I finally get the damaged control panel repaired and soldered back into place. “Okay, Allele!”

The starter flashes in rapid succession, warming up the turbo coils. “Stage one, confirmed.”

I hang onto the internal framework of the engine bay as we sway again. Blood thumps through my body. I definitely tolerate being in battle better with something to do.

Tal hangs onto the opening in the floor. “Turbo coils hot. Stage two, confirmed.”

Flashes become steadier, and the starter kicks off. “Stage three!” I shout up at him.

Heat stirs around the engine as it begins to glow and whir. I monitor the revolutions rising on my gauntlet as Allele rotates, and I’m slung around, held in place only by my tether. “Stage four, confirmed.”

Come on—

The nodes around the engine that absorb Allele’s thermal energy light up and feed into the ship. “Five!”

I close up the housing and bolt it down. When she’s fully back together, I hand my tool pack up to Tal and disconnect myself. He helps me back into the main fuselage as the ship rotates again.

My ponytail does a 360 with Allele. It’s such a strange sensation to me, while everyone else seems to be unaware. Even Tal seems nearly comfortable with the insanity of the movements. There is no pattern. Battles in space are utter chaos.

A Denarsoan ship blinks into oblivion. Then, an Amphiran fighter. Another Denarsoan vessel. Allele codes them with orange, green, and purple silhouettes on the front windows, somehow tracking all the vessels and the grid of gunfire.

“Eleven left,” Blaize reports as Fieri races us away from another attack. The stars are littered with amber rockets and green shield blasts.

An Amphiran mothership takes a hit. Lights flicker off. I see it— feel it. It’s strange the way it tugs at my insides.

I brace my stomach, catching Eluni’s attention.

“Going to be sick?” she asks.

“The ship. I felt it power down. Is that weird?”

Eluni’s eyes widen. “For a human, yes.”

“ Ivairam has no engines!” Blaize swipes through screens as I steady myself on a support pillar. “ Gailith. Kilaros. Vadarei. ”

I pull myself to Blaize’s seat and look at the video feed.

“They’re targeting punchdrum capacitors for the engines.

I don’t know what you call them. Tell them to reroute power to their midspan backups.

If we have them, I’m sure you’ve got something similar.

Might have to shut off nonessential facilities. ”

“Oh, no. No!” Fieri swipes frantically through the windows on Allele’s dash.

“What?” Eluni shouts up at us.

Tal joins me, looking worried.

Fieri’s screen flashes with the sent message. “Bakka’s ship made it to one of ours. To Gravion. Allele, I don’t know if you can contact Aura—”

A string of beeps comes over the coms.

“This is Aura.”

Fieri tells him what’s happened.

“We’ve only got ten Silversprites left,” Eluni remarks. “We’re little use out here.”

“Then get your ass to Gravion, and don’t fucking miss,” Aura barks. “I’ll get there as soon as I can. Sa’Tai and I have a few more ships to disable.”

“Aura, you’ve done enough out there. Please return to Allele,” Fieri commands.

“They’re cutting down Terran ships! I am Bonded to an earthling and will defend her home like it is mine!” Aura doesn’t sound like he’s going to budge. And as much as I admire his defensiveness of my homeworld, I don’t want to lose him.

“Don’t do this, not to Jovie,” Eluni retorts.

“More are going to die if I don’t stop them! Get to Gravion! Bakka needs to die for what he did. King Haeros made his mistake in good faith, and it’s compromised us somehow. A Denarsoan ship should not have made it inside the shield. You get to them. I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”

“You just found her. Don’t choose this war over her!” Eluni protests.

“This is a battle we need to win fast, or Denarso will never back down!”

She gets up and snarls at the com. “Now you sound like your father!”

Sickening dread tears through me. I look out into space as Allele banks us away from Aura, hating that they’re arguing.

“The universe is counting on us to restore peace,” Aura says. “ Us! I am a power class seven out of fucking five . Most can’t do what I do. And I don’t…” Metal crunches. “Have time…” An explosion crackles the speakers. “To talk !”

I clutch the back of Blaize’s seat, my insides in knots over what Aura’s doing. Then I see a ship bloom in fire and parts.

Fieri gives Allele control and snags a spacesuit and a weapons harness. “Allele, get us docked.”

“Yes, sir.”

Allele banks hard and fast, draining the blood from my head.

“Fuuuuck!” I hang on to Blaize’s seat and strain to keep my wits. Then she spools up and darts across space toward the ship that lights up onscreen as Gravion with green brackets.

Genesis? Somehow, I don’t think Gravion getting boarded was by accident.

Blaize gets up to join him, must see the terror on my face, and catches himself. “Aura’s a tough son of a gun, Jovie. He will find his way to us.”

I nod but don’t feel as confident.

Allele slows us hard with reverse thrusters and full throttle, docking us in under thirty seconds.

“Stay on board, ladies.” Tal taps my chin with a thumb, then leans around Eluni, who’s back in her gunner’s seat, watching the perimeter around Gravion. He braces the underside of Eluni’s jaw, tilts her head up, and kisses her with such deep passion that I freeze for a moment and just watch them.

“Tal! Fuck, man. Do that later,” Fieri growls from the top of the ramp where he’s loading and unlocking his rifle. “Stars, this ship is starting to drive me crazy.”

Jorusk, Talros, Fieri, and Blaize form a squad as Allele docks us and lowers the ramp. They glance back at us before they leave. The moment they’ve unloaded, Allele closes the ramp again.

I slump in the copilot’s seat and watch the screens and skies for any sign of Aura and his friend Sa’Tai.

Several long minutes pass before Eluni punches out another missile that arcs across the starscape and pelts a ship I can’t see.

But when it lights up, I pick up the ribbed ailerons and black hull.

“Bam! Eat that, bitches!” Eluni whoops, swivels, and fires again. “Ashes to stardust and glitter and shit. Kiss my ass before I blow up your...”

“Eluni, Jovie.” Allele interrupts. “Aura’s in trouble. I cannot reach him. There is some sort of force field stopping my communication with him. His last known location is Deck Eleven near the cargo docks, here on Gravion .”

A schematic appears on a screen beside Eluni.

“Where’s Sa’Tai?” I ask.

She tracks a tiny shape in the stars. “Eluni, fire.”

Eluni swivels her gun and takes the shot. The missile arcs through the emptiness and punches through a small fighter chasing Sa’Tai’s silhouette.

“Is he going to be okay?” I ask Allele.

“He is returning to his ship, leaving the battlefield now,” Allele replies. “Back to Aura.”

A door opens in the back of the ship.

“The ship is chaos. Fieri’s team is already occupied. Aura needs help. I cannot go. It must be you two. No one else is responding.”