“Please.” She rolls her eyes. “This planet is terrible for you, there’s no sign there’s ever going to be a prison here, your brothers have told you to leave, and you’re still here. You’re not the type that walks away.” Her voice softens. “What happened?”
“We got sent away, all six of us, to deal with an ‘emergency.’ I don’t know what Koval heard, but something made him believe that I wasn’t on his side any longer.” I sigh. “When Mirak talked to First on Avela, First claimed responsibility for that. I don’t know that I believe him, not that it matters. The rebellion went ahead without me, and they failed. Koval was executed. In the end, it took the High Empire more than a year to hunt down and slaughter all the Draekons they’d created.” I stare into the distance. “I failed him, Naomi. I failed them all.”
She looks at me with so much understanding in her eyes that it hurts. “We used to live in the city, Will and I. I was the one who wanted to move to the country. We bought an old farmhouse and we were going to renovate it together. I made our commutes longer. If it wasn’t for me, Will would have never hit that patch of ice. Was his death my fault?”
I know where she’s going, and I don’t like it. “No. But this isn’t the same thing, I should have—”
She puts her finger on my lips, stopping the flow of words. “Did you know it was a trap?”
“No.”
“Could you have predicted it was a trap? And don’t answer it from your heart; your heart is filled with guilt. Answer it from your mind.”
I hesitate. Could I have really known? I was with my brothers, and they’re not fools. Even if I’d missed a warning sign, they wouldn’t have. None of us suspected that anything was amiss. “No.”
She rests her head on my shoulder. The smell of her hair fills my nostrils. Her presence against my side is warm and comforting. “It wasn’t your fault, Danek, any more than it was my fault that Will died. Life is random. Sometimes, shit happens, and good people die too young. You can either spend the rest of your life blaming yourself, or you can mourn Koval, but honor his death by letting yourself live.”
She’s not telling me anything that Kadir or Ruhan or Mirak or Sixth hasn’t said. But it’s different this time, because Naomi is my mate, and because I love her, and because she’s been forced to build her own bridge, and because she knows exactly what I’m going through. Her words wash over me like an absolution. “Thank you,” I whisper.
Her lips curve into a smile. “You’ve really never used your powers on me? Why not? I thought you didn’t want me on this mission.”
“I won’t take away your free will. If I made your choices for you, how would I be any different from the scientists that tortured you?” I stare at our entwined fingers, absently stroking the back of her palm with my thumb. “I never want to risk your safety, Naomi. But there’s a line that I won’t cross.”
She’s here. She’s sitting next to me. She’s staying where she is, and maybe she finally sees how important she is to me.
You’ve shown her how you feel, now tell her. Tell her you love her. Tell her she’s your mate. Tell her how much she matters to you.
I have faced hostile armies easier. I tighten my grip on her hand. “Naomi, I—”
My comm chimes a warning, and Director Lashi’vi, the Cindifin Fourthborn, materializes in front of me. “Safety Inspector Danek,” she greets me formally. “My apologies for this intrusion, so late into the night. But an emergency has arisen.”
The hair on the back of my neck rises. “An emergency? Is one of the domes compromised?”
“Not exactly.” Her gaze darts around the room, but I have the comm set to projection-mode, and so she doesn’t see Naomi. “May we talk in confidence?”
“I’m alone,” I lie. Whatever she has to say can be said in front of my mate. “Please continue.”
“There is a new dome north of the encampment,” she says. “It’s out of range of most of the skimmers. It has never been inspected.” She draws in a deep breath. “I need you to inspect it.”
Every instinct warned me to stay, and here at last is the break I need.
The prison. Finally.
25
Naomi
It wasn’t right for me to accuse Danek of lying to me. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. It didn’t come from a place of healing. It came from a place of fear.
Because I am afraid. I’m forty and he’s gorgeous. I’m broken, and he’s damaged too, but while I respond to stress by blacking out and waking up in the bathtub, he deals with his emotions by being the most competent guy in the room. He’s my pillar. He’s the hand that pulled me out of the darkness.
And if I cling to him, I could pull him under.
So many conflicting emotions run through my mind. Hopes and fears, dreams and nightmares. Can I take a chance? Can I risk my heart?
I can’t deal with any of that right now. I have to put it all on hold, because Director Lashi’vi is on the comm, and we finally have something tangible to work with.
Danek told her he was alone. I keep silent and listen to the conversation.
“A new dome?” he asks. “I didn’t see anything on the schematics—”
“This one isn’t on the schematic,” she cuts in. “It isn’t connected to the main encampment.”
He frowns, playing the role of bureaucratic safety inspector to perfection. “Regulations state that all domes must be networked together. There must be tunnels connecting them so that residents will be able to evacuate in case of a catastrophic failure.”
