The look in Jac’s eyes speared Rynn to the core. She was hurting, not from any physical wound, but inside. In her heart. He could practically see her bleeding but he couldn’t bring himself to comfort her.

She’d betrayed him. Waited until his back was turned to stab him in it. Even though she’d accepted him last night—shared her body with him and it had been the closest to heaven he’d ever experienced—he still felt the sting of betrayal in the bruising across the back of his head and shoulders. The tingles still zipped through his nervous system from the charge-prod. Used on ground assaults to drop things as big as the Krin, she’d been lucky not to fry herself with it, never mind him. He’d spent hours locked into his own body. Seething but unable to move.

Despite all that, everything within him wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her it was all going to be okay. She wanted that, wanted something… some sort of unbending from him. He could see that from how eager she was to do as he said. How her body and expression softened when he approached. The soft, pleading gaze in her eyes as she looked at him.

But, the sensible part of his brain was quick to point out, that could just as easily be to do with the fact she wanted out of a D’Corr cell. And, as soon as she was free, she’d probably take the first opportunity to stab him in the back. Again.

Fighting with himself, he yanked her to the front of the cell and quickly explained what he wanted her to do.

“Got it?” he asked brusquely, not giving her time to think. It was dangerous, and sneaky… he’d learned not to use the word dishonorable even in his own head over the years he’d been named a shadow. A shadow’s work was not like a warrior’s… different rules applied if you wanted to stay alive.

She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Got it.”

Then she started to scream.

“HELP! HELP ME! HE’S DYING! OH MY GOD!”

The high-pitched screams filled the cell and corridor, booming and echoing off the metal walls. As soon as they heard heavy footsteps running toward them, Rynn let his eyes roll back in his head and fell against the metal bars at the front of the cell.

Jac continued to scream, pulling at him and trying to cradle him in her arms—the picture-perfect image of a woman terrified to lose her male. He even felt the hot splash of tears on his chest as D’Corr’s warriors arrived to open the front of the cell.

“Please… you have to help him,” she cried out as she was torn from him.

Hard hands landed on him, but Rynn was ready. Letting them haul him to his feet, he lurched suddenly to the side, using the movement to slam a fist up and into the first warrior’s ribs. Caught off guard, the blow landed squarely, driving all the air out of his lungs. Rynn was on him immediately. He wrapped a hard arm around the male’s throat, turning and twisting as he surged upward so his opponent was back to back with him, his neck stretched out.

Realizing what was coming, he clawed at Rynn’s arm, but the big assassin was too fast for him. He jerked up and back, the crunch of breaking bone filling the air. The body dropped to the floor, forgotten, as Rynn rounded on the other warrior.

He snarled, fury at his friend’s death filling his eyes, and launched himself forward. Rynn got his arm up to block, two heavy blows landing across his bicep and shoulder as he ducked. They were good punches, ones that would have rattled him had they landed. But they hadn’t, and the male had made a fatal mistake.

He’d let Rynn get too close.

Sliding under the male’s guard, Rynn reached out, easing the dagger from the warrior’s belt before he could process the movement. The blade was barely free of the sheath before he surged forward, his body slamming into his opponent’s. As they both crashed into the bars, the blade in Rynn’s hand slid between the D’Corr warrior’s ribs. His eyes widened, the air whistling not from his lips, but from the wound in his chest. He sagged as Rynn stepped back and the blade slid free with a pop. Hands flailing uselessly at his chest, the warrior slid down the bars to a seated position. His jaw moved, a click-click-click the only sound in the cell as the light faded from his eyes.

“Is he—” Jac crept forward from the back of the cell. “Is he…”

“Dead?” Rynn nodded, even though the warrior’s eyes still tracked them, horror in the dark depths. “He is. Or he will be in seconds. The brain takes a few seconds to catch up with the fact it’s dead. He can’t shout for help or anything, so we don’t need to worry about it.”

At her look of horror, he realized she’d finally seen the monster behind his mask, and whatever illusions she might have had about him had been ripped away. Talking about a man as though he were dead when he was struggling to breathe his last was heartless, but he was an assassin.

He didn’t have a heart.

“Come on. We have to get out of here.”

Tucking the dagger into the side of his boot, Rynn paused just long enough to relieve one of the dead males of a pulse pistol before grabbing Jac’s hand and leading her from the cell. Keeping her safely behind him, he led the way down the corridor, eyes and ears alert for any movement ahead of them.

He wasn’t bothered about meeting any D’Corr warriors. He could handle them. What bothered him was running into any combat bots. Those, he couldn’t handle alone. One… maybe, but any more than that and they were screwed.

“Keris,” he hissed, letting go of Jac’s hand long enough to tap the comms implant behind his ear. Subdermal, it was the latest model and virtually undetectable when it was inactive—something that had saved his ass a couple of times in the past. “Get your lazy digital ass back online!”

