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But can he choose me over duty and honor?

“So, you weren’t Bonded. That must have broken him.”

I open my mouth, close it, and draw a ragged breath. “Tasha…I couldn’t take my own advice. I distracted them, but I couldn’t go through with…it. I know if I did—and if I found out I was Bonded to them… Well, I couldn’t have left him—not even for you guys.”

I hide the true reason.

I wasn’t scared we would be Bonded.

I was scared we wouldn’t. That Garrick and his triad would stop caring about me.

I get the awful feeling that these might be my last words to Tasha, and I can’t go to my death with lies on my lips. I have to learn to be vulnerable. I’ve never done it before, not since we grew up stealing to survive. “I thought once we’d got you two to safety,” I admit, “I could go back later, if I still wanted to. But I just kept thinking about my friend from that harem, who’d wanted so desperately to be Bonded to her Aurelian triad, and then just ended up another woman in their harem.” I take a deep, ragged gasp of air, the words coming out so fast I lost my breath. “I didn’t want to feel that.”

Tasha turns to look at me, staring at my vulnerability without judgment, and I feel nothing but gratitude to have her in my life. She’d take a bullet for me. She presses forward, mustering as much power as she can into the engines, and I can see the pressure she’s under.

She needs to get back to Aelon to give his men a fighting chance to survive.

I hope I don’t have to drag her from her triad to get her to safety if Aelon makes the wrong choice.

“We’ll get out of range. You’ll see.” I don’t know if it’s true. I’ve got no idea how powerful the Toad blocking technology is, but as first mate, I need to improve morale. It’s hard to keep my voice steady as my hands shake in fear.

I’m terrified.

Not for myself.

For Garrick and his triad.

I pray to the Gods that Theme’s hack didn’t permanently damageTheInstigator, or they’ll be fish in a barrel.

I pray I can convince the duty-bound Aurelians to run away with me. We can sort everything out later. Right now, I need to keep him safe. He saved my life. He protected me. I owe him everything.

Warning lights flick on in the cockpit as Tasha diverts all power from our shields to the engines. We blast forward, covering space at a breakneck speed. My fingers graze against the hair-pin triggers of the Orb-Beam.

I doubt there are any forward scouts from the Toads. They prefer to attack all at once, in a massive, overwhelming force that superior tactics are futile against. But without shields up, I’m not going to risk it. The only way we survive against a Toad attack ship is if I kill them before they get a chance to blast us into nothingness.

Will I be able to convince Garrick the odds are impossible? I’ve manipulated him since I met him, but this won’t be an act. I’ll beg him to keep me safe. I have to hope his urge to protect me overrides his honor-bound need to follow his captain into battle.

Aelon has a death wish. Not even Tasha can change that. If I have to drag her kicking and screaming fromThe Instigator, I’ll do it. I feel the pull towards Garrick and I can only image how the Bond is pulling her closer to the flame of Aelon.

The HUD flickers in and out of functionality as we gain distance from the mothership. It’s blurry, flickering on and off, but we’re almost far enough away to contactTheInstigator.

Then what?

The Reaver buckles, and my heart pounds. For a second I think we’re taking fire.

No—Tasha just lost control, for a second. I remember when Aelon commanded her to come to his chambers and her legs started working before she could consciously think. I’ve never known Tasha to lose control, so my best guess is she’s restored her telepathic abilities this close toTheInstigator.

“Making contact!” She yells it out as she establishes her Bond. The Reaver shifts back on track, beelining towards the Aurelian warship.

The coms-link flashes. “Tasha! Coms-links are back up! There’s an incoming communication fromThe Instigator!”

I can hear the adrenaline in Theme’s words.

“Accept it.”

I keep my eyes trained on the reticules, but I can’t help but give a side-eye to the holographic display. I need to know if Aelon is going to plunge my triad into battle.

I don’t care if I’m Bonded to them or now. I crave it. I need it. But they saved my life twice, fighting back the Mating Rage because they cared for me. I’ve always hated Aurelians, but these three aren’t normal Aurelians.