Page 28

And – if so…

A cold knot of tension tightens in my belly. Ihaveto speak up.

“Wecan'tshift,” I warn my battle-brothers. “She's too valuable."

Suddenly, Daccia turns his iron gaze to me. I’m instantly reminded whyheis our leader. Daccia’s a natural-born commander.

“You’re thinking with your cock, Kitos,” he warns me. “Weneedto do this…” Daccia’s eyes narrow “Unless, of course,youwant to be the one to explain to the Commander why the three-day journey took twenty-five?”

I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. Daccia is right, of course. When the word comes down the chain of command, you have to follow it – without question.

“You’re right.”

Daccia nods, and turns to focus on the empty space in front of us. His fingers work quickly at the controls – hitting buttons and inputting trajectories.

“Prepare for Orb-Shift!”

The terror grabs my heart, but I force it back. I am an Aurelian warrior, after all. I’m no cowardly Toad or sniveling human.

If things do go wrong – if thisishow my time in this universe ends – then I must accept my fate, knowing my life was given in the service of my people.

We know the risks.

We take them.

The Orb-Drive hums to full power. As the vibration rises, something primordial surges deep inside my being. It isn’t the will to survive.

It’s the will tobreed.

Suddenly, something akin to madness overwhelms me – but it’s not madness. It’s almost the opposite – an instant, stark, undeniable clarity.

Ican’tlet us go into Orb-Shift with such valuable cargo on board – and I’m not talking about Allie in the context of a notorious fugitive…

"…what if she's our mate?"

I utter the words a heartbeat before the Orb-Drive suddenly hums to full power. For a moment, I’m foolish enough to try to stand – thinking that maybe I still have time to stop the shift…

…but instead, reality distorts all around me. It’s all I can do to fall back to my chair; even as my chair ripples from existence.

I feel both the firm seat beneath me, and nothing at all – both at the same time.

Resigned, I prepare myself for the blink – the fraction of a second in which we’ll be exposed to the endless rift of reality. A fraction of a second that, each time, feels like an eternity.

Reality starts to fade around me…

…then blinks back into existence.

Except, we're in the same spot.

We should have been three galaxies away by now – one leg of our journey to Colossus completed…

…instead, it’s as if we never left.

“What the fuck just happened?” Hadrian demands. I can feel his confusion through our Bond.

Daccia double-checks the controls. “Everything is working fine on this end.”

Hadrian stands from the gunnery station, stretching to his full height. “I’ll check on the drive.”