My gut churned, and my heart galloped at a dangerous speed. And I thought I’d been tense the first time Ambassador Aralias boarded my ship. But that had been nothing compared to the current level of stress zinging through my system, all of it brought on by a horrible feeling of foreboding. I knew how I wanted things to go, and I knew how they probably would. The two were not even close to the same thing.

When I’d been picking out my ensemble after my shower, I’d been torn between wearing something skimpy, aka distracting, and something a bit more conservative. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage the ambassador’s perverse attraction to me.

On the other hand, a woman in my line of work quickly learns that unlike what most people believe, a woman should use all of her strengths, and a woman holds the power of her sexuality over men. That’s the real reason why men of all species feared and tried to put down a female’s sexuality. It was because they knew, deep down, if we so chose, we could rule them all.

They wanted us to think that using the one little thing in our bag of tricks is wrong, but that’s only because they’re afraid we’ll use it against them. Sometimes showing a little skin or using a perfectly timed wink could put a certain kind of man under a woman’s thrall. Men were easy to manipulate, at least the kind I dealt with most of the time. Putting all of that into consideration … I’d finally decided to wear an all leather pants outfit, which split the difference. The truth was, if I was wearing a burlap sack and the ambassador got it in his mind that he wanted to try something … he would.

Dar and Masha were hiding out again, and thankfully Tamzea had some kind of tea that sobered both her and Zula up. I was beyond relieved not to be facing Ambassador Aralias and his UGFS bodyguards alone.

I gulped audibly as the trio made it safely into the airlock. I glanced back at Zula and Tamzea, who both gave me encouraging nods in turn.

I can do this.

Unlocking the second door to the airlock, I stepped back, my head bowed slightly in deference.

“Captain Sevis. The chip.” Ambassador Aralias’ voice was beyond eager. I reached out my hand with the chip resting in my palm. He snatched it away immediately. “Good. It carries the correct code. Do you know if he made any copies?”

I winced. I hadn’t even thought to ask Ash that, although I was assuming no. Unless that’s why he gave the chip up so easily. “Ummm … I don’t—”

“The seal would have changed color if it had been copied on anything but official UGFS equipment,” Zula offered. “The seal appears intact, so therefore the creature known as Ash did not have a chance to copy the chip.”

Silence reigned for a moment before I cleared my throat, my eyes still locked on my boots. “I know you must be disappointed that Ash got away, but I do remember you saying the chip was more important … ” My voice wavered despite my best efforts. I hated not feeling in control. I want the ambassador the hell off my ship already.

“I did say that. And it is true,” he snapped. “But Ash cannot be permitted to live knowing what’s on this chip.” My head snapped up, my gaze meeting the ambassador’s. It was a mistake. I quickly looked away again, but I already knew it was too late. “You don’t want to kill him, do you?”

“I—”

Ambassador Aralias closed the scant distance between us in the blink of an eye, and slid his hand around my throat. “Don’t think we don’t know what’s going on.” His hateful eyes filled up my vision, and I reached up to clamp my hands around his wrist. He wasn’t choking me … yet. But the act of force wasn’t one I’d expected from an ambassador. “Now let me tell you what’s going to happen. You’re going to come with me, without protest, and I’ll let your crew live. If you do your job and kill Ash … I may let you live as well.”

“He’ll never come to me on your ship,” I croaked. My mind was reeling. I knew if I somehow managed to get my laser gun free that the two UGFS guards would take me out in a second. I also knew that at my best, maybe I could take down one, but the other would get the better of me. Fear shot through my system. And with that—

“Shit!” Ambassador Aralias reared back from me when my palms spewed flames. Not much, but enough to burn him just like I had Jassen. His eyes widened as two laser rifles pointed at me. “How did you do that? I’ve read your records, you’re Species Class 1. Part human and … ” His eyes narrowed in on me, understanding dawning in them. “You’re part phoenix and wholly an abomination. Cuff her!” he roared.

All chaos broke loose. I pulled my laser gun, dropping down to my knees in one fluid motion. I squeezed off a few shots before one of the guards tackled me fully to the ground. Even though I was trying to take them out, they were still attempting to take me prisoner, otherwise I would have already been dead.

I can’t let them take me on that ship! It was my last thought before everything went dark.

 

 

“Wake up, Captain Sevis. Or I think I’ll call you Jane, since we’re going to get to know each other very well in the near future,” Ambassador Aralias cooed right next to my ear.

Revulsion caused me to shudder, my eyes flying open. I found myself laser chained to a chair in front of a large viewing window on the ambassador’s cruiser. The Pittsburgh was right there in front of me, appearing to hang perfectly still in space. “I wanted you to know the full scope of your situation, and therefore you needed to witness this firsthand.

“Fire when ready,” he commanded, a small smile curling his lips up at the corners.

My breath caught in my throat, my mind blanking as the laser shots tracked across the sky in seeming slow motion. Fire erupted and then … then The Pittsburgh was just gone. It was as if it’d disappeared into thin air. I stared for who knows how long, numb, before tears began to fall. They were gone. Zula, Tamzea, Masha, and even Dar. I’d gotten them killed. It was my fault. They were all dead because of me.

Sorrow morphed to rage, boiling my blood. “I’m going to kill you!” I heard myself screech as I fought my bonds. “I’m going to kill every last one of you!”

