“Impressive,” Mai said softly as S weaved through the chaos, achieving a running speed neither of them were capable of, even with their bio-enhancements.

“Told you so,” Calexa shrugged. “She’s Primean.”

“98 percent human, but with added spice.” It was true. Primeans were the end result of a grand genetic experiment carried out over hundreds of years. They were the new, improved humans; one might say that the humble old sapiens had evolved.

Most Primeans thought humans were grossly inferior, and apparently it was their divine right to order them around like servants. In that respect, S had been uncharacteristically restrained, and now look at her.

An abstract spray of blood painted her sea-green tunic. Determination hardened her features. She carried Zahra with ease in her slender arms, even though Zahra’s exterian suit alone had to weigh close to forty kilos.

“Zahra’s out cold.” Mai frowned. “What the hell did those blue guys do to her?”

“Drained her life-force. She’ll recover in about half-an-hour or so.”

Mai was aghast. “Life-force? Since when has human spirit-energy become a commodity? Are you sure she’s okay? That’s half-an-hour we don’t fucking have. Do we need to get one of the twins on guard duty out here?”

“Monroe and Raf are both tied up in critical posts. Maybe we should give S a gun instead.”

“You think she can shoot?”

“I’m sure she will, if the situation gets hairy.” Anyone who had the guts to charter a mercenary ship to Torandor would be able to shoot if the situation got critical. Something had driven S to this point. Something had made her desperate enough to leave the security of the Serakhine with her entire retinue.

What exactly had she done to necessitate such a dramatic escape? Was someone after her?

It was probably best if they never found out.

“Incoming Vradhu.” Mai climbed the ramp and grabbed her Irradium cannon from inside the airlock. “This all part of your plan?”

“Yep.”

“Crazy Cal. You know, I trust your judgement because you don’t take shit from overly arrogant males, but you seem to have a developed a soft spot for the dragon-man.” Mai’s voice cracked as a disbelieving laugh escaped her lips. “I still can’t believe this. Part of me feels like we’re all going to wake up any minute now and find out we’ve overdosed on some bad kuka.”

“We’re not tripping, Mai.” Calexa looked across the hold. Several Vradhu ran toward the Medusa as Ares swept across the battlefield, the floor rippling outwards beneath his feet. Dark power radiated from him, and Calexa got the feeling he was about to unleash hell.

A pleasant chill ran over her body.

With his shimmering velvet-scaled skin, otherworldly black wings, and sinuous tail—which was now fully uncoiled—he truly looked like a demon.

An attractive, totally mesmerizing demon.

Hers and only hers.

Stars, when had she become so possessive of him?

As S strode up the ramp, a Vradhu appeared out of nowhere, holding his war-spear aloft. His flexible armor sported deep gashes and he walked with a slight limp, but his dark eyes were fierce.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Vradhu?” Mai crossed her arms, guarding the entrance like a small, obstinate bridge-troll.

“He isn’t hostile. He saved us.” S strode through the airlock, her lips twisting in worry as she glanced at Zahra’s unconscious form. “Do you have a warming device? She’s freezing.”

Zahra looked terrible, but Calexa wasn’t worried. Her friend was plenty tough. She’d survive. Still, being drained of vir was an unpleasant experience, and Calexa didn’t want Zahra to freak out when she woke up. With her hair-trigger reflexes, a freaking out Zahra could be dangerous. “Follow me.” She crossed the threshold, placing a hand on Mai’s shoulder. “You’re in charge of boarding. Make sure the Vradhu stay in the cargo hold. I don’t want them going near S’s girls.”

A loud boom filled her ears, followed by a familiar metallic scraping sound. The Vradhu shouted at each other in their strange, melodic language. Primal whoops and ululations filled the air. The floor started to shake.

“Your, uh, friend is something else,” Mai muttered, staring in Ares’s direction with look of mild horror on her face.

“He sure is.” Calexa crushed the terrible emptiness that was growing inside her. She couldn’t allow herself to think the unthinkable.

He was coming, or she was staying.

