AVREN

I didn’t know what had happened to the guard, but I imagined he was lying unconscious somewhere.

I pulled off my shirt, throwing it onto the ground and deploying my wings. I tried to keep my eyes open so I could see where they were taking Vanessa. Typically, I closed my eyes when taking out my wings to deal with the agony, but today I needed to know where to fly.

Before the pain dissipated, I jumped and launched into the air, pumping my wings in a valiant attempt to catch up with them. I could still see them flying in the distance.

When they turned abruptly, my heart dropped. They were heading for the other side of the mountain. Over there, nothing stopped the beasts from roaming freely. The abductors were going to drop Vanessa and let the beasts feast on her body. There would be no evidence or proof of the murder, except for my eyewitness testimony.

They didn’t seem to be worried about me at all. After they had dealt with Vanessa, I was likely next on their list.

I couldn’t let anything happen to her. I wasn’t worried about myself — I just wanted to make sure she was safe. When her abductors saw me coming, they tried to fly faster, but they couldn’t move faster than me. They were carrying another person.

When we passed over a lake, I was close enough for them to hear me and tried talking to them. “Why don’t you guys bring her to the ground? No one has to get hurt.”

They glanced at each other nervously. Number One muttered something to Number Two. Number Two took a look around and nodded.

“No, don’t do that!” Vanessa was starting to panic and tried to grab onto Number One.

I caught up with them and attempted to pull Vanessa away from them, but they blocked me with their bodies. I decided to try a different approach and flew next to Number Two, punching him in the face. He grunted and changed course slightly, but they weren’t going to let her free.

Number One shook his head. “Let’s just drop her.”

“What about the plan?”

Number One looked in my direction. “We’re not going to make it over the mountain with this joker bothering us. We can deal with him after she’s dead.”

“Our instructions were clear. The animals are supposed to eat the body and erase all the evidence.”

“She’s not going to survive a fall from this high up. The water will hide the body as good as the beasts could. The boss is never going to know. Why work harder if we don’t have to?”

Number Two shrugged, and they both released Vanessa.

She screamed and managed to latch on to the legs of Number One as she fell, clinging to him with all her strength. I dove for her immediately. Number One was kicking his legs and reaching down to force her fingers open.

Number Two was trying to help, flying close to the pair and pulling on Vanessa’s torso. She flailed around, but without any leverage, she didn’t have a lot of force behind her kicks. There was no way for Vanessa to hang on with two Auxem men prying her off.

She started to fall, letting out another terrified scream. I ignored everyone else and focused on Vanessa. She was closer to the water than me and accelerating. I wasn’t going to reach her at my current speed and would have to pull in my wings if I wanted to catch her.

I didn’t think about how dangerous it was. That I had almost died from doing it before. I ignored everything that wouldn’t help me race to Vanessa’s side.

My body was working on instinct. If I could slow Vanessa down before impact, she might survive. I pulled my wings close to my body, flattening them and minimizing their drag. I put my arms out in front of me and aimed for a spot underneath her.

I felt the increase in speed immediately. I had more mass than Vanessa, and by changing the shape of my body, I was falling faster than she ever could. She was still flailing around, and her gesticulations were reducing her speed. I hoped the difference would be enough for me to pass her.

Part of me feared for my life, but it wasn’t a paramount concern. Vanessa was the only thing that mattered.

I finally reached her, watching the water of the lake out of the corner of my eye as it approached.

I passed her.

Gratitude flooded me as I moved under her and repositioned my wings. The drag was immediate and painful, slowing me considerably. Vanessa crashed into me — I couldn’t fly like this. I could protect her with my body, but stopping our descent would be impossible considering our speed, weight, and distance from the ground.

I hadn’t thought about what might happen if we hit the water, which was coming up fast.

“Avren?” Fear filled Vanessa’s eyes.

“Goodbye, Vanessa.”

I kissed her quickly before we hit the water.

* * *

VANESSA

Avren had broken my fall enough to keep me conscious when we hit the water. We were lucky the lake was deep. We were moving at such an extreme velocity that we might have been killed hitting bottom.

There was enough water under our bodies to slow us down. I began swimming for the surface, but Avren wasn’t moving. I grabbed his hand and tried to drag him up with me.

He was heavy, even with the water supporting him, and the wings were pulling both of us down. I didn’t want him to die on my watch.

I kicked vigorously, trying to swim with only one arm. I was worried we wouldn’t make it the surface. Before I had the uncontrollable urge to inhale a bunch of water, my head poked above the surface. I dragged Avren’s body up, too, rolling him over so he could float on his back.

He wasn’t breathing. I would have to give him some of my air. A moment ago, I felt completely exhausted, but a surge of adrenaline coursed through my body as I wrapped an arm around him and began swimming for the shore.

The lake appeared to have been formed in a meteor crater. The sides weren’t beaches or a shoreline, they were only cliffs, and the one near our crash site was riddled with caves. I headed for the closest one, which was almost at the water line.

Within a couple of minutes, I was in the cave, trying to haul Avren’s body after me. He was heavy, and I felt weak. When I realized he might have brain damage without oxygen, it gave me an inhuman strength. I managed to drag him to the stone floor of the cave.

