Page 20 of The Edge of Dawn

He couldn’t actually give a shit about a human’s nonsensical qualms?

Surely not.

It was ridiculous. Her terror at the prospect of killing someone was palpable. Dragek found her human mindset utterly baffling. Why should she be afraid of eliminating a being that wanted to harm her?

And why should he even care?

He stalked down the lightless tunnel, using the ka’qui to guide them. With the breathing mask on, he found it easier to sustain her body. The toxins in her bloodstream were starting to be metabolized.

Her body was recovering.

Whatever it was, the poison must be non-lethal, designed to incapacitate rather than kill.

These humans definitely wanted to take her alive. If they wanted to kill her, they wouldn’t have bothered using such a mild substance.

A faint sound alerted him to the other intruder. The human’s steps were uncertain and hesitant. He was obviously looking for his comrade, but he must have sensed danger because he was attempting to be quiet.

The human’s attempt at stealth was pointless.

Dragek could sense him.

As he stalked forward, he felt her resistance, her fear.

Relax. I won’t kill him. I’ll merely incapacitate him.

He vowed to take more care this time—to spare her body from any unnecessary damage. There was a delicate balance between keeping her alive and causing her irreversible harm, although he was fairly certain Tarak’s medics could fix just about anything.

Hm. Humans. It must be hard to be so physically fragile. He’d never had to pay such careful attention to his movement before. His own body could take immense punishment, and whenever he became severely injured, his minders would simply take him back to the nearest facility and put him into stasis for nano-repair.

Excruciating physical pain was his frequent companion, but he’d learned to live with it and even embrace it.

Thank the Goddess those infernal bastards were no longer his masters.

Tarak al Akkadian was his master—for now—and even he had no inkling of Dragek’s dream-walking abilities—a feat he wouldn’t have dared attempt when he was under that bitch’s control.

At the thought of the Mistress, the most intense urge to kill surged through him, fueled by incandescent rage.

But something quelled it—a little.

Her.

Sensing his anger, she recoiled from him—viciously, powerfully.

He felt her reaction in his very bones. He got a hint of what it could be like to possess a human mind and a human heart.

And he hated it.

Such weakness. Such incoherence and confusion. Perfect chaos.

He had to offer her some sort of reassurance. He didn’t want her to fall apart. She might do something reckless and unpredictable, and he was already starting to tire from maintaining control over her.

That had nothing to do with you… or the human over there, who is currently pointing a weapon at your face.

What?

Let me deal with it.

Before she could react, he pushed her feeble body forward, moving her behind the attacker. The human male was much, much bigger than her, but Dragek wasn’t bothered. His movements were slow and unrefined. He was the type that relied on size, intimidation, and weapons rather than skill. It was probably sufficient for his usual opponents, but Dragek was a different beast altogether.

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