Ignite by Tana Stone

Chapter Thirty-Four

Zoey

“Where are we going?” Serge called as he jogged behind me, his platform shoes clomping.

“I’mgoing to find out what’s going on with the captain’s mission.” I barreled down the corridor with Serge, Reina, and Nina close on my heels. “You decided to come along for the ride.”

Serge huffed out a breath, although most of his breath seemed to be taken up by his brisk steps as he attempted to keep up. “If you’re implying that we’re hangers-on, you can bite your tongue, missy. I’m coming to make sure you don’t skip out on your date.”

I glanced back and saw Serge holding his tablet tightly under one arm. “This is definitely not the time for me to meet a new guy.”

“Things do seem to be a little chaotic at the moment.” Reina’s warbly voice was even higher and more breathless, although with her long legs she didn’t need to walk as fast as Serge. “Are you sure we should go to the bridge uninvited?”

“She makes a good point,” Nina muttered as she walked shoulder to shoulder with me. “I’m sure the captain will be back soon.”

I shook my head, not slowing down as I strode onto an inclinator car. “I’m probably the reason he went on that mission. He was upset and not thinking clearly. The last thing he should be doing is flying a mission.”

“Why was the captain upset?” Serge bustled into the compartment after me. “Did you two get in another fight?”

“Not exactly,” I said as the doors closed and we surged up, the lilting instrumental tones of “U Can’t Touch This” a sharp contrast to everyone’s heavy breathing.

Serge’s tablet made a pinging sound, and he jumped. “There he is.”

“There who is?” Nina asked, eyeing the tablet as if it were alive.

“Dryx, of course.” Serge swiped his finger across the tablet’s shiny, black surface and the screen came to life.

“The Inferno Force guy you want to set me up with?” I stepped away from Serge and the tablet, bumping into the curved white wall of the inclinator.

“I told you I was able to get special permission to reschedule it.”

I groaned. This was the last thing I needed. I had enough problems with the guy I was involved with. I didn’t need to add another to the mix. “This isn’t a great time.”

Serge cut his eyes to me. “It’s never a good time. You’re always busy.”

“But this really isn’t a great time,” Nina said.

Serge tapped his short fingers on the screen and suddenly a face appeared. If this was Dryx, he was even better looking than I’d expected him to be, with the trademark Drexian dark hair worn long and scruff on his cheeks that seemed to be more of an Inferno Force hallmark. The eyes peering out at us were a captivating shade of dark blue.

“At last,” Serge said, smiling brightly at the Drexian.

The inclinator stopped and the door slid open.

“At last,” I murmured as I hurried off, leaving Serge spluttering in the compartment.

Nina caught up with me first, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder to where Serge was attempting to hold the tablet in front of him while he ran, and Reina was bending over and shouting apologies at the screen. “You’d better hope Serge forgives you for this one day.”

“I promise you she’s not normally like this,” Serge was saying to Dryx as he shot menacing looks at me.

I paused outside the double doors leading to the bridge, turning abruptly to face Serge and Reina—and Dryx via vid link. Serge almost plowed straight into me, the tablet bumping my stomach. I snatched the tablet from him.

“What are you doing?” He tried to grab it back, but I held it high enough that he couldn’t reach it.

I held the tablet over my head at arm’s length and smiled up at the clearly confused Drexian. “I’m really sorry about all this, but it’s not going to work out between us. It’s definitely not you, it’s me.”

Serge was squawking as he jumped up. “Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s been under a lot of duress lately.”

Dryx laughed, seemingly unconcerned by the drama unfolding on the other end of the vid link. “Not a problem, but it’s too bad it won’t work out between us. You’re as beautiful as Serge said you were.”

I smiled at the smooth compliment. “Thanks. It might have worked out if I’d met you sooner, but I’ve kind of fallen for someone else.”

“What?” Serge stopped reaching for the tablet. “What do you mean you’ve fallen for someone else? Who else? How is this possible?”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Dryx said. “And jealous of the other male.”

I laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s jealous of you, too.”

Serge stamped one foot. “What is going on here? Why is everyone jealous of each other?”

Reina clapped her hands together. “I think I know.”

Serge snapped his head to her, his expression outraged and his hair flushing pink at the roots.

