“You forget I’ve saved your life—twice.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“And I saved yours. Guess that makes us even.”
I continued working, conscious of his presence behind me. Our bickering had become comfortable, familiar. After a moment, he relented and squeezed into the co-pilot’s seat that was clearly too small for his frame.
“That chair wasn’t made for someone your size,” I observed, hiding a smile.
“Few things here are,” he replied dryly. “Yet I manage.”
“TheStarfall’s tougher than she looks. She’ll adjust.” I patted the console again. “Just like her captain.”
Korvan watched me work, his sharp eyes tracking my movements. “How does it feel?” he asked suddenly.
I knew he wasn’t asking about the ship. My hand went to my neck again, to the markings that connected us. “Different. Stronger. I can hear things I couldn’t before. Smell things.” I glanced at him. “Feel things more intensely.”
“The effects will stabilize in another day or two.” His voice softened. “Any regrets?”
I shook my head without hesitation. “Not one.”
TheStarfall’sengines hummed beneath us, ready for departure, but I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the ignition sequence.
“What is it?” Korvan asked, leaning forward in his too-small chair.
I turned to face him, suddenly needing to say the words that had been building inside me. “You know, when I took that job from Miggs, I never imagined it would lead me here. I was just trying to survive another day.”
“And now?” His gaze held mine, patient and intense.
“Now, I’m not just surviving. I’m...” I paused, the words feeling strange but necessary. “I love you. That’s not something I ever thought I’d say to anyone, let alone a Vinduthi lieutenant who kidnapped me.”
For a moment, his expression remained unchanged. Then his mouth curved into that rare smile that still made my heart skip.
“I loved you the moment you refused to run when you should have,” he said simply, as if stating an irrefutable fact. “Everything since has just confirmed what I already knew.”
I felt the warmth of his words spread through me, joining the connection that already bound us together. With a newfound certainty, I engaged the ignition sequence.
Engines thrummed to life beneath my hands, the vibration traveling up my arms—a sensation both familiar and new with my enhanced senses. The preflight sequence completed with a series of satisfying beeps.
“All systems go,” I announced, leaning back in my seat. My hands rested on the controls, not yet engaging the thrusters.
I’d spent most of my life running—running from debts, from enemies, from myself. I never thought I’d stop long enough to find something worth staying for. But here I was, about tolaunch into the unknown again. Only this time, I wasn’t running. I was choosing to go.
“Thodos Control, this is theStarfallrequesting departure clearance,” I said into the comm.
“Starfall, you are cleared for departure. Docking clamps releasing,” came the response.
The ship shuddered slightly as the clamps disengaged. I engaged the thrusters, guiding us smoothly away from the station.
“Hope you’re ready, Lieutenant. TheStarfalldoesn’t do smooth rides.”
“Neither do I,” Korvan replied, his expression unchanging but his eyes holding mine, fierce and intense.
The stars stretched before us as we cleared Thodos Station; a vast expanse of possibilities. I punched in the coordinates for the Cassian sector and engaged the hyperdrive.
The galaxy was still dangerous, still unpredictable. But for the first time, I wasn’t facing it alone. Korvan and I were partners now—in the Fangs, in theStarfall, in whatever came next.
And we’d be ready for it.