“You see,” Ambassador Aralias said to his crew, “this is why their kind should not be allowed to live. Look at her. So volatile. Drug her and then bring her to my quarters.”

My chest heaved with exertion, fire streaming from my palms. I bared my teeth, watching as the flames grew. “I’ll burn you alive, Aralias,” I snarled. “Your screams will be music to my ears. A fucking symphony.”

He shook his head, watching me with disdain. “You know what to do,” he said to one of his guards.

“Yes, sir.”

My flames were doused with some kind of liquid that wasn’t water, and my neck was jabbed with a needle. I lost consciousness moments after that.

 

 

“Let me show you what it was like. At least a small piece of it,” Ash said, his voice both sad and proud.

I seemed to step into another memory of his …

And suddenly I was flying. Lush green lands, treacherous and yet beautiful mountains, vast seas and oceans stretched out before me. The landscape was much like New Earth, but I immediately knew it wasn’t. I was seeing—really seeing Earth for the first time. It was something I never thought I’d experience on any level.

A joyous giggle burst forth from me as I … we continued to soar over the once great planet.

Yes, it resembled New Earth, but I also knew immediately what Earth had that hadn’t been reproduced by the scientists when they’d tried to duplicate their home. New Earth lacked a soul. Earth felt alive. It had an energy that seeped out from the ground itself. It was a living, breathing entity. Oh, how I wished I could have walked on those lands, swam in those seas, breathed in that air … even for just one day.

“It’s why we have to fight, so that no other creatures lose their home. We can’t bring Earth back, but we can save countless other planets and species from the same fate.”

My eyes fluttered open, and I gasped as a sharp pain bit into the skin of my cheek. I wiggled my jaw as I eyed Ambassador Aralias. He smacked me across the face again, the copper tang of blood blooming in my mouth. I took the opportunity to drop my head, scanning my surroundings from under my lashes.

I was in lavish quarters, dominated by the dual blue tones of the UGFS. I remembered before I was knocked out what was said and figured I was in the ambassador’s living quarters. Unfortunately, I was chained to his bed. I didn’t like one single thing about what that implied.

I had so many questions, but I refused to ask them. Ambassador Aralias seemed like the type who would enjoy talking about himself and his plans so I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. He hit me a few more times before he spoke. I remained stoic, managing to only scream on the inside.

“Jane, you keep surprising me. I would have thought you’d be giving me the third degree by now.” I let the hatred for him shine through from my eyes as my only response. He chuckled. “If you won’t speak, I’ll make you scream.”

He reached behind him, drawing out a long, thick leather whip. Fuck. Just my luck. He’s some kind of sadist. Now it made perfect sense why he was interested in me sexually even though he’d obviously disliked me from the beginning. I guess a sadist might prefer getting someone they didn’t like in bed so they could feel doubly good. But who knew? I really didn’t know much about what made a sadist tick. I would just have to make sure I didn’t scream. The thought of him being turned on by my pain both sickened and infuriated me.

“Do your worst.” The words rushed out of me against my will. By the gleam in his eyes, it only served as a challenge. I silently cursed myself out and swore that those words would be my last in his presence.

The whip sang through the air, landing on my leather-clad thighs. It stung, but hardly had the kind of impact that would be dragging any screams from me. “Oh dear. You have too many clothes on. We need to rectify that immediately.” The ambassador smirked.

I tried not to roll my eyes. I mean … seriously? I’d seen that coming a few hundred miles away. As if any decent villain of any kind can do proper torture when their victim is fully clothed, and wearing protective leather to boot. He was merely playing with me and we both knew it. I bit my tongue to remain silent.

With the same blade that he’d given me to steal Ash’s life, Ambassador Aralias cut off my pants and top, leaving me in only my undergarments and boots. When he was finished, he roughly flipped me over with ease, the laser chains keeping me completely at his mercy.

A string of foul obscenities filled the air when he got a gander at my back. I knew what was causing his reaction: Ash’s mate mark. “You mated with him. I knew you were part phoenix, that you were a hu-mutt, but for this to be possible … I can’t soil myself with you.”

Did I just hear that right? Had just the sight of the mate mark saved me from sexual torture and rape? I turned my face into the bedding to hide my grin.

Fire licked up my spine and I screamed into the mattress, taken by surprise. “I’m going to peel it from your flesh,” he snarled, raining blow after blow down on my skin.

I’d lied to myself. I couldn’t contain my screams. The pain was on a level I’d never been able to imagine. It was raw and sharp, never receding in intensity or shifting to a dull ache. Nor did it fade to numbness. Every new hit was worse than the last, and I was positive that my back had to be completely ripped open, the flesh hanging from my bones.

Tears streaked down my cheeks and I struggled to breathe around my pain-addled wails. I would have cried out for Ash, but I knew he couldn’t come without risking his life, and if this was going to be the way I died, I didn’t want him to experience it on any level. I didn’t want him to know the agony I suffered in my last moments in this mortal coil. I wanted him to remember me from our short amount of time together on The Pittsburgh, when nothing had been written in stone and I hadn’t screwed everything up beyond repair.

Despite my unwillingness to summon him, as darkness pushed around the edges of my vision and the pain became too much for my body to bear, I heard him screaming my name. I should have listened to him … about everything. It’s too late now.