“Charlie has something she’d like to share with the class,” Nevada says, taking a plate and loading it with food from the platter on the table in front of us.
Charlie rolls her eyes, but she looks…haunted.
“What’s up?” Alexis asks.
“Dragix and I have been thinking about what you and Kate said. About the planet with the dragons.”
I gape at her. “What planet with what dragons?”
“The ship’s AI system is rather…helpful,” Alexis says. “It has tons of information about this galaxy, including different planets, what those planets are used for, how dangerous they are, and the kinds of aliens that inhabit those planets.”
Charlie sighs. “There’s a planet called Huldra. It’s run by the Lahmu queen—who’s allied with the Arcav. Apparently, she’s a badass bitch. Her father broke an alliance with the dragons on that planet, so she kicked him off the throne and took it for herself.”
I see where this is going. “Dragons.”
“Yeah. Dragons.”
Ellie winces, stroking her huge bump, but her eyes are on Charlie. “Will you go?”
Charlie sighs. “I don’t know. It’s hard for Dragix to be the only dragon on this planet. He may be the largest predator on Agron, but he’s continually hunted. One day, one of these groups may get lucky and kill him. There’s also a good chance our baby will be a dragon. Dragix certainly seems to think so anyway.” She smiles. “He’d never say it, but I know he’d love for our kid to be raised with others of their kind. He often talks about learning to fly with the other kids, running through their huge home, and being doted on by friends and family members.”
“You have that here,” Nevada points out, and Charlie nods.
“That’s what makes it so hard. We do have that here. But what happens when our baby begins to shift? How do we explain that to the other kids? To reassure their parents our child won’t hurt their kids even though he or she may not understand how much stronger they are than their peers?”
We’re all silent for a long moment.
Ivy hands Danica back to Nevada and sits down next to Alexis. “So you’d get on that ship with Sarissa and then what?”
Charlie sighs. “That’s the problem. I’m obviously pregnant, which complicates things, and then we have my gloriously overprotective male who would be forced to be in a confined space for however long it takes us to get to the hub planet. From there, we’d need to find our own way to Huldra. It’s just a thought right now. But this could be our only chance to give our kid a life with others of his or her kind. And I want that for Dragix too.”
“And what does Dragix want for you?” Ellie asks gently.
Charlie sniffs, wiping away a tear that trails down her cheek. “He says he’s happy wherever I am, and he doesn’t need anyone but me and our baby. Oh, and that if anyone ever makes our child feel excluded, they’ll learn the error of their ways. I know he’d love to go, but he doesn’t want to take me away from you guys. He says that after everything I went through on Earth, I deserve a huge, loving family.”
“Well, we’re certainly that,” Nevada says.
“Yeah.” Ivy nods. “And we put the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional.”
We all laugh, and Nevada offers me a plate of food. I shake my head, my stomach tense.
I’ve pushed it down and pushed it down, but all I can see —all I can think about—is the devastation on Korzyn’s face earlier.
The closer we get to leaving, the sicker I feel.
Chapter Sixteen
Sarissa
It’s not hard to track down Korzyn. He’s sitting on a large rock near the stream we ate next to yesterday.
His eyes are hard, his focus intense as he stares at the water.
“Hey.”
He glances over his shoulder at me, but his eyes are still shuttered.
I clear my throat. “I want to apologize.”
He gestures for me to approach, and when I’m close enough for him to touch, he pulls me close until I’m standing between his legs.
“You don’t need to apologize. I should be the one to apologize to you. Both of us knew this was temporary. The fact it happened at all is still…surprising.”
I laugh. “Surprising is a good word for it. How did we go from hating each other to cuddling after sex anyway?”
He smiles, but it’s sad, and we simply stare at each other for a long moment. I raise my hand, resting it on his cheek, and he leans down, brushing my lips with his.
When I first met this man, I never imagined he was capable of tenderness.
Shows what I knew.
Our kiss is slow, gentle, and it brings tears to my eyes.
From the moment I began working for the CIA, I’ve led three lives. I’ve been one person to my friends and the few family members I still see, another person to my colleagues, and yet another to my targets. It became difficult to remember who I was.
When I’m with Korzyn, I know exactly who I am.
When he pulls back, his eyes are silver mirrors.
“When you walk onto that spaceship, don’t look back. Don’t hesitate even once. Because if you do, I won’t be able to let you go. I find it’s…important to me that you get what you want after you fought so hard for it.”
A tear rolls from my eye, and I wipe it away. “I wish we had more time.”
Korzyn’s voice is very quiet. “So do I.”
“Can we…”
He waits for me to get the words out, and I have to clear my throat and then swallow a few times before I can talk without bursting into tears.
“Can we just make the most of the time we have left? Please?”
He studies my face, and to my surprise, he nods. Both of us are very good at keeping others at arm’s length—and avoiding the inevitable pain that occurs when you let someone get too close. But some things are worth the pain.
Some people are anyway.
Korzyn
I sit on
