Page 75 of Guardian's Heart

A standard galactic year was the time one traveled from one end of the explored universe to the center. It could, of course, take longer; even though we liked to call it the unexplored universe that lay beyond the chartered maps, it wasn’t fullyunexplored. Many adventurous souls traveled further; some even marked the galactic maps with their findings, while others used them to vanish. I had traveled outside the boundaries a few times in my hunt for a criminal. A couple of those missions took two years to fulfill. In the end, I found my targets and eliminated them. Which told me that wherever Nova and I would run, there wouldn't be many places we could hide.

"Lord Protector Garth will take you in," Nock suggested as if he had read my mind.

"Maybe," I allowed, mulling his suggestion over. I hated the idea of hiding or seeking refuge—which ironically made me finally understand Nova's earlier objection to going to Astrionis—but for Nova, I would swallow my pride.

"No way," Nova protested. "We won't give up like this."

Pride for my brave mate swelled in my chest, but I had to warn her, "Nova, this isn't a joke; this is dangerous."

"I get that. The mob hunted me at home, so trust me, I get it. But there is no way we're giving up. Especially now. There is something very fucked up going on here, and the Ohrurs are trying to hide it. I'll be damned if we hide from those bastards."

She paced in a circle, shaking her head, then she stopped right in front of me, staring challengingly into my eyes. "Something you should know about me: I never give up or in. Never."

I nearly laughed but kept it together, which was a good thing because she was dead serious. "You don't have to tell me, I know," I assured her instead.

"Seriously, Zaarek, we're not giving up on this. This is our fight now, and I'll be damned if I allow those cowardly little fucks to back us into a corner and hide. They want a fight?" She was getting more fiery by the moment and sexy as frygg. "Well, they messed with the wrong couple!"

I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to wrap her up and take her to Astrionis, where we would be safe. Most of all, I wanted what she wanted, though.

"Nova—"

She wagged her finger in front of my nose. "Don't Nova me, Buster. You're some kind of special agent, right?"

She waited for my nod.

"So you’ll protect me, us."

"I will, but even I can't take on multiple Space Guardians at once."

"Then teach me how to fight. I already know how to use the damn blaster."

I really, really wanted to kiss her. I wondered if she had any idea how proud my little fighter made me.

I was going to answer, but she placed the finger she had been wagging in front of my face on my lips, shaking her head. "I don't believe in fate or destiny or any of that stuff. Hell, I didn't used to believe in soulmates, but here we are."

I nodded against her finger because her words resonated with me.

"So some of that stuff must be true, and if it is, then we have to believe that something wants us to get to the bottom of thisand that something will bring Raasla here before the other Space Guardians."

I arched a doubtful eyebrow at her at that. But her words did make some sense despite being filled with nonsense. Or what I would have disregarded as nonsense, hadn't she mentioned the damn soulmate stuff.

"I can stay here and warn Raasla," Nock piped up, reminding me of his presence.

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure you're high on the Ohrurs' radar as well."

"They wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me," Nock boasted. "I'm too high profile. I've been a bane in their lives for a while. If something happens to me, the entire universe will know it was them."

"Probably, but you'll be dead," Nova pointed out. "Trust me, we had shit like that on Earth, and once you're dead by some important people's hands, nobody will cry out for justice. And even if some do, they'll be called lunatics."

"Well, frygg." Nock sank into a chair, visibly deflated. "I guess you better teach me how to shoot those blasters, too."

I would have snickered about him all of the sudden finding his violent nature, but the situation was nothing to snicker about. I hated the idea of being hunted by my own kind—whatever kind we were—maybe even being forced into killing one or more of them. But I would. I would for HER.

"I need you to lay low, Nock, no more streaming for a while. At least not live and nothing that could give our location away."

"Fine, why don't you cut off my cock while you're at it." Nock pouted.

A sneeze that sounded like a subdued laugh at first made me turn to Nova, who studiously averted her face from Nock and me. Damn her, I nearly laughed at Nock's dramatics too.

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