Page 54 of New World

“I wouldn’t put it past him; and no, I haven’t heard anything. It’s just a gut feeling. I really need you to get a crew and go level by level, starting at the core and moving up. I need you to do what you do best: protect our people.”

He watched as indecision swept across her face before it became resignation. “Are you ready for me to let Crock know what’s going on?”

“Something tells me he is already in the loop, but yes, I’d like for you to tell him it is time. He’ll understand,” Dorane said without hesitation. “Coordinate with him. I want his freighters prepped for immediate response.”

Crock was more than just a freighter captain—he commanded a network of heavily modified ships that could function as either blockade runners or war vessels. If something happened to Cryon II in Dorane’s absence, Crock was one of the few who could respond fast enough.

Asta exhaled sharply, rolling her shoulders. “Fine. But if you end up in a med bay when you get back, I’m personally going to rub it in for the rest of your miserable life that you should have taken me and Jammer with you.”

Dorane chuckled. “I would be utterly heartbroken if you didn’t.”

She gave him a long look before finally stepping back. Her voice softened, just slightly. “Be careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

Asta snorted before she muttered a curse and turned. Seconds later, she was barking orders at a passing technician as she strode toward the control station.

Dorane watched her stride away, his expression unreadable.

Then—he felt it. A subtle shift in the air. A crooked smile curved his lips as he slowly rotated until his eyes locked on the source.

Mei.

Her name whispered through his mind. Since he had met her, she had been a constant shadow there, filling both his waking and sleeping moments. She walked towards him, and then pulled back her hood, her face fully revealed.

His stomach tightened in alarm. He swept his gaze around the docking bay, searching for threats. “Mei?—”

She smiled, tilting her head slightly. “He’s watching.”

Dorane tensed. “Who?”

Mei stopped beside him, turning her head slightly. “Zoak. Crane tower, halfway up. Near the support beam. When the crane moves, you’ll see a slight reflection from the view glass he is using.”

His eyes flicked toward the structure, scanning the dark scaffolding. He couldn’t see him—not yet—but that didn’t mean she was wrong.

Dorane’s pulse quickened as Mei—calm, composed, completely unshaken—lifted her chin and stared directly at the spot where Zoak was hiding. Then she smiled, a slow, knowing smile that sent something sharp curling in his gut—and she tilted her head in acknowledgment, in… challenge.

Dorane reacted instantly, gripping her arm and pulling her back toward him. “Vas’thelan kai’tor!” Damn it! he hissed in Aetherial. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Mei turned, meeting his gaze with unwavering confidence, and then, before he could say another word, her fingers slid up the side of his neck and she pulled his head down to meet her kiss.

Dorane felt an electric shock flare through him when their lips met. The world vanished around him, his entire body locked, his breath stalling for a fraction of a second, and he released a deep, guttural groan.

His lips moved seductively over the warmth of hers. The press of her body, the sharp inhale of breath that wasn’t his aroused him to new heights. A wave of crushing need, one that had been building since she’d pulled off her goggles and lowered her scarf in Deek’s bar, blanked everything else out, and instinct took over. His hands found her waist, dragging her against him, his mouth pressing hard against hers, devouring, claiming. The kiss was deep, intoxicating, pulling him under like a tide he had no interest in resisting.

Everything else—the docking bay, the crew, the damn assassin watching them—ceased to exist.

Then, slowly, she pulled back.

His breath was unsteady. He searched her face, still half-lost in whatever spell she had just cast over him.

She gazed up at him, her dark eyes unreadable, her lips parted slightly as she whispered, “I’m sealing Zoak’s fate.”

Dorane blinked, the meaning of her words cutting through the haze of desire. The words hit him harder than any blow Jammer could have struck. His mind caught up with what she was saying. What she was doing.

A slow, burning anger erupted inside him and he glared down at her.

The hood down. The direct stare. The kiss.

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