Concern mounted as they padded down the corridor. They hadn’t come across any more D’Corr warriors, but his heart rate picked up every time they passed a bot alcove. If the alarms went off now, they’d be caught right in the middle of the damn things.

Finally, his comm crackled, Keris’ voice filling his ear. Irate. “I leave you alone for one minute and you manage to get me boarded!”

“Well,” Rynn chuckled to conceal the relief that flooded him. Three warriors turned the corner ahead abruptly, eyes widening in surprise as they spotted him and Jac in the corridor. Before their weapons could clear leather, he’d fired, taking all three down with precision shots. “To be fair, it was a little more than a minute.”

He ran forward, pistol still trained on the fallen warriors as they approached. One could be faking it, and he wasn’t taking chances, not with Jac by his side. He shielded her with his own body, shoving the pistol into the back of his waistband and reaching for one of the bigger weapons dropped by the dead men.

A scrape of metal behind him caught his attention and he swung, almost ready to fire, to find Jac picking a gun up. The KM-7 was lighter, but still a formidable weapon and he frowned.

“Might want to put that down. They’re dangerou—”

She lifted an eyebrow at him and hefted it in her hands. “Looks like a rifle. My daddy taught me to shoot way back when. Safety catch? This is the trigger?”

Rynn nodded, holding his breath until she moved her finger. “No safeties. Pulling the trigger past the second pressure activates it.”

She nodded, holding the thing lightly in her hands, but he could see the fine tremble in her limbs and the panic in the backs of her eyes and relented. If having a gun made her feel safer, he’d let her keep it. At least now he was fairly sure she wouldn’t shoot him in the back.

He hoped.

“Keris, what’s your status?” he asked, motioning to Jac to follow him as they moved. “Can you get into their systems? This place is riddled with bot alcoves and if they go active…”

“Nice to know you have such confidence in me,” the AI replied waspishly. “I’m back and fully operational. I guess you know who ugly with the scar is?”

“Araal D’Corr back from the dead,” he replied. “Gotta do better than that.”

He was light on his feet as they approached the next intersection, motioning to Jac to stay behind him. The dank, dark corridors of the lower levels had given way to clean metal and brighter lights as they made their way up toward the shuttle bays. Rather than stairwells, the ship was built like many Latharian ships were, with spiraling ramps to allow the bots to move about. Even though the newer designs could navigate vertical surfaces and lift shafts easily, the traditional design had stuck.

“I’m in their systems now.” The tone in Keris’ voice indicated she was having fun, whatever counted for fun to an AI. “They weren’t aware the ship was AI enhanced so they didn’t put up any firewalls. Combat bots are all offline.”

“Excellent. And our cargo?” Rynn asked, motioning to Jac to follow him. Together they scuttled across a ramp to hide in its shadow as a troop of D’Corr warriors marched down it and into the corridor they’d just come through. He could have taken them on, but there were at least eight and it would get messy fast. No, here discretion was the better part of valor. They needed to get to Keris and off this ship, fast. He could always get Keris to leave a tracker in their systems so Daaynal could send ships for them afterward.

“Locked down nice and tight. Looks like they tried to remove the stasis pod but couldn’t get past my encryption. Draanthic. Now quit talking,” she ordered sharply. “And get your ass aboard so we can get out of here. It’s gonna take me weeks to get the stink of D’Corr ou—”

The comms cut off with a burst of static so Keris didn’t hear Rynn’s low chuckle. For saying she was an AI, Keris got more and more Latharian every day. She definitely had her own personality. A new generation AI, she’d been created from code written by the emperor’s sister, Miisan K’Saan. And K’Saan coded AIs were well known to be the absolute best in the universe—hell, in creation itself. There were rumors that at least one had shown actual sentience. That they were becoming their own, new and unique species.

He wouldn’t have been surprised. Keris was as much a partner to him as another warrior would have been. It was just a pity she couldn’t be given a body. No AI was allowed to download into an avatar or a combat bot. Ever. Apparently they’d tried that early on and one had gone insane, killing nearly a hundred warriors before it had been put down. Now there were lockouts and different systems to prevent it happening.

“Here we are,” he murmured to Jac as they turned the corner into the shuttle bay. He breathed a sigh of relief at the welcomed sight of Keris’ familiar hull, starting toward her, only to stop when an armored figure stepped out around the shuttle in front.

Araal grinned cruelly, the movement twisting the scar on his cheek even further.

“Hello, Xaandrynn. I was wondering when you’d finally make it up here.”

Draanth. Rynn motioned to Jac to get to cover, approval filling him when she didn’t argue and just stepped to the side out of Araal’s line of sight. The flicker of his eyes told Rynn she hadn’t been fast enough. Araal had seen her.

