Page 57 of When the Universe Sings

“Do you regret it?” he murmured, fingers gliding through my hair and pulling apart the tangles.

There were so many things I regretted in my life, but I couldn’t find it in myself to regret last night. Not with how my body had come alive under his touch in a way I hadn’t thought possible, not with the way I’d fallen asleep in his arms.

“No,” I finally answered. But I wished I did. It would make things so much easier if it had merely been a lapse in judgment, if we could have blamed it onlagneia, like the night on Louxuria.

Asher’s body relaxed at my words and he pressed his mouth to the top of my head before he took a deep breath, like he was committing my scent to memory. “I need to get dressed before we meet with the rest of the crew to discuss the plan for tonight.”

I stiffened. Would we attempt to grab the stone again so soon?

“I know…but it’s best we do this quickly before Charlis has a chance to install more security protocols around the satellite or enact his own plans. Once this is done”—he pulled back tolook at me, thumb brushing the curve of my cheekbone—“we can discuss what’s next.”

What’s next…What was next was my betrayal, taking the stone and hightailing it back to Lunastra. Watching the warmth in his eyes harden and ice over into the mask I’d first seen. But I tamped the thoughts down, smoothing over the fear of the mission and uncertainty of what I would be expected to do.

“Don’t worry,j’ska mahsi,you won’t be alone. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

And that was what I worried about.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

“There arethree security levels in the middle of the satellite,” Rys explained, spinning the holographic model of the planet-like ship in the center of the table. He tapped the center and a large section flared red. “That means we can’t slip in through the trash hull like we usually would.”

Greabes had his arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed. “So we’re going to have to get landing clearance.”

“Already have it,” Asher interjected and Rys hummed.

Beside me, Zoleka studied one of the texts on the stone and Akahzyr, but she nodded absentmindedly. On my other side, Kal, with both elbows resting on the table, pointed to a small square on the schematic below the three floors. “Is that an entry point?”

“Yep.” Rys popped thep. “They’ve got a laundry chute running from the top two residence levels. That right there is the catch point. Our girl Juniper here will have no trouble getting in if we can get her to it.”

I shifted in my seat when all eyes fell on me. But Asher’s voice pulled their attention back to the head of the table. “A quara blade can cut through most metals, so you’ll be able to make a hole for yourself to slip through on the first level where the stone is being held.”

He’d put his respirator back on. It was a good reminder of our reality—the male in front of me was the captain of this crew, he was a mercenary, and soon he’d be my enemy.

Rhiaon pursed their lips. “Just wait a moment after cutting the hole so you don’t get burned.”

I nodded and Asher caught my eye. A thick moment of tension curled between us as we regarded one another.

“Anyway”—Rys pulled the syllables long and cleared his throat—“Juniper, once you get there, Asher and Hudzon will be waiting at the door for you to let them in. The stone is located close to the entrance. According to my contact there’s a simple electromag field around it for now until they get better tech installed in the next day, so tonight’s our best bet.”

Everyone around the table nodded. Even Zoleka hummed in agreement as she flipped the page of her text. Asher leaned on the table, gaze moving to each of us in turn. “Once we have the stone it’ll be a quick exit. Crux and Rhiaon will be stationed throughout our route as a precaution since I doubt we’ll go undetected. Greabes will be waiting on the cruiser to get us back to theKuxwhere Rys will be set up to be our eyes and ears.” He looked between me and Hudzon. “Leave the stone to me.”

Hudzon nodded, cracking their two sets of knuckles in anticipation. My throat went dry at the look on Asher’s face. There was a raw sort of hunger there and I wondered how long he’d been looking for the stone, what it must have felt like to be so close.

“All right, rest up. Those of you leaving on the cruiser be ready in the hangar at 1900.”

The crew rumbled their understanding and rose to leave, but I stayed in my seat, tracing the edge of a round stain. Kal lingered beside me for a moment, hand squeezing my upper arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I rasped and cleared my throat. Asher twisted something at the back of his neck and the two sides of his respirator released. He pulled off the lower half of his helmet and set it on the table. I looked up, cataloguing the expressionshifting across his face before the words I’d been holding back fell out. “What do you plan to do with the stone?”

He blinked before something hardened behind his eyes. “Why?”

A lump formed in my throat but I swallowed it down past the aching in my chest. “If I’m going to risk my life climbing through a laundry chute in the high-security satellite of a Federation senator, I deserve to know what your plan is.”

Beside me Kal murmured something, but Asher spoke over him.

“You’re asking this now?” A rumble threaded through the words. My jaw ticked and I nodded. He stood to his full height, arms crossing over his chest, assessing me. “What do you think I’m going to do with it?”