Chapter 17

Elian”s heart was breaking.

He”d spent the entire day preparing for this moment. Now, in the dead of night, he was ready.

Rael had fallen asleep. He didn”t sleep much, always alert — but now, blissed-out and sated, he”d slipped under.

And now Elian was leaving him.

Vasz was still new to him, but he”d absorbed enough from his journey with Rael to be ready. As silently as he could, Elian crept through the underbrush, using the cover of darkness to hide his movements. The tears welling in his eyes didn”t slow him down.

Rael had been nothing but good to him. But despite Rael”s open, friendly demeanor, Elian knew the truth.

Humans were the enemies of the Borraq. If — when — Rael didn”t hand Elian over to the authorities, someone would eventually find out, and then…

Rael was a good man. Elian had seen it in every interaction, in the kindness that he offered without a second thought.

But in that kindness, something dangerous had bloomed. A softness. Something more.

Elian couldn”t allow it.

Rael was putting himself and his entire clan in danger by harboring a fugitive like Elian.

This was for both of their sakes. With a heavy heart, Elian turned his back on the campsite and slipped away into the night.

He followed Rael”s lessons, carefully navigating the alien landscape. The thick, spongy texture of the ground beneath the woods, the strange calls of unseen creatures in the night, the way that the two alien moons cast their light and affected visibility — he remembered Rael”s teachings.

He ran as fast as he could through the alien woods, not daring to look back. He put as much distance between himself and the camp as he could, before Rael could wake up and stop him.

He was alone now. There was no going back.

He was on the run, hunted forever, eking out a tough existence in the wilds all by himself forever. Humanity would never be able to find him. He”d have to cover his tracks, hide from any Borraq. He”d have to learn to survive in the wilderness, far from any kind of civilization.

This wasn”t what his life was supposed to be like. When he”d signed up for the space program, he”d dared to dream of something more. Of creating a new world, and finally finding somewhere he could truly call home.

He was supposed to be with people he could call family.

Not a lone fugitive.

Elian forced himself to focus on the future ahead of him, not the one he was leaving behind. He”d have to learn to survive. He”d have to learn to hide. He”d have to learn to outsmart a planet that would kill him if they found him.

And he”d have to do it all by himself—

Elian froze.

Something was wrong.

Elian”s heart hammered in his chest, not just from the exertion of his mad dash. He scanned the night scene in front of him, looking for any sign of danger.

And then he heard it — a low, rumbling laugh.

Elian”s blood turned to ice. He knew that laugh.

When he and Rael had watched Korvax tumble off the cliffside, he”d hoped that it was the last he”d see of the bounty hunter.

But now, with that low, mocking sound echoing in his ears, he knew that he”d been wrong.

Korvax stepped out from the trees, his form illuminated by the twin moons above.

The bounty hunter was even more haggard than before. His lean, muscular form was marred with fresh bruises, evidence of his run-in with Rael. It had been a long way to fall.

And speaking of fresh marks… A new scar marred his face, cutting across one of his eyes.

Korvax”s remaining working eye was fixed on Elian, and malice shone in it.

”You little vermin,” Korvax growled. ”You think you can humiliate me and get away with it?”

Elian didn”t waste breath answering him. Instead, he turned on his heel and ran.

A thick, powerful arm closed around his chest, hauling him off his feet and slamming him into the ground.

Elian”s breath left him in a whoosh, the pain of the impact shooting through his body. The wind was knocked from his lungs, and for a moment, darkness threatened to overtake his vision.

The bounty hunter”s hot breath panted against the back of his neck. ”You”re going to regret the day you ever crossed my path,” he snarled.

Elian”s heart sank.

He was caught.

And there was nothing he could do.