Page 60 of The Edge of Dawn

“I’d imagine the General’s people will want to take care of you. Give you quarters where you can rest. They’ll test you, analyze you, and figure out the true extent of your power. Then, they’ll decide how you can be of use.”

Of use? A chill ran through her. “What do you mean? I’m going to be enlisted to work in this… this… machine of theirs?”

Suddenly, Earth felt very far away. Jade felt insignificant in the grand scheme of things, like a speck of dust floating through the infinite Universe.

“Don’t be afraid,” Dragek rumbled. His voice was deep and smooth, like silk gliding over roughness. “You have no reason to be. They won’t treat you badly.”

“How can you be so sure?” After what she’d been through with her family and Cameron and the MWA, Jade was finding it hard to trust anyone.

She’d seen how people could become their worst possible selves. She used to be a divorce lawyer, for God’s sake.

A soft sigh escaped Dragek, possibly the first time she’d seen such a display of emotion from him. “They let me live. And I was their sworn enemy.”

Enemy? Jade’s eyes widened in surprise. She barely understood the politics of his world—the bloody feuds and battles of the Kordolian Empire. She couldn’t even imagine what a lethal warrior like him might have done. “Did you redeem yourself, then?”

“Not yet. And yet, I still exist.”

“And they let you take care of me…”

“I would not harm you.” He stiffened, his voice laced with sudden indignation. “They know that beyond certainty.”

“Relax, Dragek.” Unable to help herself, she placed her hand on his arm—the one that was wrapped around her waist. “I was just being un-serious.”

“Un-serious?”

“A small joke at your expense. It’s a grounding exercise.”

He let out a soft snort. “You humans make no sense.”

“Oh, I make perfect sense.”

“Now isn’t the time for you to be joking.” He tightened his grip on her waist and turned so he was facing her, his obsidian gaze piercing right through her.

Heart pounding, Jade told herself he was only holding her this way because of her broken foot. Surely, there wouldn’t be any other reason for it.

“Then tell me what I’m supposed to do. Because the only thing I know right now is that I know nothing anymore.”

He leaned in a fraction.

Now, he was close. Too close. “Before I release you into their world, I’ll teach you something.”

“What? How to walk on one good leg?”

“This.”

She felt a ripple across her skin. It spread over her entire body like warm gossamer.

Then, it was gone, and it felt like someone had poured ice water over her soul.

In her mind, she heard voices.

Not this again!

Dismayed, she tried to block them out. And, as always, she failed.

But whereas the voices on Earth had been chaotic and too numerous to keep track of, these voices were soft and calm. A little distant, too. They spoke in languages she couldn’t comprehend, and maybe that made it a lot more bearable.

“May I speak in your mind?”

---