Anger flares up in me. “Brings hope? You mean it turns human women into breeding slaves.”
Daccia doesn’t wince at my accusation. His aura doesn’t change. He’s completely comfortable with that accusation.
For a moment, he stares me down, and his slate-grey eyes glint with that hint of diamond. They’ve only grown harder with the changes of the Bond, and I’m reminded that it doesn’t matter if Daccia has a kind side to him. At his core, he’s still a ruthless alien warrior – one who has survived a hundred years of hell in battlefields across this universe.
If there’s anything left of goodness in him, it’s nothing compared to the blood he’s spilled.
Daccia murmurs: “No. Never a slave. A woman who never wanted children will still never want children. The Bond can’t change that.”
Wanted children.
Did I ever want children?
One day, I’d dreamed of having a large family – but I’d long abandoned those dreams.
Not in this universe.
Not in the universe I’ve seen. Not with the chaos and violence that fills it…
But with three Aurelian warriors? Who’d literally die for me? Three powerful men who’d do anything to keep me and my children safe?
Maybe.
Maybe…
…but not now.
I still have so much to do in my life.
I pick at the crumbs of the ration pack and think about what I want from life. Ever since I’d tried and failed to save my sister, my life has been one, long escape. It’s felt like one, long chase – only ever once step ahead of Law Enforcement.
I’m tired. I’m so, so tired.
A rabbit can only run so long from the fox. I’ve been looking over my shoulder for Aurelian Law Enforcement for so long, I’m not sure if I’m programmed for anything else.
If I escape Daccia, Hadrian, and Kitos, I’ll then be looking over my shoulder for them, too. They’ll be even more relentless than Law Enforcement. They’ll never let go of the one woman who can bear them sons.
Unless I turn them into the law.
Gods! What a thought!
It would be the ultimate betrayal. It would make stealing from those Aurelian Elites look like littering.
The three of them will be jailed – or killed…
…and yet, I’ll finally be safe.
Daccia sits across from me, waiting for his words to sink in. I feel a knot in my stomach. He’s completely unaware that I’m plotting his captivity… or even his death.
When we first met, he was the one who was bringing me in to rot in a jail cell.
How fitting would it be if I was the one to put him right where he wanted to throw me? That I’d going to get away with my freedom, my life, and thousands of years to enjoy it all – while he and his battle-brothers regret ever crossing paths with me.
Oblivious to my scheming, Daccia continues: "The Bond can’t make you do anything you don't want to do – but it can make you lose your inhibitions. It can make you push forward and enjoy things you might not have even realized you liked.”
Like the fact that Kitos’ cruelty turns me on so fucking much?
Gods! I need to do everything in my power to keep these Aurelians thinking I’m on their side. I can’t let them know I’m going to betray them at the first chance I get. I dread to even think what would happen if that were the case.
I’ll do whatever it takes – even if that means enjoying their bodies and their desires while we’re en route to wherever we are going…
Where the hell are we going?
“Are you taking me back to Colossus?’
Daccia shakes his head. “No. We’re going to a nearby planet. Salcus. There, we’ll get our Orb-Drive repaired.”
Salcus. We’re still not in Aurelian territory. If it’s like any planet I’ve been on that’s not administrated by the Aurelian Empire, it’ll be a hotbed of crime, slavery, and debauchery.
Exactly the sort of place to get rid of some pesky Aurelians.
“But it’ll take weeks to fix the ship. Wouldn’t it be faster to just standard travel back to Colossus?”
Daccia shrugs. “Yes – but we’ve been tasked to pick up more prisoners along the way.”
I feel a sudden flutter of anxiety through the Bond.
Daccia looks up at me – and although his face is a hardened mask, I can feel him pondering the wisdom of what he’s going to say to me next.
“At least, that’s what our Inspector thinks we’re going to do.”
Daccia leans towards me. “Allie… Can I trust you?”
I keep my face straight – and my emotions straighter. When you’re dealing with someone who can feel what you’re feeling, betraying surprise – even internally – is a rookie mistake.
But the reason I need to hide my smile is because this is sounding fucking perfect. If the Aurelians are picking up additional prisoners, it’ll mean more Aurelian Law Enforcement officers on the scene. I just need to get one of those officers alerted – and then Daccia, Kitos, and Hadrian will be ones captured and hogtied; and I’ll finally be free.
Free!
Free from the triad forever. If those three gorgeous bastards are trapped serving a lifetime in maximum security on Colossus, they can’t follow me.
A pang of guilt hits me. I try to be callous in this cruel universe, but some remnants of weakness still remain inside me. I know I need to burn such compassion from my mind. This is about survival right now, and nothing else.
I can’t let Daccia feel my guilt through the Bond, or he’ll get wise to my scheme.
I still don’t know the ins and outs of the Bond – how it works exactly. Daccia at least has the advantage of learning about this near-mythical connection from a young age. All of this is so much more real to him
