Page 170 of The Edge of Dawn

Jade had made a great effort to remember everyone’s names and what they did for a living. Old habits died hard—she always tried to get a sense of a person, to figure out what they were all about.

The humans that had found themselves entangled with the Kordolians were a remarkable bunch.

Surely, between them, they should be able to figure out how to make Earth a peaceful place for both humans and Kordolians. It wasn’t as if they were going to do it all on their own, either. They had the freedom to consult hand-picked experts and work with the appointed officials of the Federation—even the new president, Inez Viray.

The only difference was that they had Darkstar’s muscle to back them up.

Ultimately, they called the shots.

That was a hell of a lot of power and responsibility for anyone to have.

“I think I can make it work,” Jade sighed at last, leaning against Dragek, feeling reassured by his hard, warm frame; his unyielding strength. “If the people I’ve met over the last week are anything to go by, we can make it work.”

“Of course you can.” He kissed her again, this time on her cheek. It was a light, tender gesture. She enjoyed the easy familiarity, the way they were so comfortable with each other. “Everything’s under control now. You take your time. We have time.”

“Because you stole it back,” she marveled. How different things could have been.

“I didn’t do anything so monumental. I was merely a tool, facilitating a greater objective.”

“But it wouldn’t have worked without your cooperation. And you did move through time in a different way, which is just remarkable. You were very brave, Dragek.”

He made a low sound in his throat—half-growl, half-purr.

Her words pleased him.

How many times in his life had he been affirmed for what he did, for the remarkable person he was? Not much at all.

He’d come from a dark place where he was ruled by fear and control.

Jade sensed he needed her acceptance and appreciation as much as she needed his strength.

For a moment, they were both quiet, taking in the openness of their surroundings; the sounds and scents of the undulating landscape.

They basked in each other’s presence, their auras gentle and relaxed—merging in the most natural way.

Until a tendril of disquiet leaked from him. “I’ve been curious about something.”

“Hmm? Tell me.”

“Are you not angry at the ones that wronged you? The humans that betrayed you and sought to capture you?”

“I honestly hadn’t thought much about it.” Jade had intentionally blocked the horribleness from her mind, even though she knew she would have to come to terms with it sooner or later.

“Do you want me to disappear someone? Or just hurt them a little. That… previous male of yours…” He uttered Cameron’s existence with perfect disdain—as if it were the most despicable yet insignificant thing in the Universe.

“No,” she said gently, placing her hand on his cheek. Even in the act of promising swift, silent death, he was terribly sweet.

But even though Jade despised everything about her past relationship and was terribly disappointed in the people who had been around her—most of all, her friends and her father—she understood that most people could only comprehend things in a certain narrow way. All they knew was the rules and laws of the Federation.

Her father honestly thought he’d been doing the best thing for her. He thought she was sick. He was old and conservative in his thinking. How could he even begin to understand anything about her newfound ability?

Eventually, she would have to seek him out and make him understand.

As for Cameron…

He was the one who’d betrayed her because he’d tried to take advantage of her weakness for his own personal gain.

How could she have been such a bad judge of character, especially when she dealt with these situations all the time?

---