hairstyle tips.” Cass walked past Monica and Doc and stopped at the room entrance. The light from inside painted her face a warm amber. She put her palm against the frame. “Talk to me.”

“All the alcoves are cycling.” Doc stepped in beside her. “It’s the same sequence the ship ran on you before, but she isn’t targeting anyone.”

“So, what’s she doing?” Cass asked.

“Warming up, maybe.”

“The energy draw is pulling from a source I still can’t pin.” Monica pushed off the wall. “It’s not the main grid or the emergency reserves. Wherever this power’s coming from, it predates anything in the system architecture.”

Tambi looked at me. “Does any of this make sense to you?”

“From what I’ve learned, she’s trying to complete a stalled ritual.” I focused on Tambi, to dampen my desire to look only at Cass and see what she needed from me. “If what you discovered is true about a fire, the ship is holding half-recorded fragments. She can’t let them go until the sequence finishes.”

“She needs someone to finish it for her.” Tambi tapped her stylus against the tablet. “And she picked Cass as a conduit?”

“Lucky me.” Cass stepped through the entrance. “I love a challenge.”

“Which is why you put up with us,” Doc said.

“You’d better believe it. Let’s see what we’re dealing with. I’m going in.”

We followed Cass, and I took a moment to take it all in. The room had transformed. Every alcove pulsed in sequence, light racing through the floor channels, and the hum had dropped to something like a heartbeat. The temperature was perfect.

Cass walked the perimeter, one hand trailing along the wall, and the resin brightened under her touch, gold light following her fingers like something devoted.

My ship. My emotions. Did she feel the same way I did about Cass? Did Hollow Chorus know I’d let Cass in and my mate bond had flared?

“She’s showing off for you,” Monica said, a huge grin on her face. “This is so damn pretty.”

“There’s no need to show off, angel. I already know how special you are.” Cass stopped at the third alcove and crouched. “Doc, get a reading on this one. It’s running colder than the others. Maybe it’s the malfunction that’s stopping the system completion.”

Doc moved in with the scanner, while Tambi circled left, documenting.

I stood at the center of the room, and every protective instinct I had ran hot. The ship was preparing for a ritual bond, and if I’d read my ship right, it had picked Cass to fully bond with. Humans didn’t bond with our tech. At least, it had never been done, and I wouldn’t allow the Hollow Chorus to hurt her while trying to force an unnatural connection.

The issue was, everything about my connection with Cass and her connection to my ship fit too damn perfect.

“Hey, Rennick.” Cass looked over her shoulder. “Stop hovering. You’re making the ship nervous.”

“The ship isn’t nervous. I’m nervous! Don’t underestimate how much power is beneath your feet,” I said.

The hum shifted lower. A vibration climbed through the floor and settled behind my ribs. The alcoves pulsed faster, the sequence accelerating, and the light in the channels started cycling white at the edges.

“The readings are spiking.” Doc’s voice tightened. “Shit! Whatever she’s gearing up for, it’s happening.”

“But she’s not targeting me.” Cass stood, her hand still on the wall. “She’s targeting all of us, isn’t she?”

Doc nodded. “Every bio-signal in this room is getting checked out. What does she want?”