I checked his pulse and felt a faint throbbing — Avren’s heart was still working. His throat had probably closed as soon as we hit the water, forcing him to hold his breath while unconscious. The involuntary reaction had stopped him from drowning. All I had to do was start his respiratory system again.

I prayed my attempt would be successful.

I tilted his chin back, opening the airway. I made a tight seal with my mouth over his and began forcing air into him. It was harder than I thought to push air into his lungs. After several tries, I stopped and put my head next to his mouth, watching his chest.

Nothing was happening.

I started all over again, checking after a few more breaths. Despair began to fill my heart. I couldn’t give up. I didn’t have any other options. If I had to stay by Avren’s side for an hour breathing for him, I would do it. Fear and worry weren’t going to cloud my brain. I had to stay alert.

I realized something the next time I looked at Avren’s chest. I didn’t just need him and want him. I loved him.

I loved him more than I had before. I loved him more than anything in the world. If he died, I knew what I had said before would come true.

I would never get over his death.

With a sinking heart, I bent to breathe into his lungs again, hoping this would be the time he would take over and breathe by himself.

I couldn’t take it if he left me. I would never be the same again.

* * *

AVREN

I drew in a breath and started coughing. My back hurt, and I was lying awkwardly on the ground. I immediately rolled onto my stomach. My wings must have been jammed into my back for a long time.

My lungs worked overtime, drawing in precious breaths. I felt like I couldn’t get enough sweet oxygen. After a few minutes, I became aware of the sights and sounds around me again.

I was in a cave somewhere on Auxem. Someone was crying behind me. It took some effort, but I managed to pull myself into a sitting position.

Vanessa’s hands were over her face. She was crying as though her heart would break.

“What’s the matter?” My voice came out in a croak.

She looked up. “You scared me, Madellan.”

Vanessa came over and hugged me so tightly that I groaned.

“Are you hurt?” She stepped back to look at me.

I shook my head. “I’ll be okay as long as you take it easy on the hugging. I only have a few bruises. As soon as my wings dry out, I should be able to fly.”

“I don’t think you should be flying already, do you?”

“We don’t have another way to get back to the summer palace. Walking back would take us at least a week, maybe even longer. That’s not accounting for the beasts.” I shuddered in revulsion. “Flying is our only way out of here. As soon as I’m dry and rested, we’ll be on our way.”

“I’m glad you’re not hurt, Avren.” Vanessa gently wrapped her arms around me. She held her face against my chest.

I could feel tears on my skin. I lifted her chin to make her look at me. “You saved me.” I looked deeply into her eyes.

“No. I owe you my life. I know you almost died.”

I didn’t have the right words to express my feelings. I ran my hand down Vanessa’s back, hoping it was a soothing caress. Her eyes filled with tears and she started crying again.

“That’s another way of saying I lived. All those problems are in the past. We’re both alive.” I kissed her wet head, realizing I might have lost her again. It made me feel dizzy, and I moved back until I could lean against the wall, pulling Vanessa against me. I wrapped my wings around us to keep warm as night descended on the planet.

Exhaustion soon overtook me, and I fell fast asleep.

* * *

VANESSA

I woke up with Avren’s arms around me, feeling as happy and peaceful as I ever had before. His wings enveloped us like a soft, white blanket. I wasn’t shivering despite the cold Auxem night. It was the second time I had awakened like this, and I wished there could be more in my future.

Genetic Futures was ahead of me, not Avren Madellan. I knew our relationship was going nowhere, despite my heart’s protests.

I peeked through the feathers. Moonlight streamed into the cave. Avren stirred, groaning whenever he moved.

“Avren, are you okay?” I had suspected he was more badly hurt than he confessed.

He nodded, spread his wings out, and rose from the ground. I stood up too, hovering around him nervously.

I was anxious. When I thought about Avren, I imagined a person who was strong, smart, and in control. Seeing him like this worried me. I didn’t know how to take care of him, and my helplessness made me feel weak.

I hated feeling weak.

“I’m going to be okay, Vanessa. Don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m a little sore, but I’ll survive.” Avren looked down at his torso and winced. Bruises covered it. I knew I had my share of injuries, but he had taken more of the impact because I had smashed into him. I ran my fingers lightly down his stomach, and he drew in a breath. I looked up at him and saw a hunger in his eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I shook my head. “You crash into a lake, and you’re thinking about romance a few hours later?”

“I can’t help how you affect me, Vanessa.”

I knew what he meant, but I refused to answer him and ignored the bulge in his pants.

“We should get back.” Avren was determined to change the subject. “I think I’m strong enough.”

I looked at him skeptically but was willing to climb onto his back again.

The flight was shorter than I had expected. We had taken a hovercraft to the small town where we ate, and the abductors had carried me a bit farther. With Avren flying high in the sky and taking advantage of the air currents, we were back at the summer palace in a couple of hours.

He touched down gently, and I climbed off him.

“I feel disgusting. I think I need a shower.” I started peeling my stiff clothes off my body.

Avren lifted an eyebrow. “I think I’ll take a bath. Want to join me?”

