24. Elodie

Ithought Calder was impressive in the arena, but when I watch him launch himself at Throop, I realized he was holding back.

He moves with lethal grace, so fast he’s merely a blur. Before I know it, Throop is on the ground, screaming in pain, his arm—the arm that held the knife—clearly broken. “You held a knife to Elodie’s throat,” Calder says, low and cold, as he hammers a vicious kick into the man’s side. “You threatened her.” Another kick. “You’re going to pay.”

“Calder.” I tug on his sleeve. As much as I want to see Throop pay for his crimes—of which there are many—I don’t want his death on my conscience. “Calder. You came for me.”

My hapless, unthreatening podmate turns to me and envelops me in his embrace. “Of course I did, Elodie.” He draws back and surveys me with astonished eyes. “You really thought I wouldn’t?”

I swallow. It’s hard to have this conversation, but I need to. Because I truly don’t know where I stand with Calder. “Everything you’ve said to me has been a lie. Did you ever need a podmate?”

He winces. “No. Jarel Onel is a weapons dealer. If someone’s hoping to sell a nanoarmor-destroying virus to the Crill Empire, he’s the person you’d go through. I needed to keep an eye on him, so we chose you.”

“So cooking me breakfast, buying me chocolate, was all a way to ingratiate yourself with me. When I grumbled about work, you were mining my stories for intel.”

I hoped he would deny it, but he doesn’t say anything, and I know I’ve hit on the truth. My heart wilts. “Okay,” I say softly. “I think I need to go now.”

“No,” he bursts out, the word tearing out of him. “Elodie, I. . .” He grabs my arm, realizes what he’s done, takes a deep breath, and makes himself let me go. His hands fall helplessly to the side. “Seeing you smile when I made you breakfast—that was real. The concern in your eyes when I got hurt—that was real too. Everything I’ve said to you about who I am might have been a lie, Elodie, but everything I feel for you is real.”

Every single person in the plaza is staring at us. I can’t bring myself to care.

“I bought the Wraith a month after I moved into your place. We were talking about ships one night, and I asked you what you’d buy if you had all the credits in the universe, and you said the Wraith 9000. Remember that conversation?”

I do now. “How. . .?”

“How can I afford it? My sister Enola is a financial genius. She’s taken my earnings and invested them well. And I really wanted to be a bounty hunter. I wasn’t lying about that either.”

“Wanted, past tense? And now?”

“My priorities have changed, Elodie.” He looks at me steadily. “I love you. I want to wake up every morning next to you. I want to cook you breakfast and feed you chocolate. I don’t have to be a bounty hunter. If you want to be a mugalari, I’ll be one too. I’ll do whatever it takes, as long as I can have you.”

“You upgraded my room too, didn’t you? That’s why we were on the penthouse level.”

“You’re always so hard on yourself, Elodie, but you deserve the best. I thought you’d enjoy the view.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I didn’t plan on there being only one bed. The hotel screwed up. Not that I’m complaining about it. I was happy to take advantage of the situation.”

So was I. I can’t hold that against him. There’s a song in my heart, and it’s getting louder. “And the Wraith is really yours?”

Calder’s lips quirk. “Zayd is a possessive bastard,” he says. “He wouldn’t let anyone touch his ship. Elodie, did you hear anything else I said?”

And now it’s so loud that it’s drowning out all my insecurities. Calder came back for me. He loves me. “I heard you,” I say, a big smile spreading over my face. “But Calder, for a smart guy, you’re not that bright. All you needed to do was tell me you love me. Because I love you too.”

He’s quick on the uptake. “I love you, Elodie. I love everything about you. And if you let me, I’ll spend a lifetime proving it to you.”

“Everything?” I tease, my heart bursting with happiness. “You realize I often smell like engine grease, don’t you?”

“You smell like soap, with an undertone of engine grease,” he corrects, pulling me in for a bruising, claiming kiss. “It’s my favorite scent.”

Throop chooses that moment to try to stagger to his feet. I aim a kick at his jaw, and he goes down again. Calder breaks off the kiss long enough to look at me with surprise. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“You made a move like that in the arena.”

His chuckles, a warm wash of sound that feels like a hug. “I think I should be terrified.” He holds out his hand to me. “We have a fast ship, Elodie, and the galaxy awaits. Want to get out of here?”

People are still filming us, but I don’t see them. I only have eyes for Calder, who looks at me like I’m the only person who matters in the universe.

I take his hand, dizzy with happiness. The future awaits, a shining, joyful beacon of light tugging me forward. “Yes,” I tell Calder. “But this time, I get to fly the Wraith. Does it have a name, by the way?”

“I was hoping you’d name it.”

I think for a moment, and then I have the perfect name. “Blaze. We’ll call it Blaze.”