Kayana took a sip of her drink and watched the party unfolding around them. The roof of the Octiron Corporation building gave a spectacular view of the city’s downtown district. At least she understood where the design aesthetic for the ship had come from – the architect for the outdoor space had filled it with flowing lines of chrome and ebony, gilt and glass. Floating orbs of light in every color drifted around the party creating moving areas of shadow that kept the guests moving around.

It made her miss the simpler bacchanal of the party on Vedenemo.

Ax kissed her nape, lips brushing where her hair had been teased into an updo for the gala, and awakening her v’tana with a rush of heat. His whisper caressed her blood like molten honey. “I never thought I’d be jealous of a dress before, but the way that one clings to you...”

She smoothed a hand over her belly, feeling the exquisitely soft silk beneath her palm as she leaned against him. “Whatever else you think of them, Octiron’s happy to spend money to make us look good.”

“Mm. You already looked good. This is just the icing on the cake.” He signaled the drink-bot, and it produced a fizzy, blue cocktail for him. The number of garnishes hanging of the rim of the glass could have constituted a meal. Ax took a sip and grimaced. “Though they aren’t spending that much. They’re watering the drinks.”

She laughed. “They probably don’t want anyone to get sloppy drunk and larf up the footage. There are still reporters wandering around, after all.” She’d also noticed half of the globes floating about had cameras on them as well. Clearly, Octiron wanted to make sure every angle was covered.

“Speaking of,” Ax said. “Have you seen Berniss?”

“Not since we landed, but she said she’d be around.” On the far side of the rooftop, a chestnut-haired Aurelian looked to be giving one interviewer a rather angry piece of his mind. Next to him, a Tygean brunette in a dress like liquid gold didn’t seem to be much happier. She nodded in their direction. “They don’t look happy.”

He checked a wrist computer. “Team Starry Night. They apparently think that Octiron is ruthless, and that the race is ridiculously dangerous. Among other things.”

She chuckled. “Perish the thought. Did you try to make amends with the Galaxy Riders?”

Ax glanced towards where the albino stood with his sapphire-shaded partner. Armond and Vin. Their names were everywhere since the race had ended, and they’d won the grand prize. Seeing them was a relief. Kayana didn’t know what sort of trials they’d been through together, but given how Armond kept looking at his partner, they’d found more than adventure along the way.

She tugged ax’s arm around her waist. He cradled her against his chest, ridiculous drink in his free hand. “I thought about it. Passed him in the hall at one point and almost said something. He didn’t kill me, so I guess we’re square?”

“They’re letting us keep the ships. I suppose that’s something.” That had been an unexpected bonus. The prize money had been handsome enough, but the ship was a surprising level of generosity.

He laughed. “I wonder if Algol will be any less obnoxious without Octiron telling it what to do?”

She shuddered as his teeth grazed the point of her ear. Her nipples tented the sleek fabric of her dress. When her breath recovered she stage whispered, “Stop that, or I’ll drag you back to the ship and make you finish what you’re starting.”

He grinned and pressed against her back, voice all sinful promise. “I’m waiting for the downside.”

“You don’t get to co—” He words were cut off by a crack of thunder as lightning streaked across the sky just above the rooftop. It had felt close enough to touch.

“What the hells?” Ax tugged her behind the minimal safety of the bar as another deafening thunderclap wrecked their ability to speak. Wind whipped up, seeming to move in several directions at once. The orb lights, carried by the winds, began crashing into each other. One of them fired some kind of bright pink fireball in the direction of the bar and sent her and Ax ducking for cover.

“You said something about heading back to the ship, love?” Ax had to shout to be heard over the screams and chaos that had suddenly swept over the roof top. “Because that’s sounding pretty good about now.”

Her heart warmed in a way that had nothing to do with lust or her v’tana. Hearing him say the word out loud still felt new. It made her giddy, and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face, despite the madness that had overtaken the rooftop. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Give me a moment.” He finished his drink in a single pull, shoving the garnishes to one side. When he finished he took a skewer of pixberries and popped them into his mouth. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“I thought you said it was watered down.” On the other side of the bar, she could hear people running for cover and doors slamming open as they fled the roof top.

“It is, but it’s still free. Never turn down a free drink.”

Kayana knew what he was going to suggest and cut him off. “That is not one of the maxims.”

He grinned, “Yeah, well it oughta be. Maybe I’ll write my own list.”

She laughed and grabbed his hand as she ran toward the nearest stairwell. “I can’t even imagine what that would look like.”

Behind them, another tiny fireball shot across the open space, striking a conversation pit and setting it ablaze. She tugged him through the door and into the relative safety of the emergency stairs.

He froze, forcing her to stop. “Really? I already know what the first Rule of Ax would be.”

She grinned at him. “Oh yeah? The free drink one?”

He smiled and tugged her close. “Hardly. The first rule is ‘when you find the perfect partner, don’t ever let them go.’”

Warmth rushed through her, a stark contrast to the cold wind outside the stairs. Regardless of the danger, she leaned in to claim his mouth with hers. When they finally came up to breathe she smiled. “Let’s go home.”

He nodded. “Aye, Captain. Thought you’d never ask.”