Page 67 of Space for More

I choose fire.

“Did you feel anything when we were together?” I ask.

Her tears come faster. “I felteverything. Too damned much!”

“Too much to try again?”

“W-what?” She blinks at me in disbelief. “Phelix, Iliedto you. Ifucked you and led you on and drove away Eden, who—shit—is alone right now, when I promised to keep her safe. Why would you ever want someone like me?”

“I don’t know,” I say with a weak smile. “All I know is that I’ve been broken since we met and when we were together, with Eden, I finally felt whole.”

Fina lets out a small gasp at my words and then clasps a hand over her mouth, reminding me we have an audience.

I don’t care. Some things are more important than pride or decorum.

I stand and move to kneel before Mezli, wiping away some of the moisture from her cheek. “I lied, too. It’s crystal clear to me why I’d want to be with you. You’re stubborn and reckless and clever and kind and I knew from the moment I saw you, my life would never be the same. We’re only ruined if you want us to be.”

“I… I don’t want that,” Mezli says, barely above a whisper. “But I don’t think we can do this without Eden. She’s our mate, Phelix. I’ve felt it every time we touched. I sensed it from her smell and her taste. Hell, she was able to take your knot! She was made for us, just like we were made for each other.” Her face falls in anguish. “She’s our mate and I scared her away.”

My heart soars with how right her words feel. I spent so much time explaining away my feelings for Eden that I never gave myself the chance to recognize what was staring me in the face. “You’re right. So now we have to prove it to her.”

Dozensof unanswered messages to Eden and three hours of searching later, that romantic sentiment feels much less attainable. No sign of her in her hotel, she’s not at Mezli’s apartment or myhotel, and there’s no record of her scanning in at the conference hall. Nothing. We looked every place she’s been to on Spire. It’s like she’s vanished.

Dread pools in my stomach as we reconvene at Maerlon’s apartment, no closer to finding her despite all of us searching.

“Dammit! Why won’t she answer?” Mezli groans, typing another message into her comm. “What did she say when she left?” she asks for the hundredth time.

“She said she had to make things right.” I still don’t understand what she meant by it. I should’ve chased after her and made her explain. This is my fault.

“Make what right?” Mezli asks. “She didn’t do anything wrong! I’m the one that accused her of working with you to hide the schematics. I didn’t believe her over those damn fake agents.”

“Did you have an established meeting place with them? Maybe she went there.” Paul says, trying to keep Mezli calm with his even tone.

“No! They said to contact them and they’d come to us when we had an update.”

“Which may mean they have a way of tracing your location,” Maerlon says, his dotted brow furrowing with concern.

“Goddess, you’re right. She must’ve contacted them, thinking that there was a mistake with the files and she’d correct them. And whoever the agents really are, they tracked her down and…” Mezli’s face pales.

“Made sure she wouldn’t cause any more trouble,” I finish grimly.

34

I’m the biggest fool in the entire galaxy. Naive to believe that I was special enough to be the only human brought to an intergalactic medical conference. Clueless enough to think that I’d found what I’ve been searching for with an emotionally unavailable alien and her mate. Now all that foolishness has truly fucked me over.

No one knows I’m here. My family is halfway across the galaxy, and I didn’t tell Phelix or Mezli where I was going. Not that I think they’d care about finding me.

My pulse spikes as I think about how screwed I am. I don’t know who these people are other than they’re clearly notwith the Xi Consortium. They might think it’s easier to kill me and dump my body somewhere than deal with the hassle of one random human.

My eyes dart across the tiny, dim room to “Agent” Tysea sitting across from me on a white couch that looks a lot more comfortable than my cold metal chair, reading a datapad with a yawn. They’re acting like bringing me here and locking me in with them is boring, and I have to pray that it’s a sign they don’t have murderous intent.

My predicament could be worse, I guess. The mag-cuffs locking my hands together are in front of my body instead of pinned behind my back. They didn’t bother blindfolding me or gagging me, and I’m not tied to my chair. All in all, whoever they are, they’re doing a half-assed job of things. Either that, or they’re so used to kidnapping people that they’re confident there’s nothing I can do to stop whatever they have planned. Unsurprising, given how incompetent they’ve thought I am from the moment we met at the docks.

I fight against the tears that well in my eyes, but it’s no use. You’d think I would’ve cried myself into dust between Mezli’s attack on me and the fear of what’s going to happen. But they stream out of me in a seemingly endless supply. I’m soaked in tears and terrified sweat and I’ve never felt more humiliated and alone in my life.

Time passes and my waves of panic and sadness ebb in and out like the tide. Eventually, the fear clears enough for me to assess the situation and I start to get angry with myself.

What the hell am I doing? Am I going to just sit here and accept my fate?

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