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“That isn’t an option.”
“But she asked you to, didn’t she?”
Ravik sighs. “Zandro will kill me if I don’t return with Ikaray.”
“He can’t kill you if he doesn’t catch you,” I smile. “I know you’re an excellent pilot, and Zandro has other things on his mind.”
Ravik smirks. “You’re a bad influence.”
“Not a bad influence,” I say. “I just hate to see you languish on Jaya while an oracle tells you there’s so much more ahead of you.”
Ravik reaches out and I take his hand, gripping it tight. We’ve been together through so much—through the slaughter of our people, the destruction of our planet, years of running away from our past.
Ravik is ready to move toward his future—and I don’t want to stop him.
“I promised I wouldn’t leave you behind,” he says.
“And I release you from that promise,” I say. “If we need azephtan, I’m sure Jokahn would procure one for us. And if your future is elsewhere…just promise we’ll see each other again someday.”
Ravik nods. “Of course. You’re my brother.”
I hope this won’t be the last time we share a drink.
??
I wander back to my room after a few more rounds, pleasantly drunk and hazy. Strange noises come from Frankie’s room—hushed voices, then strangled cries. I linger outside the door, listening intently, and I know exactly what I’m hearing a moment later.
I don’t know how to feel.
Pleasure—jealousy. All of those sensations whirl in the pit of my stomach, flaring in my chest, drowning me.
I know it’s thederize, my conversation with Ravik, this alien desire that seems to swallow me every time I’m with Frankie or Malix. I lean against the wall and I listen to them through the door, and I wonder if I should join them.
Tonight is theirs, though.
Tomorrow is ours.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
??
MALIX
Morning breaks on a new world.
I bury my face in Frankie’s hair as sunlight creeps in from the balcony, light dancing across my eyelids. She smells of the sea—and of that pink flower that blooms on Jaya, the one that’s bigger than my hand. Frankie nestles into my chest and her scent washes over me, sparking my arousal.
My cock presses against her thigh where our limbs tangle together, still naked after several rounds of lovemaking. I covered her with a blanket after the last time; humans like to be wrapped in warmth, and I want her to have whatever she desires. My shoulder and side remain uncovered as I let the sun warm my scales.
She breathes deeply, her brow furrowing. When her eyes open, the glow gold-brown in the sun, her lips curling in a smile.
“It was real,” she whispers.
I frown. “Of course it was—”
Her finger presses to my lips and I shut my mouth, blinking at her in confusion.
“Shh…” she coos. “Just kiss me, okay?”
