Page 7 of Sixth
“Legend is a human word. For us it is law. AValenmark does not permit a false connection. It forms only once and then generations upon generations may pass before another forms.”
“What if one of us dies?” The question scraped her throat as itleft.
“The field collapses. There is no replacement, but the surviving mate endures. The body lives, though the bond leaves an absence that never closes.”
“So there are Valen widows and widowers.” The sentence sounded too soft in her ownears.
“No.” His voice went quieter still. “There are only survivors.”
She lifted her marked wrist. “And if I refuse you?”
“You are not refusing me.” He paused, his voice lower, steady. “You would be refusing this—yourself. The mark does not allow separation without pain. If you try to walk away, it willhurt, for both of us. The farther you go, the worse it becomes. Iwould not stop you,” he added quietly, “but the Valenmark will. It will burn until you return. That is how it keeps its balance. Aperfect match cannot be unmade.”
The chamber seemed too small. She stepped sideways to the storage wall, needing movement, needing to do anything except drown in the crush of things she couldn’t control. The wall recognized her presence and slid open on a whisper, revealing carefully stowed necessities. Emergency med wraps. Athin blanket sealed in a vacuum sleeve. Asmall protein bar scored into segments. Atool kit folded like abook.
“You planned for one other person,” she said, softer now. “Everything here is cut for two.”
“This ship is built for one,” he said. “But it carries measures for a second. Ido not prefer it. It is good practice.”
“Practice at what?”
“Not dying,” he said.
The answer drew a quick, unwilling smile from her. It faded when her glance touched the small galley drawer. Amug sat nested within a rack, matte black, heavy for its size. She realized suddenly that the handle was carved to fit a larger hand than hers, that the curve would fit Apex’s grip with exactness. He was not a man who loved many objects. The ones he kept must matter.
“You don’t sleep much,” shesaid.
“Affirmative. As I said, my kind don’t require as much as humans.”
She moved a half step closer, meaning only to meet his eyes, but the Valenmark answered before thought. Heat coiledthrough her wrist, up her arm, and into her chest. Apex’s breath hitched and his hand came up, instinct rather than intent, catching her hip to steady her. The reaction was immediate, explosive. Her pulse raced. The air thickened with scent and electricity.
Her fingers fisted in the front of his jacket. She meant to push him away. Instead, she pulled.
Their mouths met in a clash of hunger and shock, teeth and heat and need tangled in a single breath. The sound he made was half growl and half claim. His hand slid up her spine, fingers spreading across her back until she melted into him, the connection burning so bright it bordered onpain.
When he broke the kiss, it was not from lack of desire but sheer force of will. His voice came ragged, low enough to scrape her throat when he spoke against her skin. “If we start this now, it will not stop.”
She was breathing hard, dizzy from what they had unleashed. “Then maybe don’t stop.”
