As Ever stumbled in the sand, a hard hand jerked her upright. Claws bit through her now-not-operational stealth suit and into her skin.

The Thraxian turned, black eyes zeroing in on her. A horrible rush of nausea rolled through her belly. For a second, she was back on the Fortuna Space Station, screams echoing around her.

She hated the sight of him. She hated the fact that he terrified her.

The Thraxian leaned forward and jabbed his knife against her belly. It made her wince. The thought of something happening to her baby terrified her more than anything else. Hang tight, peanut.

There had been other Thraxians, but they’d peeled off to ambush anyone who followed them. She swallowed. Be okay, Magnus. “You’ve made a big mistake.”

The Thraxian let out a harsh laugh and yanked her forward.

“Do you know Magnus Rone?”

Now, the Thraxian shot her a curious glance. He grunted.

Ever took that as a yes. “He’s coming for you. With Imperator Galen and their gladiators by their sides.”

The alien laughed, but Ever thought she heard a faint tremor in it.

“They are already dead on the desert sand,” the Thraxian said in a guttural voice.

The man’s words made another wave of nausea wash over her. No. She didn’t believe it. Not for a second.

But the thought of Magnus lying lifeless on the sand made her stumble.

This time, when the Thraxian jerked her upright, his claws broke her skin. Blood oozed down her arms.

She knew, deep in her gut, that Magnus wasn’t dead, but she also knew there wasn’t much time. She couldn’t wait for him. She needed to protect their baby.

Ever surreptitiously studied her captor, taking stock of the Thraxian. He was big and strong, with the same dark, cracked skin all his species had. Underneath, the faint golden glow of his veins shone through, and his set of horns were large, sweeping back from his forehead. She was going to take this bastard down. She just had to wait for the right opportunity.

As they moved along, Ever kept stumbling on purpose, trying to slow their pace.

“Please slow down.” She panted, putting on a good show.

The alien growled.

“Why did you take me?” she asked, stalling.

He shot her an ugly smile. “You’re bait.”

God. Her stomach rolled over. To lure Magnus and the others. “I thought you said they were dead.”

He growled. “The Zaabha Fightmaster will reward me very well for bringing in Rone and Galen’s dead bodies.” He pushed her roughly. “He’ll also be happy to see you. Our scientists have been anxiously waiting to get you back. You adapted well to our experimental implants, and helped us perfect them for use on more fighters.” He scowled at her now-healed eye. “If you survive, you’ll go back to the lab.”

Not fucking likely. She spat at him. “Your time is coming. Zaabha will be destroyed.”

“Be quiet.” He jerked her forward and she tripped, slamming into his body. His rough skin snagged on her clothes.

She felt the outline of the laser pistol strapped to his belt. This was her chance. She whipped her hand up, grabbed the hilt of the pistol, and yanked it toward her.

With a shout, he swung a clawed hand at her. She dodged and fell to the sand. She quickly tried to aim and fire, but the burst of laser went wild.

Ever turned, trying to get to her feet in the unstable sand. Suddenly, one of those big hands clamped on her wrist. Pain shot up her arm.

She kicked at his legs, and they both went down, rolling across the sand. The pistol flew out of her grip.

Breaking free of him, Ever scrambled for the weapon. She felt him behind her, a hand sinking into her hair. She jabbed out with her elbow, catching his throat. He let out a roar, and she turned, stabbing her fingers toward his black eyes.

But he still wasn’t down.

He swung at her again, smacking her in the side of the head. Dazed, she staggered and tried to stay conscious. His harsh breathing echoed deafeningly in her ears.

Can’t. Give. Up.

Pushing for more energy, she yanked away from him. Her gaze fell on the pistol in the sand, and she dived for it.

But the Thraxian’s arm was longer. He slammed her out of the way, and his hand closed on the weapon.

He rolled, turning the weapon on her.

Ever froze. She was on her knees, the hot sand burning through her trousers. She tasted acid in her throat.

He lowered the weapon so it pointed at her belly. When he laughed, she fought the urge to launch herself at him.

But she stayed still, instead, and waited for him to pull the trigger.

“Now you die,” he growled. “I’ll use your dead body as bait, instead.”

She lifted her chin, fighting back the wave of helplessness.

There was no sound as a big body barreled out of nowhere.

Ever cried out, falling back as she watched Magnus slam into the Thraxian. There was the sound of grunts and the thud of blows, then the two of them rolled down the giant sand dune, sending up a spray of grit behind them.

* * *

Magnus was living and breathing rage.

Every second of watching Nero follow the faint trail through the desert had worn on Magnus’ nerves. Finding several Thraxians lying in wait for them had left him incandescent with fury. It had taken him seconds to take them all out.

But seeing this sandsucker about to kill Ever…had made the last of his control snap.

He and the Thraxian came to a stop, and Magnus leaped to his feet. With his cybernetic arm, he grabbed the alien by the throat and lifted him. The man’s feet dangled wildly off the ground.

