She couldn't believe it.

Quinn had expected to spend months buttering up Rhys somehow so the harbinger would allow her to look for her sister, maybe even help. She had imagined Cassie in some godforsaken part of Luminos, completely hidden away from the world.

Now she'd found her and they weren't even in the wormhole yet. Quinn's heart started beating wildly, thinking if she could just –

"Harbinger," a voice said over the comm link on Rhys' wrist. "Safe zone to open wormhole five minutes away. On your word, sir."

"Permission granted," the harbinger replied. "Return to Luminos."

Five minutes. Five measly minutes.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Quinn. Cassie was right there, standing in the same room as her. They were still in the domain of the Galactic Union. If something happened, anything, to distract the Nayanors just long enough that they could escape...

Yet it seemed that luck wasn't on their side. Quinn knew that after the escape of three females a few years ago Nayanors were more careful with their haul.

The Union hadn't known about the wormhole travel before, so naturally Nayanors had had to adapt to that as well. That was why they targeted ships more often now. Terra and other planets had become risky targets, regularly patrolled and safeguarded.

It wasn't the defense forces Nayanors were worried about, either. The prospect of losing the women in the combat terrified them much more.

Then Cassie turned and Quinn saw her face. Her sister looked like she'd aged ten years in the span of one. The long golden blonde hair, the pride of their family, had lost its shine. The same could have been said about Cassie's light blue eyes, which were lifeless now. Quinn felt her blood boiling, seeing that.

She remembered her sister as a bright and funny person whose spirit wasn't easy to ruin.

She didn't miss the bruise either.

Quinn dashed from her spot, somehow dodging Rhys' hand and running across the docking bay. She paid no mind to the Nayanor warriors giving her weird looks and the frightened eyes of the women Cassie was helping to herd.

When Cassie saw her, the blue eyes finally gained some emotion and it was all fear.

"Quinn –" Cassie began to say before she was caught in a quick, desperate hug.

Quinn had to hold back tears, cradling her little sister in her arms, knowing she was powerless to stop the bad things that were happening to her.

For now. I swear this is only temporary.

"Quinn, what are you doing here!?" Cassie demanded, a look of despair telling Quinn that it was worse than she could have imagined. "How are you here? I saved you... You got away."

Her voice broke and the sadness there was terrible to hear. For a moment, Quinn regretted not running, seeing how much it hurt Cassie to see them both imprisoned now.

"Not this time," she said quietly. "Nayanors got me this time. Cassie, what happened to you?"

As heavy footsteps neared them, Cassie gave her a heart-wrenching look and shook her head.

"Go away, Quinn," she whispered quietly. "You can't help me and you'll only get us both in trouble. Oh gods, the harbinger..."

Quinn turned to see Rhys, the hard lines of his face tense and humorless.

"What are you doing?" Rhys demanded. "I told you not to leave my side."

Quinn saw understanding dawn on Cassie's face and heard the muffled sob she tried to hide. It seemed her sister didn't approve of her new fated.

"This is my sister," Quinn explained as calmly as she could, knowing she couldn't entirely keep the anger from her voice. "My little sister."

The harbinger raised his eyes to Cassie, looking her over like they were both some kind of goods for him to value. Quinn didn't like the look of the frown on his face at all.

"I see the resemblance," Rhys said, emotionless. "That doesn't excuse you from running away from me. Never do that again, do you understand?"

Quinn couldn't remember ever being that mad in her life, not even as she watched Nayanor fighters miss her pod last year when so many others were picked up. She'd had to observe, helpless to change anything, as they took her friends and Cassie away.

"Say yes," Cassie whispered to her urgently. "Quinn, just say yes!"

Rhys didn't spare her another look, but he said:

"Your sister seems to understand the ways of Nayanors better. Answer me."

Quinn didn't trust her voice at that moment. She was almost certain that she would say something that she would regret later, but she couldn't bear the burden of hurting Cassie too.

"I understand," she answered.

Cassie's eyes had suddenly gone very dark. Before, they had simply been empty of all emotion. Now she looked petrified. Quinn turned her head to see a Nayanor warrior walk over to join them.

