Page 66 of The Edge of Dawn

“Hm.” Dragek nodded, seeing the logic in Tarak’s moves, even if he didn’t completely understand the strategy. “But it’s a fast-moving craft, and we’ve been stationary for too long. Even the fastest ship in your fleet won’t be able to catch it.”

A chilling, fang-tipped smile crossed the general’s lips. “There are other ways to cross the Universe, you know.”

Dragek stiffened. “You would send us through an interdimensional rift? A wormhole?” Even he knew those dark portals through space and time were unstable.

“We haven’t spent the past revolution stabilizing it for nothing. Quell your unease, Dragek. Ashrael’s mate would never let him go if we hadn’t proven the portal to be safe. As long as you carry out my orders and don’t do anything stupid, you will be able to return to your human.”

“She isn’t my...” Dragek trailed off as a surge of warmth coursed through him, seeping into every cell and fiber in his body. His senses were stretched taut, almost more acute than before—although how could that be possible? And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that back there… when he watched her sleep, she’d somehow… imprinted herself upon him.

Irritation coursed through him. He didn’t understand this. Neither could he control it—a new experience for him. “Let’s get this over with.”

Perhaps a good fight would help clear his senses and his head.

And strangely enough, he wasn’t even thinking about disobeying Tarak.

He’d chosen his side, and now he was all in.

For better or worse.

Swapping one madness for another.

Only this time, he had a choice.

TWENTY-TWO

Jade found herself alone in a dark, soft-edged world, limned with a surreal blue glow that came from invisible places in the walls and at her feet.

These were her quarters.

Just hers.

Noali—or Noa, as she preferred to be called—had brought her here and shown her around, making sure she was comfortable before she left. She’d given her a small device—a comm—that could be used to contact Noa whenever she felt the need.

“Until we teach you how to use mindspeech properly,” Noa had told her, leaving Jade in a state of disbelief—and appreciation.

There were no questions, no tests. No strangers to meet or doctors to analyze her—not this time, anyway.

There was just a quiet, dark room with curving, minimalistic furnishings that were surprisingly luxurious. It reminded her of an opulent boutique hotel; only everything was unmistakably alien.

Although she was on a remote alien space station with no windows to the outside world, Jade felt strangely comfortable; her surroundings were like a cocoon, almost womb-like, wrapping her in silence and warmth.

Unlike the rest of the station, which was wintry-cold, the temperature inside here was perfect.

The hovering seat that had carried her here was parked beside the doors, which were basically a mass of dark fibers that unraveled as soon as they approached. Now, they were closed again. Apparently, the trick was to approach them with the intent to pass through.

The doors could sense intent, and they recognized people by their biological signatures. Unless you were the person that was meant to walk through, they wouldn’t open.

Talk about serious security. Not even the most sophisticated hacker could bypass them.

One of the arms of the chair had detached and turned into a hovering crutch. All she had to do was lean on it and maneuver around, and it would follow her wherever she went.

Incredible.

It was no bigger than a small cushion, gently curved so her arm could rest on it comfortably, and yet it was able to bear her entire weight. All she could hear was a faint whir as it drifted around.

Where the hell was its energy source?

It was obvious that everything Kordolian was light-years ahead of human technology.

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