“And you brought your little human pet. How nice,” the male drawled, pulling blades from the sheaths across his back as he stepped forward. “I’ll enjoy seeing just what Terrans look like on the inside… after I’m done with you, of course. Or…” he paused for a second to consider. “No, I think I’ll keep you alive long enough to let you watch me kill her.”

“And you think you’re good enough, do you?” Rynn stepped forward. Pressure on the trigger of the rifle told him that D’Corr had a suppression field set up. He threw the useless weapon to the side and pulled the blade out of his boot. It was going to be down and dirty with daggers, just the way he liked it. “She means nothing to me. Makes no difference, though, because you’re living in a fantasy if you think you’re better than I am.” He pointed to the unmarked side of D’Corr’s face with the tip of his dagger. “How about I make that side match?”

“You fucking draanthic!” D’Corr snarled. “I’m going to fucking gut you and feed your entrails to the jaanarisis.”

With that he launched himself at Rynn with a bellow. The fight was fast and furious. For all his failings, Araal D’Corr was an excellent warrior. So much so, that at one point he’d been considered a shadow.

Rynn kept his wits about him, making sure to focus on the moment as he blocked blow after blow, twisting and turning as he returned the favor. His blade danced through the air, fending off D’Corr’s in metallic crashes as he looked for something… the tiniest opening in D’Corr’s guard he could capitalize on and break through.

But D’Corr was fast and mean. He hammered Rynn’s defenses, managing to break through a block on his left side. His dagger flashed out, coming away red with blood. Rynn hissed as he backed up, fire tracing lines of agony over his side. He glanced down. Sure enough, a thin red line decorated his rib cage.

“Tsk, tsk,” D’Corr chided, spinning the bloodied knife over the back of his hand. “Getting slow, shadow. Your poor little female, with such a weak male to protect her. Perhaps I won’t kill her myself. I know a Krin who would pay handsomely to taste her flesh.”

That did it. The mere thought of Jac being handed over to a Krin, who would keep her alive as it feasted from her body, broke the dam on his control and he saw red. With a bellow of rage, he threw himself at D’Corr. His attack was a blur of movement, each blow driven by fury. D’Corr staggered back under the onslaught, his eyes widening in panic as he tried to block Rynn. But it was no good, he wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t good enough.

Rynn spotted the opening almost before it happened. Slamming a hard leg into D’Corr’s side, he pulled back as the male staggered, but instead of following up, he dropped to the floor, twisting as he went. The dagger in his hand flashed in the overhead lighting, the lethal edge of the blade glittering as it sliced through the air under D’Corr’s block and buried itself with a fleshy “thunk” into the center of his chest. Just under the heart.

Rynn grinned, the expression savage and without mercy, and twisted the blade. D’Corr’s lifeblood gushed over his hand like a waterfall, the warrior turning pale. Rynn let go of the hilt, and D’Corr staggered backward, hands around the blade embedded in his chest.

One knee went out from under him as Jac ran to Rynn’s side, and he laughed at the two of them. “You might have defeated me, Shadow,” he spat the title like a curse. “But you’ll never get off this ship alive.”

The last words had barely left his lips before he collapsed to the floor, sightless eyes staring upward and the deck plates around him turning scarlet with his lifeblood.

“Come on,” Rynn ordered, grabbing Jac’s hand and running for the shuttle. “We’ve got to get off this ship.”

“In.”

Rynn shoved her ahead of him into the shuttle, his movements rough. Hearing the stress in his voice, Jac didn’t argue. She just ducked under the hull and hurried up the ramp as quickly as she could. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She glanced back, a sigh of relief escaping her at the familiar sight of Lizzie’s blue tube still in place at the back of the cabin. They hadn’t moved or hurt her.

“Sit.” The big alien pushed her toward the copilot’s seat, sliding into place next to her, his hands already moving over the console. Everywhere he touched, systems came to life. Jac didn’t move. She didn’t know enough about how the ship worked to help, and the hard look in Rynn’s eyes since they’d woken said he didn’t trust her.

“Keris. Talk to me,” he ordered.

Behind them the ramp snapped shut, the shuttle already moving to lift off. She squeaked as it turned abruptly, the sudden movement making her slide. The seat was designed for someone much bigger. Her hands curled around the armrests in a rictus grip as she tried to keep herself in place. Something slapped against her shoulder, metal rolling down across her body as the safety harness pinned her in place. She turned her head to watch the same thing happen to Rynn, the big man barely batting an eyelid as the ship secured them.

The shuttle jerked again and she heard the engines starting to roar. It was almost as if Rynn’s panic had spread to the ship itself. Then Keris spoke.

“Ship self-destruct activated.” The AI’s voice was short and to the point. “D’Corr had a subroutine attached to his vital signs. When they ceased… sneaky, so draanthing sneaky.”

