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Unable to help herself, she threw herself into his arms. Though their lovemaking had helped calm the constant sexual urge the mad scientist had created through the bracelet settings, she could sense its steady return. If they couldn’t make love again soon, they’d lose all control and be easily recaptured.

“We must go. Before we cannot.”

So, he felt it, too. “I’m ready.” But she wasn’t. She struggled to suppress a wanton shudder and settled for a swift kiss. “Let’s go.”

THE AIRgrew heavier with each step, the relentless blaring of alarms echoing off the metallic walls like a countdown to disaster. Elara’s breaths came in shallow, uneven bursts as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

The bond pulsated in the background, areminder of Zar’Ryn’s presence just ahead, his movements swift and precise despite the lingering signs of his injury.

As they rounded a corner, the corridor seemed to shrink, the shadows stretching long and deep under the flickering lights. Asudden clang from somewhere above made her flinch, her heart pounding as she pressed closer to Zar’Ryn. He didn’t falter, his blade already in hand, his sharp gaze scanning every inch of their surroundings. She envied his composure, the way he moved with a predator’s certainty, as though no one or nothing could traphim.

The sharp tang of burnt metal filled the air as they passed a cluster of broken consoles, their exposed wires sparking intermittently. Elara’s feet slipped slightly on the damp floor, the slick condensation adding an unwelcome challenge to their already perilous route. Every sound seemed amplified—their breaths, the distant clatter of boots that grew louder with every passing second.

It seemed as though the ship’s very walls were conspiring against them, groaning and creaking under the weight of their escape. The alarms had grown louder, and Elara’s nerves were stretched thin. When a squad of Marauders intercepted them, her heart leapt into her throat.

“Stay behind me,” Zar’Ryn ordered.

But before the Marauders could fire, the bracelets began to glow again. Elara felt the bond surge, arush of energy so intense it made her gasp. The light from the bracelets grew blinding, and a pulse of power rippled outward. The Marauders’ weapons sparked and fizzled, their energy packs overloaded.

Zar’Ryn moved like a shadow, dispatching the disarmed Marauders with precision. Elara tried to stay on her feet, but the power surge left her weak, her vision swimming. She stumbled, and Zar’Ryn was there, catching her before she couldfall.

“I have you, little one,” he murmured, lifting her into hisarms.

Elara’s head rested against his chest, his steady heartbeat grounding her. The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was the faint glow of their bracelets, pulsing in unison.

When she woke, the purr of a ship’s engines filled her ears, alow and steady rhythm that wrapped around her like a cocoon. The faint vibration was punctuated by sharp bursts as Marauder fire slammed against the ship’s shields, rocking them side toside.

Zar’Ryn sat beside her, his expression unreadable, his features cast in the faint glow of the cockpit’s controls. His grip on the flight stick was tight, his knuckles pale against his bronze skin as he maneuvered them through the onslaught. The moment stretched between them, and for an instant, Elarathought she caught a flicker of relief in his eyes before it disappeared behind his stoicmask.

“We are escaping,” he said, though his tone was grim, weighted with unspoken concerns. “For now. The shields will not last forever. Hold on.”

Elara’s throat felt dry, her voice barely more than a whisper. “You carried me here?”

Zar’Ryn gave a small nod, the movement almost imperceptible. “You were drained. The surge… it took more from you than it did from me.”

Her gaze softened as she took in the tension in his posture, the way his shoulders remained rigid despite the exhaustion she could sense through the bond. “Thank you,” she murmured, the words carrying more meaning than she could express.

He didn’t respond immediately, his focus shifting to the controls as the ship lifted off. The ship bucked under another impact, and Elara clutched the edge of her seat, her heart racing as the stars outside the viewport blurred with the frantic movements of Zar’Ryn’s evasive maneuvers.

He twisted the controls, the ship dipping sharply to avoid a final barrage. Only when the bursts of fire faded did the tension in her chest ease. Elara turned her head, her gaze drifting to the viewport. The stars unfolded before them, avast sea of shimmering lights stretching into infinity. The sight should have been calming, awe-inspiring even, but instead, it only deepened the weight in her chest.

“Beautiful, are they not?” Zar’Ryn’s voice, low and rough, pulled her attention back to him. He hadn’t looked at her, his amethyst eyes fixed on the endless expanse ahead.

She nodded, though the beauty of the stars felt distant, overshadowed by the danger they had narrowly escaped. “What happens now?” she asked, her voice steady despite the questions swirling in hermind.

Zar’Ryn finally turned his gaze to her, his expression darkening. “We have escaped the cage,” he said, his tone measured but heavy with implication. “But the hunt has just begun.”

Elara shivered at his words, the weight of their situation settling over her. Yet even as uncertainty loomed, she found herself anchoring to the quiet strength in his presence. Even more intense was the constant, aching desire that filled her. She neededhim.

Again andsoon.

Chapter 7

THE AIRbetween Elara and Zar’Ryn seemed to crackle with a palpable tension. The bracelet on her wrist thrummed, its pulse quickening in tandem with her racing heart. She caught his gaze and froze, startled by the sheer intensity in his amethysteyes.

Desire surged through her, hot and urgent, and she knew it wasn’t just her own. The bond amplified everything—their emotions, their needs, their instincts—until it became impossible to separate where one ended and the other began. The raw heat of it was undeniable, overwhelming, and left them both trembling on the precipice of control.

Elara barely had time to breathe as Zar’Ryn swept her into the dimly lit interior of his spaceship. The adrenaline from their escape still coursed through her veins, but it was the bond—the unrelenting, searing connection forged by the bracelets—that consumed her every thought. It wasn’t just her emotions anymore. They were alsohis.

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