“I’m sorry, Serge.” I handed him back his tablet. “I’m involved with the captain, and until I figure out what’s going on between us, I can’t start something with anyone else.”

Serge gaped at me. “The captain? What captain?” Then his round eyes widened. “Kalex? You and Kalex?”

Dryx let out a bark of laughter from the tablet. “If you’ve managed to tame that battle junkie, then you deserve him.”

I wasn’t sure if I’d tamed him, but I was pretty sure he’d changed something in me.

“This is wonderful news.” Reina pressed her long fingers to her chest. “Our captain and our astro-architect.”

“We aren’t officially together, and I don’t know where things stand.” I shifted from one foot to the other. “So, I’d like to keep this quiet for now.” I jerked a thumb toward the bridge. “Especially in there.”

Nina lifted her arm overhead and swirled her hand it in a circle. “Cone of silence.”

Serge got a sharp glance from Reina before giving a mournful glance at his tablet. “Fine.”

I waved my hand to open the doors and strode onto the bridge. Once again, I was struck by how different it was from the rest of the station. The last time I was here, however, the atmosphere wasn’t nearly so chaotic. The space was still dimly lit, but the bridge crackled with energy as monitors beeped and static cut through the air. Drexians in dark uniforms turned to our group as we walked in, their expressions startled.

“Zoey, Nina!” Vekron walked toward us from the front of the bridge. His gaze lingered on my friend for a beat before glancing at Serge and Reina behind us. “What are you doing here?”

“Serge told me that Kalex left the ship on a mission.”

Vekron’s face twisted for a moment. “That’s correct. He and Jax took out a squadron of fighters to search for an energy rift that we believed might connect to Kronock space.”

My gut clenched. “That sounds dangerous.”

“You all really shouldn’t be here,” Vekron said. “The command deck is off-limits to civilians.”

“I know.” I looked over his head at the wide view of space where gleaming black fighter jets flew in what appeared to be a circle. “But I don’t think Kalex should be out there.”

Vekron blinked at me. “Why not? He’s a highly skilled pilot.”

I drew in a breath and dropped my voice. “Something happened between us. It was my fault, but he was probably pretty upset.”

A strange look passed over his face. “That actually explains a lot.”

I glanced around to make sure none of the other Drexians had heard but they seemed intent on their tasks. “Is there any way I could talk to him while he’s out there? Maybe send him a transmission telling him I’m sorry? I don’t like to think of him flying when he’s upset.”

“Actually, there isn’t.”

My shoulders sagged. I’d thought Vekron would have been more understanding. “But—”

He took me by both shoulders. “It’s not that I don’t want to, Zoey. Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to let you talk to him, but he and Jax vanished into the energy rift.”

My skin went cold, and all the Noovian wine I’d drunk threatened to come back up, the sharp tang of bile stinging the back of my throat. I pressed a hand to my lips.

“He’s gone?” Nina asked, her voice trembling.

Vekron gave us both a grim nod, turning to a Drexian who’d just approached him with an urgent report regarding the energy readings. All the sounds of the bridge seemed to disappear as the truth of what he’d said hit me.

“This is awful,” Reina said.

“We should go.” Serge’s voice had lost its normal exuberance.

I shook my head. Until that very moment, I hadn’t realized how much I cared for Kalex, even if he could be an infuriating ass. What had started as just sex had become something more. He’d known it when he’d attempted a romantic gesture, and I’d been too freaked out to admit that I’d developed feelings that went beyond our powerful physical connection.

I’d been determined to keep things casual so I wouldn’t fall for him, but it hadn’t worked. Even though Kalex was nothing like Theo, I’d fallen for him just the same. It wasn’t the same kind of steady love I’d shared with my fiancé—things with Kalex were anything but predictable—but it was undeniable, nonetheless.

Strangely, I didn’t feel guilty that I’d found love again. Nina was right. Theo would have wanted me to be happy—and loved. Thinking of Theo made my stomach tighten, but it wasn’t the familiar ache of loss. It was a pang of regret. Regret that it had taken me so long to get my head out of my ass.

I squared my shoulders with determination. I’d lost one guy I’d loved. I couldn’t lose another. “I can’t go. I have to help get him back.”

“How can you help, hon?” Reina asked.

I gazed out the front of the station, my mind gripped with fear. I didn’t know yet, but I had to try. I couldn’t lose him just when I’d found him.