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It’s the Bond. I feel guilty that I’m going to rip his heart out.

It’s almost 20h00 now, standard time. The Aurelian home world of Colossus has days of nearly identical length to Old-Earth, and so the twenty-four code of timekeeping has become recognized as standard time. It’s used for interstellar space travel even if you’re orbiting a planet with forty-hour days.

Sawoot will be enticing Garrick and his men into her room now. She’s probably looking up at him right now, giving him doe eyes and thanking him from the heart for saving her. I truly hope she’s Bonded to them, even though it would be an impossibly unlikely coincidence. The Bond might be more common now than ever before, but to have two Bonds formed on the same ship would be an astronomical twist of luck.

Sawoot is busy. I think of Theme. He’s probably puking out his guts from anxiety right now. My own stomach is uneasy, and it’s not from the sandwich.

I take a deep breath. It’s time.

As soon as I decide that, my mind clears.

When you go from thinking to doing, everything suddenly becomes simple.

I get up and open the door to my room. The hallway is empty. Garrick and his triad are nowhere to be seen. I step towards the doorway and hear a little moan emerge from Sawoot’s room. Now, I know she’s got themwelldistracted.

On cue, Theme’s door hisses open. He’s as pale as an Aurelian. He’s trembling, but when he sees me he holds his head up with pride. He knows I believe in him – even if he doesn’t believe in himself.

“How far?” I whisper the words. You can never be too careful with Aurelian hearing.

“Not far, but we’d better run!”

We sprint together down the hallways, twisting and turning down corridors which are thankfully empty. There’s finally a nondescript door in front of us, bearing a control panel. Theme opens it and rips out the wires contained within. I almost expect alarms to sound – but he pushes together three wires, waits for a spark…

…and then the doors hiss open.

“You’re a genius, Theme.”

“Save it for after I’m done.” He’s got a new confidence in his voice. It’s shaky, but it’s there. He’s grown since stepping out from Chris’s shadow.

“Are you okay?”

I freeze as I hear the voice inside me head.

It’s Iunia. He must sense something wrong in my aura. I’m not as good at hiding my emotions as I’d thought I was.

“I’m fine.”

“Huh?” Theme asks, distractedly, and I realize I said it out loud. Fortunately, Theme doesn’t pay me much attention as he fiddles with more control panels inside the room, moving wires left and right. He’s in his element.

“Nothing.”

I focus my mind.

“I’m fine,”I telepath.“Going for a little walk. Garrick is with me.”I telepath the message to Iunia, and it seems to relax him.

Theme mumbles: “Almost done. Almost there.”

Aelon’s not onto me yet. There’s no suspicion in his aura.

“How long?”

“I’m in!” Theme slaps the top of the control box. “I love these old birds.”

Suddenly, a holographic projection of the ship appears in the middle of the room. Theme swipes at the display, and doors close on the projection.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Aelon’s voice suddenly rings in my mind – angry and confused. He’s doing the equivalent of shouting at me through my thoughts.