I slammed the palm of my hand against my temple, trying to dislodge the memories.
And delete them.
I couldn’t be distracted from my mission now.
Now when I had worked so hard.
I shoved myself up onto my feet, staggering a single step before approaching the door.
The ship was empty, just as I had commandeered it.
I had borrowed it from the Shadow’s fleet.
No one owned anything in the Shadow Realm.
No one owned anything… and you will be happy.
That was the mantra.
Ava. Where was she?
While I was unconscious, the M’rora could have scooped her up and carried her away.
I could be heading home.
Alone.
“Computer, locate Ava.”
“She’s in her quarters.”
“Is anyone else on board?”
“Negative.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then we were heading toward the Shadow Realm.
A smile came to my lips.
I was relieved, excited…
Then why did the smile feel so forced, so fake?
I shook my head of such thoughts and focused on what was important:
My mission.
I followed Computer’s directions.
When the door hissed open, I found her lying on her bed fast asleep.
She hadn’t even managed to undress or get beneath the covers.
It’d been a very trying day for her.
But with any luck, it would soon be over.
I sat on the edge of her bed and ran my fingers through her hair.
She would be in the Citadel and prepped for the ceremony.
The Elders and the entire empire would watch as I claimed her, cheering with joy as other Shadows claimed her over and over again.
Yes, this day might have been hard but there were far harder days yet to come.
I felt a shiver of revulsion at the idea of sharing her.
I shook it off.
Such thoughts were not conducive to a Shadow lifestyle.
It was the way it was and there was no changing it.
Still, I enjoyed the idea of having her to myself, even if it was only for now.
And I looked forward to the boost my social level would receive once I returned with her.
An entire world of possibility would open up for me, one that had hitherto been unreachable.
All I needed was to pay the toll, and that was with Ava, my fated mate.
I felt the bond between us and ran my fingers through it like a silk ribbon tied between us.
I immediately inverted it, cloaking it with weaves of dark shadows.
“Mm,” she said under her breath. “That feels nice.”
Despite myself, and the soft tone of the lights playing across her skin that gave her an almost angelic glow, I felt myself stiffen.
She yawned and opened her eyes.
Her smile curdled at the sight of me and she shot back and clutched the blankets close.
I guess getting used to my appearance would take some time.
She’d removed her baggy top, revealing the curl of her rounded breasts and slim waist.
Her eyes were no longer red-rimmed with tears and I saw her for the beauty she was.
“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s me.”
Her eyes searched my face and bare torso, then slowly shifted to my shoulder.
She darted forward and I prepared to snatch her before she could escape.
But she didn’t try to bolt past me.
She placed her hands on my shoulder and massaged where the plasma had struck and seared away my flesh.
She peered closely at it before moving around me to inspect my back.
“It’s completely healed.…”
“Not completely. The plasma tore through me and burnt away a great deal of my flesh. It’ll take time for my body to stitch itself back together again. And there will be a scar.”
“Adding to the others.”
Ava ran her finger over the marks that decorated my body like tattoos.
I liked the feel of her soft hands on me.
She made my cock even harder.
“I thought it was all a dream…” she said softly.
“I’m afraid not. It happened.”
She was silent for a moment.
“I wanted to… to thank you,” I said, the words failing to come smoothly.
I hadn’t had a lot of people to thank over the years.
“For what?”
“For stopping the M’rora from killing me. He would have if you weren’t there.”
She shrugged.
“He’s the big bad, remember? Forced marriage doesn’t sound much fun to me.”
And becoming a breeder would?
But of course, she didn’t know what her fate would be with me.
The glory of serving the empire, making us stronger and more powerful with each son and daughter she birthed.
I shook my head of the propaganda and the daily beatings that’d ensured it stuck clearly in our minds.
“He said you lied to me,” Ava said. “He said you were the ones who treated us badly. Is that true?”
“He would say anything. Don’t believe his lies.”
The words burnt my tongue as I released them.
“The M’rora,” I said. “All they do is lie.”
Ava smiled back at me, though it was a little distant.
“I thought so. I knew you wouldn’t lie to me.”
An awkward silence passed between us.
At least, it was awkward from my end.
Looking at her now with her soft feminine features, she looked nothing like the delicate flower I thought she was.
She didn’t have the full-blooded physical attributes of a Shadow warrior, but in her eyes, I saw the resolute confidence every warrior came hardwired with.
A willingness to never give up, to never quit.
We shared a private smile.
Thump!
The ship shuddered.
I caught Ava before she hit the floor.
A bark of pain exploded from my shoulder and lashed my entire body.
An alarm blared and the emergency lights flashed.
I leaped to my feet and ignored my body’s protestations.
“Computer. What’s happening?”
“We’re under attack. A M’rora vessel opened fire on us.”
The M’rora!
“Return fire!” I bellowed. “And get us out of here at fast as possible!”
“The M’rora has damaged our thrusters. Speed has been reduced by thirty percent. We are unable to outrun him.”
The ship shuddered once again.
“Thrusters now at sixty-five percent,” Computer said impassively.
“Divert shields to the rear and plot a course for the nearest planet, moon, or asteroid field.”
My ship turned sharply, but the incoming fire continued to rain down.
The one thing on my side, the one thing I knew the M’rora would not allow, was for any harm to come to Ava.
He could disable our engines, weapons, and shields but he would