I hadn’t even thought about it before, but after he had planted the image in my mind, I did. The bathtub in his suite was huge and easily fit both of us. We had already taken a few baths together, and they always ended in fucking. There wouldn’t be much more of that in the future.

And we still had to find a test subject.

Avren opened the door to his suite with a retina scan, and we walked through the door.

Someone was waiting for us. “There you are, Avren.”

The person sitting on the couch didn’t seem like a stranger to Avren. He was an older man in excellent shape. He had brown hair with a hint of salt and pepper on the edges, a distinguished face, and a strong jaw.

“Mr. Verrat.” Avren sounded confused. “What are you doing here?”

Avren had mentioned Mr. Verrat before, describing him as a friend of the family. In my mind, I had imagined a jolly man with a pot belly, but Mr. Verrat was sitting in front of us without a shirt on as if he expected to go flying at any moment. When I thought about it, I remembered Auxem men didn’t get fat. The constant flying burned so many calories that it was difficult for them to put on extra weight. Even so, I hadn’t expected an older gentleman to look handsome. If I was totally honest, he was hot.

“Avren, you’re hard to stop when you get an idea in your head. I should have remembered that about you. You haven’t changed since you were a child.” He frowned. “It’s a little annoying.”

“What are you trying to stop me from doing?” Avren took a step back and to his left, moving in front of me.

“You have a ridiculous notion in your head. I’m afraid the pain from our wings is part of our existence.” He waved his hand in the air. “You two are playing around with home science experiments.”

“Hold on. We can eliminate it.” Avren’s voice grew cold.

“No, we can’t. All we can hope to do is treat the pain when it becomes overwhelming. And the best way to deal with the pain is with smart drugs.”

“What are those?”

“My company pioneered them. They automatically activate in your body when you deploy your wings, making it a painless experience. We’re about to release them. Taking away the Auxem pain permanently is not part of my marketing plan.”

Avren stared at him. “Is this a joke? If it’s not, you should have come up with a better name than smart drugs.”

“It’s no joke, Avren. Trillions of credits are on the line. I’ll be the savior of the Auxem race.”

I put a hand over my mouth. “You won’t become anything but a drug dealer. You’re planning to get them hooked on your drugs. They’ll have to buy the drugs their entire lives.”

“I’m helping people, Vanessa. What you’re trying to do is risky. You’ll never find a test subject. And while you were off celebrating, I took out an insurance policy. I destroyed everything.”

Both of us stiffened. “What do you mean by everything?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I had someone take care of all the things they could find in your laboratory.” Mr. Verrat smiled cheerfully. “They smashed all the stages of your experiments and every electronic device. I made sure they got all the animal studies at the third-party laboratory, too.”

He looked so pleased with himself that I wanted to punch him in the mouth. He had torn up a part of me.

Avren looking dismayed, too. But when Mr. Verrat wasn’t looking, he winked at me. The expression of outrage never left my face, but I felt relief flood my body. I wasn’t the only one thinking ahead. Like me, it seemed Avren had backed up our research offsite where the odious man couldn’t find it.

“You’re a bastard.” I didn’t mind playing along. I was embarrassed I thought he was handsome before. “We can do it again. You didn’t erase our memories.”

“You won’t be able to do anything if you’re dead.” Mr. Verrat used the same bland tone from before. My life meant nothing to him.

The suffering on Avren’s face hurt me. I could see how deeply his friend’s treachery had affected him. The Madellans placed a high value on family.

Mr. Verrat wasn’t a blood relative, but he was close enough. He had been one of Avren’s best friends, and he was throwing away their friendship for more credits. Some people could never get enough. Avren suspected he was almost as wealthy as the Madellans.

“I will admit something. You’re difficult to kill or get out of the way.” He gave me a disgusted look. “I thought after the bounty hunters failed, and sabotaging your lab didn’t work, offering you a dream job would do the trick.”

Avren looked at me suspiciously. “I thought Genetic Futures rejected you.” Mr. Verrat might as well have slapped me. I hadn’t planned on telling Avren like this.

“The company contacted me again a while ago.” The look of betrayal on Avren’s face cut me to the core like I was as deceptive as his old friend. I knew I shouldn’t have kept the secret from him, but the right time to introduce the subject never came up. I was paying for my hesitation. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to take the job. I didn’t want to mention it.”

“Isn’t that the only reason why you wouldn’t tell me about it?” Avren’s gray eyes were stormy. “We both know you were going to take it, Vanessa.”

My intention had always been to accept their offer, but now I wasn’t sure about it. I had to admit it would be hard to work there if I were dead.

“I was going to tell you.” My words sounded feeble, and I immediately hated myself.

“Oh dear. Is there trouble in paradise? I have good news for you — it doesn’t matter. Soon all of this will be a pleasant memory.”

Avren moved in front of me. Even if his feelings for me had changed, he wasn’t going to let Mr. Verrat hurt me.

“You’re brave when it’s only the two of you. But there’s more to the picture than you can see. I have your sister-in-law Gwen and her unborn child as well. Do you want them back? I’m only interested in one thing.” Mr. Verrat pointed at me. “I want Vanessa.”