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He couldn’t hide from her. Not from those eyes that saw through his façade and pierced through the layers of pain and fatigue. “I’m hurt,” he admitted, the words a bitter confession. “But I’ll recover.”

She crawled toward him, her movements slow and deliberate. He could almost see the weariness of her spirit, but her determination remained unwavering. She reached him, her fingers brushing against his, trapped within the manacles, the warmth of her touch a beacon of hope in the darkness of their prison.

“We’ll get through this,” she whispered, her voice filled with a strength that belied her fragile form. “We’ll get through this together.”

He squeezed her hand, the connection a lifeline, as well as a testament to their shared will to survive.

He needed a distraction, away to escape the suffocating reality of their situation. “Tell me more about your past, Winn. Tell me something… anything… to distract me from this hell.”

She smiled, asoft, tender curve of her lips that illuminated the darkness of their prison, aflicker of light in the encroaching shadows. “What do you want to know?”

He thought back to the brief moments they had shared, the stories they had exchanged, the glimpses into each other’s lives, so different, yet somehow intertwined. “Tell me about the time you were told you were dying.”

He remembered the pain in her voice, the vulnerability she had exposed, the shadow that had briefly dimmed her spirit. He wanted to understand, to share in that pain, to offer comfort and reassure her that she was not alone.

A flicker of sadness crossed her face, but she rallied, her voice soft and steady. “It was a dark time, Jo’Nay. As dark as this, Isuppose. Atime of fear and loneliness. Ihad been diagnosed with cancer. Stage four. They told me I had only months to live. Maybe a little longer if I went through chemo.”

He felt a pang of sympathy, asurge of protectiveness. She had faced death and emerged stronger, her spirit unbroken. “You were alone?”

“I thought I was.” She whispered, her eyes shining with tears. “I had isolated myself, pushed away everyone who cared. Ididn’t want them to see me weak. To witness my death.”

He understood that fear, that primal instinct to shield oneself from pain. More, to protect friends and family from the burden of their loved one’s suffering. He suspected it was one of the reasons the Intergalactic Warriors were permanently separated from their families, so they only had their unit toturn to. To depend on. He had lived by that code for centuries, suppressing his emotions, distancing himself from others, sacrificing his own happiness to fulfill his duty, to protect the Nine Galaxies from those who sought to harmthem.

“But I was wrong,” Winn continued, her voice regaining strength, the flicker of defiance rekindled in her eyes. “I was so wrong. When I was at my darkest, acomplete stranger stepped forward. He found me beautiful, even when I was at my worst. He gave me love when I didn’t think love was possible any longer. He gave me life when all I thought I had left was death.”

A small smile played across Jo’Nay’s mouth. Gods above, how long had it been since he’d smiled? “And who was this stranger?”

“You, Jo’Nay. Of course, it was you.”

Chapter 15

HER WORDSresonated deep within him, stirring something primal that he had long suppressed. It was a yearning for connection, for belonging, for a life beyond duty and sacrifice.

He had found that connection with Winn, ahuman female, abeing he had been conditioned to see as inferior, not to love. And yet, her love had shattered his preconceived notions and opened his eyes to a world beyond the rigid confines of his Vettian upbringing.

He wanted to tell her that. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. How she had changed him. How she had given him a reason to believe in something beyond the cold, harsh reality of his warrior’s existence. But the words caught in his throat, trapped by the knowledge they could be overheard and the information shared with Skarrp.

Winn threw a quick glance over her shoulder at the nearby crewman, then reached for his hand, her fingers intertwining with his, her touch a silent reassurance. “Tell me, Jo’Nay,” she urged, her voice soft and gentle. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

He drew a deep breath, the air filling his lungs, asurge of determination coursing through his veins. “You have given me hope, Winn,” he confessed, the words a mere whisper, afragile offering. “You have shown me that there is more to life than duty. Than sacrifice. You have awakened something within me, something I thought was lost forever.”

Her eyes widened, amixture of surprise and joy, aradiant warmth that melted the ice around his heart. “You know I feel the same way, Jo’Nay,” she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion. “You’ve given me strength and courage and a reason to believe in a future, afuture we can build. That wewillbuild, as soon as we get out of here. And the two of us will figure this out.”

“Just like we did before,” he said, his voice firm, his gaze holding hers, willing her to believe, to understand the miracle she had been granted. “You survived cancer and the threats on your home world. You are here. With me.”

“Because of you.” She said, her voice filled with wonder. “You saved me then, Jo’Nay. You healed me. It gave me a second chance. Achance to live. To love.”

He remembered the night he had found her, broken and bleeding, on the side of the road. The night he had used his Vettian technology to heal her wounds, to erase the traces of the disease that had ravaged her body. He had not expected to find love or feel the stirrings of a bond that defied the boundaries of their different species, their different worlds.

He had been a warrior, programmed for destruction, his life measured in battles, in conquests, in the inevitable approach of his Final Flight. She had changed everything. She had shown him the beauty of life, the power of love, not to mention the possibility of a future he had never dared to imagine.

“I never intended to fall in love with you, Winn.” He confessed, his voice husky with emotion. “It was not part of the plan. Iwas dying. My Final Flight was inevitable. Ihad accepted my fate. But then you crashed into my life, and everything changed.”

“I wasn’t supposed to crash, literally, into your life.” She teased, her voice light, awelcome relief from the darkness that surrounded them. “But I’m glad I did. I’m glad you were there. To save me.”

He reached out, stopped by the manacles. He longed to touch the warmth of her skin, to stroke the softness of her hair, to feel the reassuring beat of her heart. “Tell me more, Winn. Tell me about your life. Your world.”

“What more do you want to know?” she asked, her eyes shining with a curiosity that matched hisown.

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