Page 30 of Rogue Starfighter

“Because this one is faster.”

“It is also not open.”

“Not yet.”

I accelerated. Vesh did not grab the controls. He did not order me back to the safe lane.

He trusted me.

That realization hit almost as hard as the adrenaline. The first slab rotated up. The second dropped. A gap opened between them. I rolled the Wraith through. Black metal filled the canopy, close enough that I saw impact scars in the wreckage. Then we were clear.

I cut right, dove beneath a tumbling section of engine, and found the next opening before the sensors marked it. The Wraith responded instantly. Every movement I made became motion. No delay. No argument. God, I loved this ship. When we cleared the field, my heart was hammering and my hands were steady.

Vesh had gone silent. I looked at him. The controlled expression was gone. His green eyes were wide, his jaw tight. He stared at me as if I had done something impossible.

“What?”

“You felt the openings.”

“I saw them.”

“No. You moved before they appeared on the sensors. You knew where they would be.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

“It cannot be taught.”

“The game taught me.”

“The game gave you practice. It did not give you instinct.”

His gaze moved over my face. Admiration. Hunger. Something more dangerous that he immediately tried to hide. I knew what he wanted because I wanted it, too. The cockpit was small. His mouth was less than a foot from mine. If I leaned across the console, I could kiss him.

My body thought that was an excellent idea.

“Maybe that’s why the program made us bondmates,” I said.

Vesh’s expression closed. There it was. The retreat.

“That is enough training for today. Take us home, Scout.”

I wanted to ask what scared him more: the pair bond or the possibility that he might fall in love with me. Instead, I turned the Wraith toward Arturri.

“You said scouts usually fly alone,” I said after several minutes.

“Most do.”

“But the Wraith needs two.”

“She is more effective with a pair.”

“And you’ve flown her alone for six years.”

“Yes.”

I remembered General Aryk’s carefully chosen words. Since his last partner died.

“What happened to the person who sat here before me?”