Page 35 of Honor Bound

His mind shied away from the lower gun turret where Sergi had been. He hoped the man had escaped before their impact. His attention moved to the front viewport.

Legion fighters circled overhead like predatory birds of Torrian.Relief swept through him when he heard Sergi’s voice responding to La’Rue. They were working on repairs already.

Roan reached down and gripped the handle of the staff. The grip fit perfectly in his hand. He rose from his seat, pausing when Julia laid her hand on his arm with a questioning expression. He lifted his hand and gently caressed her cheek, before turning away and exiting the cockpit.

He paused when he noticed Sergi’s strong fingers wrap around La’Rue’s wrist. She was holding her staff and staring back at Sergi with a mixture of determination and resignation. Sergi was staring at La’Rue with an intense expression.

“What are you doing?” Sergi demanded.

La’Rue gave him a shaky smile. “What I was meant to do…. You need time to repair the damage. Get the shields and cannons back online,” she instructed.

“La’Rue,” Sergi started to protest before he looked toward the door where Roan and Julia now stood.

“She is correct. Repair the shields and bring the cannons back online. La’Rue and I can help protect the freighter,” Roan said, gripping his father’s staff in his hand.

“With those?” Sergi demanded in a skeptical tone.

“Yes,” La’Rue and Roan both replied in unison.

“Roan.”

Julia’s low voice, filled with emotion, pulled at him.

“You and Sergi must survive. You bring hope. That is more powerful than any weapon,” he said.

Julia breathed in deep and nodded. He caressed her chin once more before he pulled away and followed La’Rue. They climbed to the top of the freighter, exiting onto the outer hull and emerging on the roof. An icy wind cut through his clothes. He braced his feet to keep from slipping and looked up as a fighter came in towards them.

“Do you know how to use the staff?” La’Rue asked.

Roan held the staff out in front of himself and extended the rod. Twirling it, he aimed it at an approaching Legion fighter that was firing on their allies and released a powerful burst from the tip. The orb-shaped ball of energy cut through the center of the fighter from stem to stern, sending it spiraling out of the sky where it disappeared beneath them.

“Yes,” he replied, aiming at another Legion fighter.

* * *

The freighter shuddered beneath Julia’s feet, the deck vibrating with every blast that rocked the ice below. Smoke coiled through the narrow corridors, the faint scent of burning metal mixing with cold recycled air. She gripped the edge of the console tighter, her heart racing—not from fear of the battle, but from what was happening outside.

Roan was out there.

Through the viewport, she watched him and La’Rue move—two lone figures against the chaos.Julia’s breath hitched. The way he moved—focused, relentless—was terrifying and breathtaking all at once.

He stood steady as he wielded the Knight’s staff with a precision that left her breathless. The staff glowed with bursts of light, cutting through Legion fighters like paper, but it was more than the weapon. It was him.

She had spent her life studying the stars, but she had never met anyone who burned like Roan did. He wasn’t just fighting. He waschoosingwho he wanted to be.

He was relentless, a force forged in fire and loss, fighting with everything he had left—and that terrified her more than the Legion.

Her fingers hovered over the controls, helpless to do more than track the damage reports flashing across the screen. The engines groaned beneath her, struggling to maintain power. Sergi’s voice crackled in her ear, calm despite the chaos.

“Sergi, I think you should hurry,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.

“Perfection takes time,” he shot back.

Julia’s lips twitched, but the humor faded quickly. There was no time. Roan and La’Rue were still outside, exposed, and the Battle Cruiser looming above them wasn’t going to wait.

“The math says it’s possible,” she muttered, running the trajectory in her mind. If they engaged the engines at the right moment, the freighter could survive the fall—but only just. Julia strapped back in when Sergi suddenly appeared and half-slid/half-fell into the pilot’s seat. He grabbed the restraint strap with one hand while he powered on the engines with the other.

“Hang on. This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

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