Page 41 of Destined For Her Alien Daddy

“We do not know what happened to Rennik.”

The abandoned survey kit suddenly feels much closer behind us.

Ghar steps toward me carefully. “If this structure connects to the gravitational distortions, then activating it could destabilize the chamber.”

“Or answer every question we’ve asked since arriving.”

“Questions lose importance if you are dead.”

I look back toward the black structure.

Silver lines shift beneath the surface again.

Waiting.

The realization settles over me with terrifying certainty.

This thing is dormant.

Not dead.

Dormant.

And somebody buried it intentionally.

My hand tightens around the scanner.

“Anita,” Ghar says again, lower this time.

I hate the way my body reacts to my name in his voice.

I hate the way part of me wants his permission.

That irritation becomes useful because anger is easier to move through than fear.

“I’m doing it,” I say.

Ghar swears in Vakutan.

Teren physically recoils. “Absolutely not.”

Brakk points directly at me. “If reality explodes, I want official documentation proving I objected.”

Sira remains eerily calm. “The structure recognizes the scanner.”

Everyone freezes.

Including me.

“What?” Ghar asks sharply.

“The resonance patterns shifted when Anita aligned the scan frequency,” Sira says. “The interface responded.”

Excitement races through me violently.

“Oh, that is deeply concerning,” I whisper.

Then I kneel beside the structure and press the scanner into the recessed circle.