Page 58 of The Edge of Dawn

NINETEEN

She woke to find herself in a big, reclining seat.

For a moment, she was completely disorientated. What was this place? There was a dark ceiling overhead. Dim blue-hued lighting. A glass portal that looked out onto a cavernous space filled with sleek alien spacecraft.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh. Now I remember.

She was in space.

After having her fractures treated by the Kordolian doctor, Zyara, they’d brought her to a sleek obsidian ship—this one bigger and more powerful-looking than the one Dragek had rescued her on.

Apparently, it was safer for her to be away from Earth. Dragek had indicated her abilities made her a target, although she had no idea what he really meant.

And now, she was in freaking space.

And she’d fallen asleep for the ride up to their big, floating station—or whatever it was.

Panic fluttered inside her chest. Space! Not in a billion light-years could she have imagined she’d end up here, on a massive alien space station, of all places.

She almost had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Still drowsy, she stretched her arms and stifled a yawn. Her left hand was encased in a semi-flexible cast-type thing that provided gentle compression. Since Zyara had injected her with that nanite-substance, the pain in her bones had completely disappeared.

Zyara had given her orders to rest up and take it easy for the next few days.

Easier said than done when her companion was…

Wait… where is he?

Dragek…

He’d gotten on the ship with her. In fact, ever since he’d taken her out of that hot, dusty mine, he hadn’t left her side.

How had she managed to fall asleep in his presence? She hadn’t even realized. All she remembered was sitting back in that big chair, closing her eyes, and listening to the faint hum of the ship as it departed Earth.

She’d watched the stars drift by as the sky turned from blue into glittering darkness, as she became aware that they were drifting further and further away from everything she’d ever known…

Of course, he had been there, standing, not sitting down, just leaning against the wall with his arms folded, watching her quietly as he always did.

A constant.

How had she drifted off to sleep with him there, just standing and watching her like that? The whole time there had been this feeling of gentle pressure around her.

She swore it was his doing. She just had no idea what he was doing or why, and she didn’t want to break the reverie by asking.

Jade glanced at the space where he’d been standing, but he wasn’t there anymore.

She felt a small pang of disappointment. Had he already left? Had she been alone this whole time, asleep?

A faint ripple across the skin of her forearms told her otherwise. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. A warm thrill fluttered around in her chest, running down her spine and entering her belly.

There was that feeling again. That slight pressure, like she was being wrapped in an invisible embrace, although it wasn’t unpleasant.

He’s still here.

She didn’t know how, but she could feel his presence. Now, she was certain she’d know the feeling of him anywhere. He was fluid like water yet cold and hard like diamond. But he could also be warm and solid, unwavering.

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