Page 46 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

Ellion exhaled, finally looking away. “If you’re somehow mistaken, Razion will have to explain himself when he comes looking for you.”

Lilas stiffened. “Who says he’ll come looking?”

Ellion’s silver eyes flicked back to her, heavy with certainty. “Because if he cares for you, there is no force in the universe that will stop him.”

Lilas swallowed hard, but she refused to let herself believe it. Because if Razion really had cared for her…he would have never considered turning her over in the first place.

She lifted her chin, forcing steel into her spine. “I don’t care if he comes.”

Turi’s fingers wove back through hers, grounding her. “Come on, Lilas,” she said. “We have so much to tell you.”

Lilas exhaled slowly, her heart still a tangled mess. But Turi was here. They were back together—alive—and for now, that was enough.

She nodded. “Alright.” And without looking back, she followed them into the unknown.

EIGHTEEN

Razion

Razion stood at the central console of the Darkslip, the familiar sounds of the ship intertwining with the electric tension in the air. His arms braced on either side of the screen that he stared at. His heart raced. None of this was familiar or comfortable. He wasn’t prone to stress. Composure and calm were his usual way of being, but not this cycle.

The faint signal they had picked up was like a beacon pulling at him, and he needed to know what lay at the end of it.

“Did you get anything useful from Ulo’s family on the Zaruxian ship?” he asked Cozax, who leaned intently over the controls.

She shook her head, frustration evident on her fierce features. “Just the same information we already had. They learned about the Zaruxian ship when we did. It caught them by surprise too.” She hesitated. “They were disappointed to find they hadn’t been able to visit with the Terians.”

Razion clenched his fists. He understood their disappointment. He echoed their sentiment—his mind burnedwith questions about why Lilas had just left without telling him. It had been a common goal, he thought, that they would seek the Terians and Zaruxians who had joined forces.

“The ship’s registration number was a dead end,” Cozax continued, raking a hand through her hair in frustration. “Nothing leads back to them.”

“Yet,” Razion murmured, his fingers moving over the panel as he brought up the scan results. He had a feeling, a deep instinct that something was just beyond his grasp. The urge to follow this signal was almost a physical force pulling at him.

“Are you sure this signal is even worth pursuing?” Cozax asked, glancing at the flickering display. Doubt colored her voice. “It could just be background noise.”

“It’s faint,” Razion replied. “But it’s there.” He felt the energy vibrating through him, that unshakable feeling that they were meant to be on this path. “Something is pulling at me. I need to chase it.”

“We want to find Lilas, too.” Cozax crossed her arms. “But we’ve already risked a lot on this trip. What if it leads us nowhere?”

Razion ground his teeth together. The quadrant was huge. That ship could be anywhere and it wouldn’t take a genius to plant a false trail for him to find. He couldn’t afford to let doubt creep in. “It could lead us to Lilas. I know it.”

Vedd turned his head, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. “You have a gut feeling about it?”

“More than that,” Razion said, pressing a hand to his chest. “I can feel it in my bones. The direction it’s coming from… It’s off the beaten path, which means fewer eyes, less traffic.”

Cozax crossed her arms, skepticism in her stance. “Alright, but if this ends up being a wild chase, don’t expect us to be in a hurry to come back.”

Razion nodded. Urgency pulled in his chest. “Just get the coordinates. And prepare for a fold. We’ll scout the sector and follow any signals.”

“On it,” Cozax said, turning back to her console. Krask used to do these things, but the weapons officer filled in well. It wasn’t a permanent solution, however.

Razion watched the readings shift, numbers flowing across the display like a torrent of hidden information. Silence settled between the three of them. Cozax’s expression was tense, while Vedd was huddled over his screen with uncharacteristic rigidity.

“Captain,” Vedd said in low voice. “I have something to show you.”

Razion pried his clenched hands off the console and turned to Vedd. “What is it?”

“I was finally able to decrypt and clarify the video imagery of the Axis elite member taken from Gribna’s databanks.” His expression was not triumphant, however. “You need to see this.”

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