Page 54 of The Edge of Dawn

She could only go along with it.

After all, they hadn’t done anything bad to her yet.

Her voice cracked. “Y-you’re taking me up into space?”

“From your tone, I see that you’ve never been.” Dragek’s mildly threatening vibe changed to one of dry amusement.

And somehow, it made all of this a little better.

“It’s been on my bucket list,” she said, her tone equally dry.

“I do not know what that is, but I can assure you, it will be worth your while.”

“A-are you going to go with me?”

“It appears I have to. Someone needs to teach you the basics of control. In your current state, you’re very dangerous to your own kind—to untrained minds.”

Amidst her swirling confusion, Jade couldn’t help but feel a little indignant. “I’m not dangerous to anyone at all. I wouldn’t want to hurt a fly.”

Dragek gave her a strange look. Then, a snort of laughter escaped him.

It was the most unexpected thing. She nearly fell out of her chair.

And she couldn’t help but notice that Zyara was watching them both, a look of cool curiosity gracing her elegant features.

Oblivious or simply not caring, Dragek leaned closer. “You have four rotations until you’re healed. That means resting and recovering. But in the meantime, there’s no reason why I can’t teach you how to control what you allow in and out of your mind.”

For some reason, the thought of being taught by him made her feel giddy all over again.

EIGHTEEN

As they arrived at the Fleet Station’s vast docking bay, Dragek mulled over something that had been bothering him for a while.

They’d given him far too much freedom.

Since Ashrael had released him to retrieve Jade, Dragek had received no orders, no interference, and no discipline.

His masters had pretty much left him to his own devices, which, in this case, consisted of watching over the human.

Jade.

He was surprised at how well she’d tolerated Zyara’s treatment, even though she was obviously fatigued and somewhat frightened.

The whole time, he’d been encasing her wild ka’qui with his own, trying to contain it and shield her fragile mind from the outside noise.

So far, it seemed to be working.

Even if he could admit to himself that he had no fucking idea what he was doing.

He glanced across to the passenger chair, where she sat in a reclined position, asleep.

Her expression was pure innocence. The guarded look had melted from her face, leaving her vulnerable.

How could someone exist in such a state in his presence? Pretty much everyone who encountered him was terrified of him—well, before, anyway. But she wasn’t. As soon as their transport entered the void of space, she’d drifted off, her long eyelashes fluttering as exhaustion claimed her.

How could his masters leave such a defenseless creature in his possession? He could harm her, kill her, use her as a hostage…

But they already knew he wouldn’t.

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