Marcas

I look at the human female with a mixture of amazement and suspicion. How can she control this ship so well? She disengaged the locks as if she was merely flipping a switch, but this is an Onyx vessel. A flagship, at that.

Lily is a mystery to me — but I am not complaining. Zora knows I need all the help I can get. I’ll gladly take it.

I sink back into my seat and let my heart rate drop. For a brief second there, I feared the knife was going to strike her. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if it did. Her safety is my number one priority. I know we have an entire world to save, but every soul counts.

And her soul means the world to me.

While she goes through all the ships systems and makes sure everything is running as it should, I try to find something to wear. Of course I can’t find anything that fits my tall, broad Zoran frame in Anik’s closet. In the end, I settle for a Blackgate jumpsuit — the one made for prisoners.

Lily’s eyes light up the moment she sees me in it.

“Don’t even start,” I say.

“No, you look, uhm, badass,” she laughs.

“Sure,” I say. “Sure.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Anik,” I admit. “He called out for his sister, said something about… betrayal. I can’t make sense of it.”

She shrugs. “Who knows what kind of sibling rivalry Onyx siblings have got going on? They give me the creeps. And speaking of creeps…”

Lily turns towards the door.

“I don’t believe in ghosts, but I don’t like the idea of flying around with a dead man in the basement.”

“Neither do I, but we’ll sell this ship soon enough. With this baby’s warp drive, we’ll be in the Vagreon sector before you know it.”

“I hope so. How are you feeling?”

“Good,” I answer. “Real good.”

I glance outside at the stars passing us by. This is where I belong — out here, in the open. In space. Not trapped in some underground laboratory.

“I meant your wound, dummie.”

Lily grabs my hand and I wince involuntarily. The sheet is now a dark red, and a small puddle of blood has formed in the floor.

“Let me take a look at this right now. I’m not having you die on me after making our escape.”

“I’m sure you would be fine,” I tell her. “You’re a damn genius.”

“I’m no one,” she says evasively. “Come, let’s go.”

I’m not having it. I want answers, and I want them now.

“You just stole an Onyx flagship — I wouldn’t have been able to hack the security system in a million years, Lily. How did do that so easily? What’s going on? Are you some type of secret agent?”

The words come automatically. It may be because the loss of blood is making me lightheaded, or that I’m just an idiot, but I go ahead and put my foot in my mouth.

“Are you secretly working for Onyx or something? Is this another one of their crazy schemes?”

I instantly regret my words. I see the hurt in her beautiful doe eyes, and it makes me feel downright terrible.

“How can you say that?” she says, her voice breaking. “I don’t know either, okay?”

She gets up and storms out, tears streaming down her face.

“Wait—” I say feebly.

“Follow me to the med-bay, you idiot,” she calls out. “Before you bleed to death.”

Feeling foolish, I follow her. She’s turned on the lights, so we can finally see where we are going. I have no idea why Anik liked it so dark on his ship, but then again, he was one extremely disturbing individual with a taste for the darker things in life. I’ll be glad to get rid off this ship. It has a bad vibe.

Evil things have taken place here.

I had hoped that the moment we were alone I could give into the strong desires still stirring in my loins, but it’s hard to feel romance in the air on this cursed ship…

Soon.

Lily works in silence as she bandages my wound with a look of pure concentration on her face. I sit still and wait patiently.

“There,” she says. “You’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her voice is strictly professional. The warmth that I treasure is gone.

“Look,” I say. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m just trying to make sense of it all.”

She avoids my gaze.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I think we have to.”

Lily glances up at me.

“Do you trust me? Do you really trust me?”

“Of course. I trust you. Completely. With all my heart and my soul, Lily.”

I mean every word of that, too. There’s a deep connection between us. One that goes beyond mere attraction or mere lust (although I have to admit I feel that in abundance). I feel in every fiber of my being that she is the one, my mate, the one I am meant to be with.

The one who completes me.

And that’s exactly why I want to know her, inside and out. I never thought I’d find a mate — I’m a warrior at heart. Love is usually not in the books for a man such as myself.

When I look at her I can see that she hurt in her eyes, and it tears at the very fabric of my soul.

“I need you to trust me as well,” I say. “This is not a one-way street.”

“I know!”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“Because I don’t have any answers!” Lily says. “Do you know how scary that is? Every time you ask, I’m reminded of the fact that I just… don’t know.”

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” I say. “What do you mean exactly when you say you don’t have any answers?”

Her entire body is shaking, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I mean that when I try to answer your questions, when I try to remember things I just come up… blank. It’s like my memories are so close I can almost see them, but then the window fogs up. It can see the outline, the shapes of it all, but when I try to squint and see what’s really there, it all disappears in a puff of smoke and I’m left staring at… nothing.”

Lily looks at me, sniffling. Her eyes are now red, and I can see the depth of her pain.

“That terrifies me, Marcas. Who am I? I… I don’t have any memories. What does that make me?”

I reach out and wrap her in my arms, holding her protectively.

“I know who you are,” I say. “You are Lily. You are friendly, you are kind, you are smart, amazing, intelligent, funny, beautiful. Do I need to go on?”

“Yes,” she says, her head resting against my chest. “Go on.”

“You are strong,” I say. “And courageous. And talented with your hands — in more ways than one.”

I couldn’t resist.

Lily chuckles. “Is that all you can think about?”

“It’s hard not to think about,” I admit. “You left an impression on a man. But no, that’s not all that’s on my mind. I also think that I’m incredibly lucky to have met you. If it wasn’t for your courage I would still be in a drug-induced coma in a tank of water with needles stuck in my veins. You saved my life, Lily. Never forget that. And more than that, you saved New Exon.”

“We haven’t done that yet,” she says. “I’m not special. They’ve got your DNA, they’ll figure it out eventually. They’ll build their weapon.”

“I’m sure they will, given enough time. That’s why we have to act.”

“So what are we waiting for? Should we send out a message now?”

I shake my head. “We are still in an Onyx vessel. We’ve only got one chance at breaking this story. If we screw it up, if we give them the chance to bury it, it’ll be all for naught. I want to reach out to my Zoran brothers, and I don’t think they will respond if we do so from Anik Onyx’s ship. We’ll be at Vagreon in no time; we can flip the ship there.”

I rub her back gently. Having her in my arms feels so right, so perfect. I don’t want to let go.

Lily looks at me, her eyes puffy.

“I don’t deserve you,” she mutters. “I worked for Onyx. Willingly! What the hell is wrong with me?”

“I have no idea what they did to you, and I probably never will,” I say. “But that doesn’t matter. Maybe they wiped your memory because you rebelled before, and they needed your brilliant mind to build their weapons. They might be able to erase your memories, but they could never change your heart. That’s what matters. And that’s why we will win: They underestimate the power… of love.”

Lily chuckles. “That’s the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“I know. Didn’t expect me to say that when you first saw me, did you?”

“Can’t say I did,” she admits. “It’s nice to hear, though. Really nice.”

“You know what else is nice?”

Before she can answer I lean down and kiss her. Lily freezes instantly and closes her eyes. She lets my tongue explore her lips leisurely. Time flows on by, and we enjoy this moment in all its tranquility.

“We’ll make plenty of new memories,” I say as I grab her hips and lift her onto the counter.

She wraps her arms around my neck and returns my kiss passionately.

For the first time in forever… life is good.