Page 29 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

Krask narrowed his eyes but didn’t argue. He turned back to the console and relayed the command to the logistics team, his fingers moving swiftly over the controls. “Yes, Captain.”

Razion didn’t respond. His mind was already elsewhere—on the implications of what Hurik had said, on the danger it could bring to the ship, and on Lilas, who was watching him now with unreadable eyes.

The moment Krask turned his focus back to the transaction logs, she stepped closer and tossed back her hood. “Why did we leave so fast?”

Razion knew this was coming. Of course, she wanted answers. He would, too, if he were in her position. Still, he didn’t look at her right away. Instead, partially to stall, he pulled up a system diagnostic to make sure they were ready to launch as soon as clearance was granted.

“Hurik gave us what we needed,” he said finally.

“No, he didn’t,” Lilas said, crossing her arms. Frustration laced her tone. “You cut him off before he could say more.”

Razion turned to look at her. “Because whatever he said next would have been a lie.”

She scowled. “You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he said flatly. “Hurik sells information. That means he tells you what he thinks you want to hear, and he could turn around and sell whatever reaction we gave him.”

Lilas stared at him, jaw tightening. “You think he was lying about the colony? About the revolts?”

“No,” Razion admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “That was true. But if I’d pushed for more, he would have filled in gaps with whatever got him a profit. Half-truths at best. Misdirection at worst. The sale of information is a deceptive business.”

Lilas didn’t look entirely convinced, but she didn’t argue further. She was thinking, calculating. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

Krask, however, had caught enough of the conversation for his frown to deepen. “What exactly did Hurik tell you?” he asked.

Razion glanced at him, then at Lilas, who was still watching him expectantly. He exhaled. “He said there have been revolts of Axis properties. A penal colony was lost to the Axis in a full-scale uprising. The Slarik Arena was destroyed. A high-end brothel shut down. Zaruxians and Terians were involved in allthree. Two locations happened to be where some of the other auctioned Terian females were sent to.”

Lilas went utterly still. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “My friends?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the accusation was razor-sharp. “You knew where they were and you didn’t tell me?”

Razion arched a brow, but inwardly braced himself. “Yes.”

“How long?” she snapped, stepping away from him. “Howfekkinglong have you kept this from me?”

“Since Vedd ran a trace on the auction records.”

She let out a bitter, breathless laugh. Her eyes narrowed to slits of anger. “That was cycles ago.”

Razion didn’t look away, even though he hated to see the distrust in her eyes. “Yes, it was,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for hundreds ofmig-cycles and I meant what I said earlier—more information isn’t always good information and sometimes it’s more dangerous than a blaster in the face.” He leaned in, took her chin in his fingers and held her there. She was so adorably defiant. So sure she was justified in her outrage. Maybe she was, but he was also sure that he’d made the right decision in waiting. “I had a gut feeling to wait to tell you about your friends. I followed it.”

“When were you going to tell me?” Her voice wavered.

“When my gut told me to.” He inclined his head, only vaguely aware of Krask standing nearby. “Which is now.”

Silence stretched between them, thick and tense.

“Would you have felt better knowing where your friends were?” he asked quietly. “Would it have put your mind at ease?”

“No, but—”

“But what?” he pressed. “It would have eaten you apart. You would have plotted to find a way to get to one of these death traps and gotten yourself killed.”

“It wasn’t for you to decide what I did with that information.”

“It was,” he snapped, releasing her chin, because touching her was distracting. “I care about you. I care about keeping you safe and I didn’t trust you tonotdo something foolish and impulsive.”

“And now?” she asked in a rasp.

“Now, I do.” It was as simple and as complicated as that, because Razion had no idea what to do with the feelings he had for her. He wanted to bundle her away in his quarters and shield her from the galaxy and its chaos. He wanted to show her every wonder that existed in the many worlds he’d explored. He did not know how to work those two urges into something that made sense.

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