Page 40 of Abducting Sarah

“A girl can’t be too careful.” Though I kind of liked the cute, furry tail. Then, I wondered aloud, “Why aren’t I tired? Or sore anymore?”

“When you transmogrify, your cells must be put back together in their original configuration,” Deacon explained. “This process, because it breaks a variety of bonds in your body, releases energy. It also reforms other bonds, but almost always breaks more than it reforms, so there is an energy surplus. Going back and forth between forms can leave you feeling revitalized and can heal minor wounds.” He yawned before continuing, and it sounded like his sex growl, and I was instantly aroused. “So, you may find you have far more energy when you mog.”

“Why don’t you do it all the time, then?”

“Because it can eventually cost you who you are,” he replied, his eyes serious. “Staying in a different form, this can change your perspective and leave you feeling less like yourself. It is a wonderful tool, but it is not without cost, like anything else.”

“So when you mog—”

“You are full of questions after sex,” he said, interrupting me. “Is this normal for you?”

I laughed. “Are you tired of answering them?”

He slid his hand around to the back of my neck and brought our mouths together, kissing me and making his crew cringe or frown in confusion. But when they realized that was all that was happening, they went back to what they were doing before the kiss.

“Never,” he said when he lifted his lips from mine. “Though this is to be a trying time for me, and I may not answer everything as well as I would like to for you. Please forgive me.”

“You are worried about letting me down?” I asked softly.

He nodded, but his eyes were on the glass as we approached Jac’s ship,Sovereign. “I do not wish to disappoint anyone who is important to me.”

His loyalty impressed me, and learning thatIwas important to him made my heart swell in my chest. I squeezed his hand as the hulls tapped together, then mated. “You never could.”

“I hope that is true.”

We left to greet the escaped prisoner, Silence Bateen, along with Jac at the hullmate. Seeing Jac again lifted my spirits—despite Deacon’s attention, I’d missed him—but the Ladrian woman’s beauty stopped my heart.

If she is my competition and Deacon’s ex, I am fucked.

Her skin was luminous and dark, but her eyes were the color of amber or honey. She had one of those sweet round faces that always seemed to be smiling in some way. When she spoke, her voice was like a calming tune you couldn’t get out of your head. A welcome earworm. I would have felt more threatened by her, if she were not enormously pregnant by Deacon’s deceased father, Valor Ladrang.

Despite the ordeal she’d undoubtedly been through in prison, she smiled amicably and said, “Greetings, Deacon.”

“Greetings, Silence.” Then he gently grabbed my hand and pulled me forward to introduce me. “This is my consort, Sarah Hollinger.”

I almost preened at the title, consort.It sounded so regal.

“Greetings, Sarah Hollinger,” she said, nodding her head at me. “It is an honor to meet you.”

Unsure of their formalities, I followed suit, still not sure how I felt about the woman who had broken Deacon’s heart. “Greetings, Silence Bateen. It is an honor to meet you, as well.”

She smirked knowingly as her sharp eyes took me in, not missing the possessive way Deacon held my hand. “Let us not jest. I am not the honorable one here. That is you.”

I had no clue what to say to that or even what she meant. “I am not—”

Interrupting me, she stepped forward and said, “No, youare. Jacaranda has informed me of Deacon’s plan and your part in it, and I must say, you are the most honorable human I have ever heard of in my life. To do this for Deacon’s family…” she began to cry and placed a protective hand on her protruding belly. “I cannot explain how grateful to you I am.”

I looked to Jac for an explanation—that fucking ghost conduit thing again that would save Deacon’s family. But he didn’t meet my gaze.

“Andyou,” Justice said, taking Deacon’s hands in hers, and I had to resist the petulant urge to swat them away, “thank you for not bearing me any ill will, regarding our situation. When Jacaranda told me he was not taking me to my execution—”

“I’m sorry,what?” I asked, horrified at the notion.

“The penalty for nonconsensual infidelity…” Jac hinted under his breath, keeping me in the loop.

My eyes widened. “Oh. Right.”

Silence continued, “I could not believe him. I did notwantto believe him. I thought this was a foolish plan, at first. But I know you, Deacon. You are wiser than most, and you would not do this if you were not certain of your actions and the outcome. I trust in you.”

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