With his other hand, Magnus punched him. Head. Chest. Gut. Over and over.

This crudspawn had taken Ever. He’d hurt her.

Magnus’ programming shut down. All he wanted was to end the Thraxian. He tossed the alien to the ground, and the man hit hard. Magnus called up his electric charge and his cybernetic arm sparked. He welcomed the lash of pain.

He jammed his palm down on the alien’s back. The Thraxian screamed, body shuddering.

Magnus cut off the electric shock, staring dispassionately at the Thraxian slumped on the sand. But all Magnus could see in his head was this man with his weapon trained on Ever. He’d never take her again. He’d never hurt her again.

Magnus advanced once more.

“Magnus.”

He turned and saw Ever sliding down the dune. Scratches streaked down her arms, and one side of her face was scraped and bleeding. His jaw tightened. She clutched a Thraxian pistol in her hand.

Vision red with rage, he turned back to the Thraxian. The alien had found his feet, but was wavering. Magnus’ next blow sent the man crashing sideways into the sand.

“Magnus!” Ever flew at him. He caught her, and she pressed herself against him. He wrapped his arms around her, absorbing the warmth of her.

She was alive. He fired up his scanners, assessing all her vitals. Including the tiny second heartbeat inside her.

She was fine. The baby was fine. They were both alive.

Something eased inside him, and suddenly he could breathe again.

“I knew you’d come.” She lifted her head, her hand stroking his chest.

Magnus pulled her up on her toes and kissed her.

When he finally lifted his head, she looked around. “Where are Galen and the others?”

“Coming. At full speed, I can run much faster than they can.”

A soft look crossed her face, but then guttural laughter echoed around them.

Magnus turned to see the Thraxian on his knees, swaying, but laughing.

Anger surged through Magnus’ dampeners. He felt Ever grab at his arm, her fingers digging into his skin.

The Thraxian spat out blood onto the sand. “You’re a fool, Magnus Rone. Blinded by a woman.”

Magnus stepped closer.

“Don’t let him taunt you,” Ever said.

“You should’ve waited for your allies,” the Thraxian said. “Surely you knew this was a trap? All set in motion by the Fightmaster. He knew you’d questioned a guest of Zaabha. We suspected you’d follow another off-worlder into the desert.” Another laugh.

Magnus frowned, scanning the desert around them. There were no life signs, no signs of any other Thraxians. There were some faint heat signatures behind them, still some distance away, and he knew it was Galen and the others.

“What happened to the off-worlders at the camp?” Magnus demanded.

The Thraxian smiled, his black teeth menacing. “They are already enjoying the entertainments of Zaabha. We have a lovely little invention called the borer. It’s modeled off the norkhoi death borers found in the deserts. We burrowed up right beneath their tents and got them out.” The Thraxian shook his head. “You should never have opposed us. We will never just roll over and give up what is ours.”

“The people at Zaabha are not yours,” Ever shouted. “They are free people you enslaved.”

Magnus remained silent, thinking of the borers. His hand curled into a fist, and he scanned the ground beneath their feet. Drak. He hadn’t thought to scan below the sand.

The ground vibrated and he cursed.

“Magnus?” Ever glanced his way, her eyes wide.

Drak. There were heat signatures directly below them.

Sand sprayed up around them. Ever cried out as metal tips pierced the sand right beside her. He dived into her, knocking her aside, as more boring machines popped up out of the ground.

The boring machines opened, and Thraxians began pulling themselves out of the tunnels.

“No,” Ever whispered.

Magnus tightened his hold on her, fighting to lock down his fear. He had to get Ever out of here alive.

One of the Thraxians advanced, and Magnus exploded forward. With a vicious hit and a kick, he took the alien down. But more were coming.

Ever lifted her appropriated laser pistol and fired. His cool, smart woman. He let himself slide into fighting mode. He slammed into several incoming fighters, driving them to the ground.

Magnus fought, relentless. Painful electricity skimmed up his arm and he zapped every Thraxian he touched. Only the need to protect Ever in his mind. He took down Thraxian after Thraxian.

He just had to hold them off long enough for Galen to arrive.

Then Ever screamed.

Magnus spun. She was fighting against a huge Thraxian. The alien tossed her to the ground and pulled a glowing whip off his belt. With a practiced snap, the glowing gold rope curled around Ever, trapping her arms by her sides.

The alien yanked her up to her knees. Her hair was disheveled, her face white.

Ever. Magnus took two steps toward her.

Something slammed into him. He hit the sand and felt several fighters pile on top of him. Heavily booted feet kicked him, pain spearing through his body. He tried to shove them all off, but the next moment, he felt an electric shock race through his body.

His teeth rattled together, burning pain flaring through all his nerves. His systems flickered, his body shuddering.

They’d hit him with a stun weapon.

“Magnus!” Ever yelled.

He turned his head, his gaze colliding with her horrified one. Her terrified face was the last thing he saw before everything went black.