Page 116 of The Edge of Dawn

All he had to do was stick his blade in his spine, severing the vital cords that linked the nerves in the lower body.

It seemed easy enough, but Ashrael’s warning rang in his mind.

See you on the other side, Dragek.

And with that, Ashrael disappeared completely, in pursuit of another ghost.

Leaving him to figure out how to capture a monster without shedding a single drop of innocent blood.

What was the catch?

This was going to be… interesting.

THIRTY-NINE

With a full stomach, Jade took a leisurely walk with Noa down a series of confusingly winding corridors until they reached yet another room.

The dining room had been an unexpected and pleasant surprise. In the middle of this vast alien space station, she’d been welcomed into a cozy, well-furnished space, with almost everything sourced from Earth.

Special lights had simulated warm daylight.

This is how we get our vitamin D, Noa had informed her.

There was a small indoor garden, complete with bamboo and moss, and a small fountain from which water trickled soothingly over polished river stones.

A kitchen-bot was installed—a super expensive state-of-the-art one that could prepare anything she desired.

She’d opted for something simple. Comfort food. Deep fried chicken with tangy barbeque sauce and coleslaw and chips drenched in gravy. Not the healthiest, but it had satisfied all her cravings.

Besides, she’d earned it. Her body was running on empty right now. Caught up in Dragek’s magnetic pull, she’d forgotten all about her basic needs.

As she thought of him again, her heart thudded wildly. Heat surged through her. She had to stop this. Every time she conjured him in her mind, she went a little mad with need.

This is… ridiculous.

He was a Kordolian.

They’d only just met.

So much had happened to her in the span of less than 48 hours. All of it was completely and utterly impossible.

And now, this woman called Noa wanted to take her to some random chamber to test out some ancient technology that might make it possible for her to mentally communicate with Dragek across an unfathomable distance.

Really, now.

This was the stuff of dreams. But she’d walked through her own dreams enough times to know that they could quickly turn into nightmares.

“Here we are.” Noa stopped in front of a nondescript doorway. It was the same as all the others Jade had seen: black, seamless, made of what appeared to be thousands of interwoven fibers.

Immediately, the fibers began to unravel, taking Jade’s breath away.

She wasn’t ever going to get used to that sight.

Why couldn’t Kordolians just have normal doors like everyone else?

“How do you know where to go?” Jade asked. “Everything looks the same. I’d get lost in about thirty seconds.”

“Fair question. Humans don’t have free run of the Fleet Station. Not because they’re trying to hide anything from us but because some areas are genuinely dangerous. The places I prefer to stick to are rather limited. Safe. Familiar. There’s the dining and living area, our quarters, the pool and recreation area, and where we are right now—the library. Ash or one of the First Division guys usually accompany me if I need to go anywhere else.”

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