Harper:

I can’t compete with a ghost.

I’m standing in Arax’s living area, listening to Dennox and Vulrux talk about the past, and suddenly, I can’t take it anymore. I need air and space and quiet, and I need to be alone.

I can’t go back to the dining area. Sofia and Ryanna are going to demand answers from me. The Draekons are going to surround me, and everyone’s going to be discussing Vulrux and Dennox’s dead mate.

I can’t go back to Vulrux’s house. The three of us have shared a bed for days. Everything in there will remind me of the two men I’ve fallen in love with.

My eyes fill with tears, and there’s a lump in my throat, making it difficult to swallow. Harper, I chide, you’re overreacting. This woman has been dead for sixty years, and Dennox and Vulrux never really knew her. You’re freaking out about nothing.

Hope trickles through me. Maybe there’s nothing to be worried about.

The lake. That’s exactly what I need. Lap after lap in the underground lake, until my muscles are exhausted, and my mind is calmed.

Everyone’s still in the dining area, but they’re sitting around the table in the outer room, deep in conversation. I move quietly into the inner room, taking care to avoid attracting any attention. I just need to be by myself for a little while.

As silently as I can, I open the trapdoor in the floor. Grabbing one of the lamps in the room, I head down the long flight of stairs.

I’m at the stone archway at the bottom of the stairs when I hear someone behind me. The hair on the back of my neck rises. Before I can turn, there’s a sharp knife against my throat.

“Harper Boyd,” a harsh voice says. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

Beirax.

Fuck.

My heart pounds in my chest. “What are you doing?” I demand. “What’s the point of this? Do you think that Vulrux and Dennox aren’t going to notice I’m missing? Because they will.”

“I’m counting on it,” he replies coolly. “Your Draekons are an integral part of my plan.”

My palms dampen with fear. “What do you mean? What do you want with them?”

“They can fly,” he says. “They’re going to take me to my cloakship, stupid human.” He pushes me through the archway. “Hold up your lamp. I need to find a spot where the Draekons can’t sneak up on me.”

He presses the blade against my neck as he speaks. My hand still throbs from the cut earlier this evening, a reminder that bleeding to death will be exceptionally painful and unpleasant. Gritting my teeth, I hold up the lamp.

“That way.” He gestures to the formation of rocks that the three of us have been using as a diving board. It’s the same spot from which Dennox tried to fly a few days ago. My lips curl into a grin as I remember the short-lived attempt, only to be wiped away when the full meaning of Beirax’s words sink in.

“They can’t fly in the rain,” I say, the pitch of my voice rising in fear. “You saw what happened to their wings.”

“So they get hurt.” The indifference in his voice stuns me. “They’ll heal. Draekons always heal.”

I remember the angry-looking welts and bruises on Vulrux and Dennox’s arms. They’d only been in the rain for a few short moments… My stomach churns with anxiety. I have to think of some way out of this situation. I can’t let Beirax use me to force my mates to cooperate.

“You don’t know that,” I say, trying to reason with the crazy Zorahn. “If they crash mid-flight, you’ll die.”

“They won’t crash.” He sounds confident, and a chill seeps through me. This is the same guy who crashed our spaceship on the prison planet. He’s a fanatic, intent only on his cause, indifferent to the damage caused by his actions. “They won’t crash because you’re coming with me, and your precious Draekons will never risk anything happening to you. You think I’m going to let you out of my sight before I’m safely away from this hellhole of a planet? I don’t think so, human.”

Once upon a time, not too long ago, the idea of escaping the prison planet would have made me dance with glee. Not now, and not like this.

Beirax pushes me on the rocks and positions himself behind me, the knife staying at my throat. “Now we wait,” he says. “If I’m right, your Draekons aren’t too far behind.”

“We’re not.” There’s so much vibrating anger in Vulrux’s voice that I barely recognize it. “If you want to live, Beirax, let Harper go right now.”

“You’re in no position to make threats, Thirdborn,” Beirax sneers. “If you want your mate to live, I suggest you do exactly as I say.”