Valdus loomed with his back to her, one hand pressed to the wall, head down, shoulders hunched, each astonishing muscle on display. A still, silent statue of carved, honed raw power and gleaming skin.

The urge to trace every fascinating hollow with her tongue hit hard, but she stifled it.

“Valdus…” Her hand lingered just above his wide shoulder, her heart beating fast, her palms tingling with the ache to touch.

She felt exposed. Vulnerable.

But Ryker was right, her rotations of cowering were done—and there were words that needed to be said.

Her ex-captor swiveled round, catching her wrist before she’d even registered his movement, his grip gentle but firm. “You’ve been a lab rat one too many times before.”

Her stomach flipped. “Yes, but—

He pressed her palm to his face as if he could imprint her touch into his skin, his gaze willing her to understand. “I’ve spent my life leading. Taking risks. Doing what others couldn’t.” He swallowed hard. “I hate that Hollisworth stole your control, I hate that I did, too.” He shook his head. “And I know…” His voice had dropped to an agonized rumble, “there are some burdens of yours I can’t take. Some pains I can’t share. But I’d take them all if I could. And I damn well won’t shirk from shouldering the ones I can.”

Her heart turned over.

I love him.

Somehow, against her best judgment, her stupid heart had fallen over the edge into the abyss of love. Deeper, darker, more treacherous than any Dragath crevice.

And she couldn’t regret it for an instant.

“I know I didn’t ask before, only took,” he continued, “so I’m asking now. Let me be the first to give it a try?”

The heart he’d already stolen fell deeper into his keeping. “I…I could never say no to that. But…” Old fears battered at her. “But what if I’m wrong? What if it isn’t just pain, but death?” Her breath hitched. “There are always bumps along the way and there’s a chance the serum won’t just destroy the tracker, but the body.” Her hand cupped his jaw. “I couldn’t bear it if I ended up killing you.”

“And you think I could if you were the one who died?”

“Your men need you.”

“They need you, too. If this time fails, you’ll need to try again. And again. Until you get it right.”

“But what if I can’t?”

“You can. You will.” He seized her hand. “I have absolute faith in you.”

She could only stare as his mouth moved closer, pressing a kiss to one corner of her mouth, then the other, indifferent to the stares of others across the room, his strength and unwavering conviction bleeding into her with every breath. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. You can do this. I know it.”

Her heart cracked wide. “You do?”

“I know you’ll do the best job you can, take all the precautions you can, and give us the best chance of making this work. I’m not a man who gives up control easily, but I’d rather put myself in your hands than anyone else’s.”

Valdus’s touch had always made her fly. Now, she soared on his words alone, climbing higher and higher with every heartbeat.

He truly believed in her. Saw her as a scientist capable of getting the job done. Her? A creature who’d once been reduced to nothing more than the value of her face and what lay between her legs. Who’d been twisted into a twisted man’s fuck toy and robbed of her will. But no more.

She’d thought his reluctance to having her administer the first test came from doubt, but it was the opposite. He trusted her enough to put the fate of his men in her hands.

She might be buried under tons of dirt and rock but she’d never felt so light. So strong. So unburdened.

“I…I can’t tell you what your words mean to me.”

He hauled her close. “My men can survive without me. I can’t survive without you.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “This starts and ends with me.”

She sank back on her heels. I can’t survive without you. It was an astounding statement. As close to a declaration of love as she’d ever heard. Because survival to a man like the Commander was everything.

“My sires died in a dust storm when I was a child.” His voice was low and gravely and though she wasn’t certain why he’d brought up this particular topic, she soaked up every word, hungry to learn everything she could about him. “I barely remember them beyond a faint smell, a mix of oil and despair. I’m told my dad worked in the water plant before it dried up. I don’t know for sure. I was raised in the crowded orphan barracks and then conscripted into the Council military as soon as I turned twelve. I lived and worked and ate and trained in the soldier barracks with these men. I grew up with them. Earned the right to lead them. It was a good life, but a hard life and I…I never learned how to love right.”

She recoiled, his words leaving an unexpected sting on the inside of her chest. “That’s not true. You love each of those men.”

“That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. You would die for them. Sacrifice for them. Care for them. What’s more, you trust them to have your back, just as you have theirs. You take them as they are—the good, the bad, and the broken. That’s loyalty and tenderness and that’s love.”

“Maybe.” He swallowed hard. “But all I know is how to hold on tight. How to protect. It’s…it’s all I know.”

Now she was sure she understood—and tenderness flooded through her along with sorrow. It wasn’t wrong to be so fierce and so protective, but for a woman trying to find her wings, it could be a problem.

A problem he understood, but didn’t know how to change. Wasn’t sure he could change.

“So, what do you say?” His voice was low, his gaze locked on her, wariness clear in his gaze. “Can you accept my offer?”

Could she?

“This time, yes.” She moved closer. “Because I understand why you feel it has to be you the first time.” She took a breath. “Can you understand, too, that it can’t always be you who takes the risk?” It would be her soon enough when it came to test out her own serum. She only hoped he was readier by then.

Because she might love him, but she wouldn’t truly be able to give him her heart until she was free of Hollisworth’s legacy forever.

As if he knew her thoughts, a flash of shadows dimmed his gaze, but he nodded. “I understand.”

“Good.” Her fingers curled around his neck as she rose onto her tiptoes. “This starts and ends with us—and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side.”

With a groan, he pounced, his mouth claiming hers while his hands dragged her close.

She met his tongue with her own. He tasted of stars and choices. Of hope and faith. All here in the underbelly of Dragath25.

For the first time in a long while, she thought she might just get everything she’d ever wanted, after all.