Page 90 of The Darkest Parts of Me

I run a hand through my hair, scoffing. “That sounds terrible, Nate. No way am I accepting an award. If anything, they should be discharging me with no honors.”

Nate shakes his head, blowing a raspberry. “Oh, please.”

“Don’t they already have enough evidence from my recording and your statement, plus all the records you took? Isn’t that enough?”

“Like I said, not when they can confirm it all from the one and only Aldrenn Anton.”

I shake my head, unimpressed. “Please stop saying things like that.”

“It’s the truth, and if you don’t come back with me now, someone else will make you come back. It’s protocol. You know that,” he says in a harsh tone.

He isn’t wrong; we both know the code well. I’m technically still under the oath of allegiance I swore.

I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms in front of me.

Nate studies me suspiciously. “I see those wheels turning in your head. What are you planning?”

“If I do this, I want negotiations to pardon me from my rank as a captain and from the association altogether.” Nate leans forward slightly, listening intently. “And a promise to leave Aetherium alone . . . forever”

Nate blows out a breath and whistles for exaggeration. “That is quite the ask, my friend, but once they know you’re alive, honestly, I think they’ll give you anything you want.” I give him a narrowed look. “Okay, they probably will. For you, I would almost say that they would grant you total leniency.”

I don’t like any of it, but if I have to do it, then I want to make it worth it for Maven and this planet. My presence here doesn’t need to involve anyone else. I just need the council to agree once I speak with them and get everything over with officially.

“Look, I’m glad to hear that this planet is in no immediate danger, but if there is a chance I can make this bargain for them, for her, then I’m going to do everything I can to make it so. I can’t leave even the slightest risk that someone finds this place in case it ever happens again.”

I can see the resolve in Nate’s face as he says, “I believe you, and I’ll help in any way I can.”

I nod in thanks.

Nate stands, stretching his arms over his head. He glances around the room.

“Well the added bonus is that you can tell the council you already took care of Locke. Where is he, exactly?”

“About two miles that way,” I say, pointing. “At least what I left of him.”

Nate is thoroughly stunned, no doubt at my casualness about it. He flops onto the couch, rubbing his eyes. “This is freaking me out a little bit. Everything looks so . . . Earth-like but just slightly off.”

I laugh, mostly because nothing feels off to me anymore. When I return to Earth, I wonder if it will feel foreign to me as Aetherium did. The thought causes my skin to crawl, knowing how far Earth is from here and that I will be walking on its surface once again soon.

“How did our lovely friend, Lieutenant Colin Locke, meet his untimely demise?”

I clear my throat and decide to get it all out as quickly as possible. “He kidnapped my dog and lured Maven into the forest.” Nate notices my hands going into fits, my knuckles turning white. “He hurt her, almost killed her, but I got there just in time. He almost ended me. But I killed him, then I dragged him deep into the woods, doused him with termite, and it was done.”

Nate stares at me for a beat or two. “Oh, is that all? Holy shit, Renn.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “All I’ll say is that I’m glad the bastard is dead. I don’t know how he found your signal, but once he did, I was immediately alerted that someone else had tapped into it. He was already on our radar, and I guess it was a blessing in disguise because he led me to you. He must have been working on that for a long time to have tracked you down.”

Perhaps it made me cold-blooded, but killing Colin had little effect on me besides feeling glad that he would never hurt anyone ever again, especially Maven.

“And look at you, a knight in shining armor. If she didn’t love you before, she has to now, right?”

I roll my eyes. “It’s not like that at all. She is far from a damsel in distress,” I say. He smiles, looking pleased. I realize that she will most likely be making her way home soon. “So . . . do you want to meet her?”

Nate smiles wide and nods. “I’d love to.”

I pull out my phone to text Maven, asking when she will be home. I tap send as Nate casually adds, “It’s too bad I can’t get to know her more, but I will take what I can if it means I get to meet the woman who won your heart,” he says, swooning dramatically.

Instead of hearing of the sentiment, I only hear the underlying implication that this may be the only time he will get to speak with her.

“Nate, you never mentioned when you were planning on leaving to return to Earth.” His face goes sad again, and I know there is more bad news to add to this already strange day.

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