Page 41 of Primal Vow

"I'm not in danger," Rhys protested. "You're the danger!"

Lila's eyes were sharp. "Are you addled? Has the Borraq been corrupting you? We don't have time for this. Come."

"That's not— that can't be true." Rhys's heart hammered in his chest. He was caught between the medic's suspicion and Taryn's trust, like a rope pulled taut and ready to snap him in half.

Trust? Was that what Taryn's feeling towards him was? The sense of being believed, the knowledge that someone had your back?

Taryn had shown him a kind of straightforward honor that Rhys had never encountered before.

There was no way that something like that was a lie.

"I'm not kidnapped," he blurted out. "I'm not being held against my will. Taryn — he's not like that."

Lila's expression didn't change. It was as if Rhys hadn't spoken at all. There was an edge to her voice. She was humoring him, like a parent speaking to a child that didn't understand the world. "Come on. We need to get you back to safety, and then we can go home."

Home.

Rhys's heart hammered in his chest. "How?"

Lila looked at him like he was a regretfully stupid child. "On a shuttle," she said, slowly and simply.

"I thought that—"

But before Rhys could finish the words, he snapped his jaw shut.

Mal had said that there was no way off-planet. That this whole trip to Vasz had been a one-way suicide mission.

Yeah, Mal had said that — while trying to kill Rhys. And Rhys had killed Mal. Well, not directly. But directly enough that he should not reveal that to Lila.

But… But maybe Mal had been lying. Maybe he was just trying to get one more jab off at Rhys.

Could Rhys really go home again?

The hope stretched out before him, a deep chasm that he was balanced on the edge of.

Home. The thing he'd been wishing for. The thing he'd thought was now forever out of his reach.

But…

The taste of alien water was still fresh on his tongue, the feel of thick jungle air was still pressing against his skin. Despite the heat, Rhys felt a sudden chill deep in his bones.

He didn't want to go home again.

Lila's eyes narrowed at his silence. Before Rhys could say anything, before he could make a decision, she reached for her belt and drew a stun gun.

Rhys stumbled back in shock, his heart racing. "Stop, Lila, wait—"

"It was worth a try," she said, her voice heavy with disappointment. "It would have been nicer if you went the easy way. I don't look forward to lugging you all the way back."

She pointed her gun at Rhys—

And everything went white.

Chapter sixteen

Taryn approached the bustling Borraq city, his strides long and purposeful, hiding the unease that simmered beneath his stoic exterior.

Don't show fear.

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