“He was dishonored. What do you expect? Override it,” Rynn ordered, and with a wave of his hands, the view on the main screen altered. The shuttle bay doors loomed ahead of them, slowly opening. Jac gasped as Rynn gunned the engines and they hurtled forward. The gap wasn’t anywhere near big enough for something the size of the Keris…

She slammed her eyes shut, a sound of pure terror escaping her lips as she was shoved back in her seat. There wasn’t enough room… They were going to be splattered all over the inside of the shuttle bay. And she didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not before Rynn had forgiven her.

The ship jerked suddenly to the side, and her head smacked into the side of the headrest. Then they righted again, the rapid movements making her feel sick as she was thrown about in the seat. Daring to open her eyes, she looked at the screen again. Space lay in front of them, the glorious spread of stars the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

“Can’t override it.” Keris spoke again and even Jac could hear the concern in her voice. “They’ve got a B’Karr coded lockout. Draanth!” the AI swore. “And a fucking Queshikall!”

Jac felt the temperature drop in the cabin as Rynn’s expression froze. “A what? What’s a Queshikall?”

He slid her a sideways glance. “A bomb. A fucking big one. Big enough to take out at least a couple of galactic sectors.”

She laughed uneasily. “Please tell me a galactic sector is like… this big?” She held up her thumb and forefinger a couple of inches apart.

Rynn’s lips curved into a small smile, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “I wish. It’ll take out all the neighboring systems and cause a singularity.”

“A singularity?” She frowned. “Like a black hole?”

“Exactly.” Rynn’s expression was grim as he concentrated on the charts flowing over the screen in front of them. She didn’t need him to explain what she was seeing. Simulations of the ship behind them exploding, the shockwave swallowing all the planets nearby and their small ship, before collapsing in on itself. “We can’t outrun it.”

Jac’s heart stalled in her chest, ice in her veins. This was real. They were doing to die.

She half turned in her seat to look at Lizzie’s stasis tube. Desperate. They might be a lost cause but perhaps they could help her.

“Is there any way we can save Lizzie? A probe or something?” she asked, thinking rapidly. “In sci-fi films on Earth they often saved the hero or heroine by removing the innards of a missile. Shoot her away from the blast at high speed, and she might be able to outrun it?”

He shot her a look like she’d suddenly sprouted two heads. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’d never fit in a missile and a probe wouldn’t be able to sustain her stasis field long enoug—”

“No. She’s onto something,” Keris broke in. “Not a probe or missile. We can’t outrun the blast as we are, even at top speed. But if the Dena’vius heads the other way at top speed…” The simulations in the screen in front of them altered. But this time, instead of the blast swallowing their little ship whole, they rode the front edge of the wave. “…then it would work.”

“But to escape the blast, we’d need to hit max speed. You’d lose the remote uplink long befor…” He stopped, realization flooding his features. “You’re not coming with us.”

There was a long silence.

“No,” the AI admitted. “I need to be on the D’Corr ship.”

Rynn dragged in a shuddering breath, hands on the console and his head bent. Jac’s heart ached for him. It was obvious he and the ship had a bond.

“When?” he asked.

“I’m already there,” Keris said softly. “Goddess protect you, Xaandrynn, son of Xaandril, in this life and the next. If she wishes, maybe we’ll meet again in a different life.”

There were no tears. Rynn’s expression was clear and calm as he lifted his head even though Jac knew it had to cost him. Instead, he just nodded, accepting Keris’ decision to sacrifice herself. “I will pray that we do. Goddess protect you, Keris, in this life and the next.”

The words were formal ones, ones that obviously held great meaning for the Lathar. Jac stayed silent then, “Thank you, Keris,” she said softly.

“You’re very welcome, Jac Wright of Earth. Look after him for me, please?”

“I will. I promise.”

The AI’s voice changed, became clipped and businesslike. “Ten kilasecs to detonation.”

Then there were no words. Instead, Rynn pushed the engines and the screen in front of them became a mass of streaming stars as Keris counted down, her voice becoming more and more scattered with static. The shuttle screamed, everything shaking, and Jac squeezed her eyes shut. Even if the blast didn’t kill them, the shuttle ripping itself apart might.

A massive boom obliterated reality, so loud she felt it down to her very bones. Whiteness filled her eyes, blanking her vision and hearing. She couldn’t see anything, hear anything, feel anything. For long moments she lay, suspended in the white nothingness, then…

The world returned with a pop. She gasped, finding herself sitting next to Rynn in the copilot’s seat. His expression was as surprised as hers as he looked at her and then back at the console.

“Goddess,” he gasped, hands already flying over the keys to bring up a view of the surrounding space. There was no black hole. No destroyed systems. In fact, everything was the same as it had been before. Apart from one small detail.

The D’Corr ship had totally vanished.