That was all.

“Where did Zahra stash his other body?” Her legs quivered as she thought about Ares and his Vradhu clone, and it wasn’t just because she was weak from all that vir-draining.

“His other…” Mai gave her a strange little look and dropped her face into her hand with a sigh. “Oh. Of course. It all makes sense now. That naked purple one is his clone.” Sarcasm sharpened her voice as she shook her head. “He’s in your quarters, of course. Where else would you put an unconscious, naked Vradhu clone?” She eyed the newcomer with suspicion.

The Vradhu stared at Mai as if she were the strangest thing he’d ever seen, his obsidian-painted features conveying his mistrust.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that it’s rude to stare?”

The alien growled.

Calexa held up her hand. “Now’s not the time to antagonize them. Just get them into the cargo hold and settle them down.” She turned to the Vradhu and spoke in Naaga. “Don’t growl at my merc like that, Vradhu. We’re your only way off this hell-pit, so get in line and tell your clan-brothers to behave themselves. If I hear of any crap going on in the hold, I’ll kick you out into space myself.”

The surly Vradhu nodded, muttering something under his breath in his native tongue.

“Grumpy bastard, isn’t he?” Knowing the Vradhu couldn’t understand, Mai spoke in Earthian, injecting a generous amount of snark into her voice.

“I think it’s a cultural thing,” Calexa whispered. “I don’t think they’ve encountered many aliens before, and their, uh, diplomatic skills are lacking.”

The Hythra shook. Calexa glanced over her shoulder and saw Ares laying waste to a trio of Corrupted. Ruthless, savage, and utterly alien, he spun ilverium into an extension of his will. How fucking terrifying. His glowing yellow eyes grabbed her, and the pit of Calexa’s stomach dropped out.

He looked like a man who’d crossed the point of no return.

A man who was prepared to die.

Stubborn Vradhu. She had to do something. “Hey, Mai, have we got any of those disgusting ultra-dense energy bars left?”

“This is a strange time to suddenly feel hungry, Cal.”

If Ares’s theory was right, she needed to eat something to regain her energy. What she’d really like right now was a hot shower and a long, dreamless sleep…

Keep dreaming.

Energy bars it was. She’d let Zahra sleep it off, but Calexa didn’t have that luxury.

More and more Vradhu arrived, staggering toward the Medusa. Some were badly wounded, leaving trails of crimson blood behind them.

“We need to call the medi-bot,” Mai gasped. “Look at these guys. I’m surprised they’re still standing.”

Calexa thought hard and fast. She was too weak to take over from S and carry Zahra to safety. Raphael was stuck in the bridge, getting the ship’s systems ready for departure. The faulty powerbanks demanded Monroe’s full attention.

They were thin on the ground out here.

She turned to S. “Any of your girls know their way around a medi-kit?”

“Possibly.” S wouldn’t commit to anything.

“Get a couple of them down here, preferably girls who won’t freak out at the sight of a bleeding Vradhu. Don’t worry. Mai will keep the males in line.”

S nodded. “I’ll put Zahra in a safe place and get a couple of the girls to help, but if any of the aliens lay a hand on them…”

Was that a threat in S’s green eyes?

“Listen up, Vradhu,” Calexa yelled in Naaga, becoming the target of several hostile glares. “Some humans are coming down to help treat your injuries. They want to help you, and I expect you to treat them with respect. Anyone who even looks at my girls in the wrong way will deal with Mai.”

To illustrate Calexa’s point, Mai smacked Beauty’s hollow body.

The Vradhu growled. Calexa shot Mai a meaningful look. “You got this?”

“Grumpy assholes, language barrier, wounded warriors, outnumbered. Yep, I got this.”

The noise from outside died, leaving an eerie silence in its wake, like the calm before a storm. She couldn’t see Ares anymore.

Her knees turned to jelly and dread stole her breath away. A feeling of impending doom crashed down upon her.

Hurry.

Once again, life was slipping through her grasp, and if she hesitated, she could lose it all in the blink of an eye.