Page 26

This is the most time I’ve spent on MiNo station, ever. It’s also been the best three days of my life. But as always, it ends too soon.

Lochdon lets me come with him to the ship so that I can kiss him goodbye right before he gets on it and leaves for another two-week shift.

The docking bays are so different from the rest of the station. Old metal, stained with what he tells me is carbon scoring. The floors look like they need to be hosed down and something is leaking a brown sludge-like liquid.

When I visually follow the trail… It’s the ship he’s about to get on. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

“Perfectly. They’re ugly and they’re old, but that’s just the outer shell. This stuff is designed to handle all the radiation and debris the void can throw at us. Inside is less utilitarian.”

“Okay… If you promise.”

He drops his bag to a clear spot on the decking and wraps his arms around me. “I can promise that I’m not going to get on a ship that I think might keep me from coming back to you.”

“Good.”

When he kisses me, a few jeers come from the corners of the loading area, but I ignore them, and Lochdon only laughs.

“I think I’m going to miss you even more this time,” he whispers against my lips. “Will you be here when I get back?”

I nod. “I’ve got my schedule all set up so that I can be here, waiting.”

“Good.”

He holds up my hand to inspect the morganite ring we picked out. It’s pretty and pink and he had been against it because it was too inexpensive, but… it’s perfect.

“I wish I could go with you,” he says, not for the first time. “Someday, I would like to meet the people you come from.”

“Maybe someday you can.”

We’d already discussed what I was going to tell them… that he lived abroad and worked on ships, that his job had an unorthodox schedule.

None of it is a lie.

I’ll probably spend the rest of my mother’s life finding excuses for why she can’t meet him, but I don’t think that will be too hard.

“I love you, Maggie.” He kisses me as a warning siren blares.

And he curses as he says goodbye, grabbing his bag and heading for the ramp that has already started to raise.

“I love you too,” I shout after him.

And as soon as that ramp closes, I leave. There’s nowhere for him to look out and there’s no reason for me to linger.

I walk the corridors back to Phantoms and the waiting room for my own departing ship and scrub at my arms to get rid of the strange sensation of the air in that room.

But he promised he’ll be safe and I believe him.

“Heading home?” Phantom asks, appearing from nowhere as I step through the front entrance of his club.

“I am.” But they already know that.

“Are you still happy with your choice?”

“Of course.” I pause, turning to look up at them. “Are you about to try to make me change my mind?”

“Absolutely not. But if something does change—for any reason—I will be here to fix it.”

There’s no anger or vitriol in the words. There’s no emotion at all, but I believe that Phantom would rain down vengeance on anyone who hurt me… on anyone who hurt any of the people who work for them.

“Thank you. But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.”

“All the same.” They move out of the way and a lightning bolt smile crackles across their face. “We look forward to seeing you in two weeks.”

I grab my bag from my locker room and go to the waiting room, curling my legs up under me as I sit in one of the plush chairs.

Squinting out the window, I look for the signs Lochodon taught me and I find what I think is his ship.

Watching it move to a safe distance, I spin my ring on my finger and wait for the blue spark of it disappearing into the hypervoid. Seeing it flash, I ignore the unsettled feeling of him being completely out of reach. This is part of what I am signing up for by agreeing to be his mate.

“Oh my god!”

I flinch and look up as Coral hurries over to me, snatching up my hand and inspecting the ring.

“You have got some explaining to do, girl!”