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If I do this, I’m leaving those three men behind. I’m leaving them with new depths of pain.

“Tasha?” Sawoot demands. “Should I blast the other Reavers, so they can’t follow us?”

I wince. It’s the right decision, for my crew. If Aelon regains control soon, he could use those Reavers to chase us down. He might even be crazy enough to try to Orb-Shift towards me.

I do everything I can to push his aura out of my mind. If he can’t feel which direction I’m heading in, he won’t risk an Orb-Shift for nothing. That’s what I hope, anyway.

But Ihatethe idea of Aelon disappearing into nothingness because of me, if he attempts an Orb-Shift and it goes wrong, as we’ve heard increasing reports of.

I make my decision.

“Hold your fire. They stole from us, but they’ll need every ship they’ve got if the Toads come back.”

Theme clears his throat. “We might not be willing to Orb-Shift with those rumors you’ve heard, but Captain Aelon is insane. He might risk it. We need to blast the Reavers, or we’ll definitely be re-captured.”

A light blinks on my HUD, showing that Theme has a Reaver in the sights of his Orb-Beam.

“Stand down, Theme! We’renotleaving them with fewer defenses than they already have. You know Aelon won’t shy away from a fight, even if he’s outgunned.”

“That’s not our problem!” But then Theme checks himself. “I’m sorry. Youarethe Captain. I won’t shoot.” The light blinks out on my HUD. He’s not targeting anything anymore.

Thank the Gods for a man who can follow orders.

I stare ahead, through the air-field.

If I hesitate any longer, I may never leave. It’s now or never.

I slam the thrusters forward, and we punch out of the loading bay – leaving The Instigator behind us and screaming into the dead of space.

Aelon will fight the Toads even if he’s outgunned, outnumbered, and outflanked. His plan is a good one – unless the Toads come in truly unsurmountable numbers. That’s a real possibility, with such a rich prize to be claimed.

That’s my biggest problem with Captain Aelon. It isn’t his possessiveness, his dominance, or his arrogance. The reason I can’t see myself being with him is that he doesn’t value his own life or future. He’d take revenge even if it killed him.

I wish Iunia had more of an effect on him - if only to convince Aelon of the fact that he has a Fated Mate now, and a chance to be a father. It’s as if those things – the most important things to the Aurelian species – don’t matter to Aelon. That’s what hurts the most - that the thought of fatherhood doesn’t change him, even now he has everything to lose.

The Bond suddenlythrumsin my mind. My hands twitch on the control, but I fight them off. I can fight the Bond urging me to go back. I’ll get used to dealing with the wave of urges that it brings up in me.

Sawoot whoops as we punch out. I fly away from the moon, putting as much distance between us and the Aurelians as the impulse engines will give me.

“I can’t believe it! You got us out!”

I can barely believe it myself. The three of us snuck out of an Aurelian warship and got away clean.

“Well,” I scoff. “I think Theme gets the credit for this mission.”

“I just did what I could.” His voice is more confident. This experience has changed him for the better. He’ll be a loyal and trusted member of my crew now – as long as I keep my faith in him.

Being captured by Aurelians changed Theme for the better. Did it change me for the better, too? Or did it make me worse?

That, I can’t answer. I shed Chris and his cronies like dead weight – only I don’t feel lighter for it. I’m definitely leaving The Instigator with a greater burden than when I arrived. Did I truly know what I was getting into when I allowed myself to be Bonded to those three Aurelians?

The problem is – Iwantthem.

It’s not just the Bond urging me back. I want tohelpthem. I want to cure the pain that wracks Aelon, Vinicus and Iunia. Instead, all I’ve done is open their old wounds, and carved new ones. As much as I try to push their auras down inside my mind, traces of their pain and grief keep slipping through.

They’re going to hunt me down to the ends of the universe, I know it.

Well, fine. I’m used to being hunted. But you put me at the helm of a Reaver? No one in this universe can catch me now.