Page 32 of The Edge of Dawn

“No. At this point, the risks outweigh the benefits. But if things become dire—and if I’m still here—I’ll intervene.” He unfolded his arms, allowing them to hang loosely—relaxed but tense. She’d never seen anything like it. It was as if he were fluid. One with his surroundings but ready to explode into lethal violence at any moment.

But this hesitation of his was uncharacteristic. “What’s the problem? Why don’t you want to get inside my head again?”

He gave her an indecipherable look. “I don’t want you to lose your sanity.”

His answer was unexpected. It made her feel a certain way inside—warm and like there were butterflies in her stomach.

He was the only person who actually thought she was sane right now.

“You’d better wake up now,” he said softly. “Or maybe it’s better that you don’t. Ease your thoughts, Jade. We’ll arrive here soon enough. Then all this will be over.”

Before she could ask him what the hell he was talking about, he disappeared into thin air, leaving her suspended between dreams and reality.

Yet again.

Oh, no.

That meant he’d woken up.

And he was coming for her.

The Kordolians were coming to take her away.

Better being taken by aliens than getting locked away in some institution, right?

…right?

ELEVEN

When he came to, they were already inside a ship. Reclining in a high-backed chair, Dragek didn’t need to open his eyes to know that Ashrael was beside him.

Impatience coursed through him. As he’d left her, he’d sensed one of the humans approaching.

Should have killed them both.

But it was too late for that now. All they could do was try to get to her before the humans did.

He’d beaten them badly. They would be out for revenge. They would want to hurt her.

The thought of her being harmed by the likes of them…

It triggered a strange reaction inside his cold, black heart.

Fury.

The intensity of it surprised him.

“I take it you know where she is, then?” Ashrael’s cool voice infiltrated his consciousness, pulling him back to reality.

The Silent One stood across from him, unfazed as always, his arms folded, his stance relaxed.

“You’re efficient,” Dragek growled, mildly irritated that he’d been dragged onto this vessel without his awareness. It was difficult to tolerate such helplessness at the hands of another. But he also knew Ashrael would never dishonorably take advantage of him. It just wasn’t his way. “She’s in a dry, arid place. In a deep hole underground. Near something the humans call Coober Pedy.”

At the mention of the name, a holo along the wall activated. Dragek made sense of the symbols through his ka’qui sense, perceiving the display as a constellation of energies.

The ship’s Sylth had already picked up on the coordinates. Obviously, the Darkstar Mercenaries had integrated a detailed map of the human version of Earth into their navigation systems.

“She’s underground, in a deep hole cut into the surface of the earth. There’s a pale four-wheeled vehicle at the entrance.”

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