Page 42 of Fractured Souls

The tiniest thing could push her over the edge.

At least the transformation was stable. According to Zharek, she wouldn’t encounter any further cellular changes. All she had to do was learn how to use her modified arm, which apparently allowed her to kill with a single touch.

Her body had become a deadly weapon, and if the situation wasn’t handled properly, this could become a fucking disaster.

He suppressed a sigh.

He’d become attached to the situation, Kaiin’s Hells, to this human. There was no way he was going to leave Alexis to deal with this on her own. In some ways, her unique little problem reminded him of his own past—the endless experiments, the excruciating pain, that feeling of being utterly helpless, of being so angry you wanted to leave behind nothing but bones and scorched earth…

But you couldn’t do a single fucking thing about it.

That was why he was going to make sure that Alexis became strong… and when he found the Kordolian pieces of shit who had traumatized her in the first place, he would tear their silver throats out.

She was safe with him.

“This might sound weird, but I need to run,” she said softly, looking hopeful. “Maybe I can just jog up and down these corridors down here a little. They’re certainly long enough.”

“Run?” His dark thoughts evaporated and a smile tugged at his lips. He understood, perhaps a little. For her, it was running. For him, it was fighting.

“It’s kinda my drug. Keeps me sane in moments like this. It’s better than punching walls, I guess.” She let out a dark little laugh as she stared longingly into the shadows, unaware that Nythian couldn’t take his eyes off her.

She looked so lovely, even when her gaze was tinged with sadness.

He wanted to erase the sadness in her eyes. As crazy as it seemed, if she wanted to run, he would make it happen. “You really wanna run? Now?” Nythian thought she would be exhausted after everything she’d been through, but Alexis simply nodded.

“Yep.”

“Okay. Follow me.” Instead of going straight back to her quarters, Nythian took Alexis on a detour.

She walked by his side, flicking little glances up at him every now and then. She probably thought he wasn’t aware, but Nythian noticed everything.

He noticed the way her cheeks flushed dusky brown when she looked at him.

He noticed how her eyes lingered on certain parts of his body—shoulders, arms, face, torso—her eyes filled with a strange mixture of curiosity and appreciation.

She didn’t miss much, this female.

What a surprise she was turning out to be.

He was pretty sure he’d caught her checking out his ass once or twice, too.

“This place… we’re on a ship, right?” Now she looked at him again, and her eyes were clear, her heartbeat steady. Since they’d left Zharek’s quarters, she’d been remarkably calm.

So different from the terrified, confused human he’d first encountered. And the way she reacted to him was different now, too.

She wasn’t cagey like before. She was more relaxed, and on a few rare and glorious occasions, he’d been able to get a smile out of her.

“You’re on one of our fleet stations, and we are currently in the Sixth.”

“Sector Six?” She seemed surprised. “That’s a long way from Earth.”

“Just beyond the Tarkenian Belt.”

“Stars, that’s far. Where are we headed?”

“The Fleet Station doesn’t go anywhere in a hurry. We’ll board another ship if we go to Tharos. But for now, we wait.”

“For…?”

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