He was handsome like all Nayanor warriors, although not nearly as good-looking as Rhys. The silvery hair was combed back and tied in a short tail. The man looked powerful and skilled. The thing that chilled Quinn down to her bones was the cruel look in his hazel eyes.

The warrior's eyes were deep and dark, not an inch of human compassion in there, or perhaps she was imagining it because it was clear that was Cassie's mate.

Her sister was shaking.

The warrior turned to Rhys first, saluting.

"Harbinger," he said in a cold, deep voice. "I am Dolor and this is my fated. Is there something wrong? Has she been out of line?"

Quinn watched as Rhys measured the man from head to toe with a cold, calculating look. He hadn't returned the salute.

"It seems," Rhys said, "that our fateds are related. Sisters, apparently. My new mate saw her and ran over, which she will know not to do in the future."

The gaze of Rhys' forest green eyes fell on her and Quinn answered it, refusing to turn her face away. It was obvious to her that Cassie's mate scared her out of her wits and she didn't want to turn into a pale ghost like her sister had. There had to be another way to deal with Nayanors, she was certain of that.

"I see," Dolor replied without giving any indication how that information made him feel. "Congratulations on your new mate, Harbinger. I hope she will be able to continue your bloodline soon."

Rhys barely reacted. The miniscule nod could very well have been a natural movement, but Quinn was certain she sensed hostility.

It was confirmed when the harbinger glanced at Cassie once again.

"My fated was concerned, I believe," he said, his deep voice gaining a dark edge. "Seeing as there is a mark on your mate. Did something happen to her?"

Now, finally, Quinn saw the first true reaction from Dolor and immediately regretted coming over. The cruel, humorless smirk that tugged the warrior's lips upward just a little promised that whatever was going on, Cassie would pay for it later.

"Rough play," Dolor said, meeting Rhys' gaze when Quinn saw several others backing away, not even part of the exchange.

Cassie was looking at her now, a warning in her eyes. It said, without a doubt:

Don't make this worse.

"You will know soon, I'm sure," Dolor continued, looking Quinn's way. "With a new fated, it's sometimes hard to control your passion."

"Are you saying you dropped her?" Rhys asked and this time, there was no mistake.

The anger in his voice was very much real and not Quinn's wishful thinking.

"No," Dolor said, a flash of color spreading over his pale face. "Of course not."

He wrapped a hand around Cassie's shoulders, pulling her close to him despite her whimper. Quinn could feel her hands shaking. She was entirely certain that if she had a gun at that moment, she would have shot the guy.

Meeting her gaze, Dolor added in a quiet voice:

"She was so desperate for my cock that she did this to herself, hit her head on a bedframe. Females can do that sometimes when they can't control the pleasure they get from being properly fucked by their men."

The smile on Rhys' face was now everything but benevolent and Dolor quieted. Quinn could see him struggle, his sense of pride fighting the urge to antagonize the harbinger further. In the end, Dolor turned to Cassie.

"Get back to your rooms, your duties here are done," he said.

Before Cassie could slip away from her, Quinn reached out and grabbed her hand.

"It's okay," she said quickly. "Everything will be alright."

The way her sister was looking at her made Quinn think she was being pitied. Cassie said nothing, didn't even give her any indication she'd heard her. Smiling to Dolor in such a fake way it hurt to watch, her sister left the bay.

"Anything else, Harbinger?" Dolor asked, turning to Rhys.

Quinn observed with quiet hope as the feral grin on Rhys' lips spread wider.

"Nothing," he said in a deceptively calm voice. "To be more careful with your fated, perhaps. Even if it was her own clumsiness, your reflexes should have been enough for you to be able to catch her."

Not waiting for a response, Rhys turned and walked away, with Quinn following. When she looked back, Dolor was watching her with a clear loathing in his dark eyes.

Quinn didn't let it scare her. She didn't know how she'd come to trust Rhys so fast, but being near him made her feel safe, at least from other Nayanors. The harbinger had clearly taken her side, even if Quinn had seen it cost him.

When the door of Rhys' quarters closed behind them, the harbinger pinned Quinn against the door and she didn't resist the deep, lingering kiss.

The same couldn't have been said about Rhys taking a step back with a hungry growl and starting to undo the straps of his armor.

"Strip," he told her in a voice that made Quinn's legs weak.