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Jason Naveen want you cryptoerased?”
    “I accused him of annihilating Sarna and demanded that he turn himself over to the intergalactic council and plead for leniency.”
    “What? You came here alone to say something like that? That was a bad idea.”
    “I did not come here, I was brought here by force. The disaster on Sarna was an accident, but Naveen did it all the same. Naveen thought Sarna primitive and remote enough to experiment with.”
    “Your story is starting to creep me out. Why did Naveen call and ask me to take you all the way to X57? It’s such a big risk on his part. Why not simply kill you or cryptoerase you here?”
    “Naveen had to call someone on the outside. It’s on record that I flew to Sarna to confront him. If he killed me or if I disappeared here, he’d be in trouble. There’d be a Kironian delegation searching the planetoid for my body. They might not find me, but they’d find a lot more that would point directly at the Sarna tragedy, which isn’t even public yet. They couldn’t keep me sedated. I broke the cryptoerasing machinery here. I kicked it to pieces.”
    Gemmina’s stomach churned. “It’s a very dangerous thing to say in my line of work, but I almost believe you.”
    “You must believe me.” He looked at her with liquid eyes. His face appeared so open and earnest. “Jason Naveen was counting on us being unable to communicate with one another. He thought the collar would trap me in silence while you dutifully delivered me to X57. But he doesn’t know about the sacred link.”
    “ Neither do I. What freaking sacred link are you talking about? I have telepathic enhancements and…. Well I don’t really know what going on with you.”
    “Take the force cuffs off, please. I’ll do anything I have to do to gain you as an ally.”
    She knelt and deactivated the cuffs with a tap command. The faint glow of the cuffs dimmed, and the bands expanded. Once the cuffs were inert, she was able to slide them from his hands with ease. “I’m releasing the force cuffs because it’s the right thing to do. Do not misunderstand this gesture as one of trust. We are not allies. Got it?”
    Syan winced as he rolled his wrists, and the blood raced to his fingertips. “Gemmina.” A trace of conflict shone in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, but I have to do this.” With the speed of a cobra strike, he grabbed her, yanked her against him, and locked his arms around her tight. With his next swift motion, he brushed his lips against her throat, bared his teeth, and bit down until he pierced the skin.
    “Ooooww!” She wailed and stiffened. It took a heartbeat for her to even fathom that the source of the scorching pain was actually a bite. His sharp incisors had punctured the skin with the precise efficiency of a syringe. It hurt in a hot stinging way that made her want to writhe.
    “Be careful!” The pressure of the bite lightened. He released his grip on her and withdrew his teeth. “Gemmina, move slowly you might get dizzy. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    On unsteady legs, she staggered away from him. “Then don’t bite me!” She clamped her palm over the tiny wound and dabbed with her fingertips. The tips of her fingers were sticky. She expected to see blood, but instead the fluid was faint blue. A jolt of pure terror made her tremble. “What is this?” The skin surrounding the bite warmed. “Did you poison me?”
    His expressive lips drew taunt. “It’s not poison. It’s a claim bite. My saliva is loaded with pheromones.”
    “What are you talking about? You can’t make a claim on me!”
    “I just did.”
    “What does this nonsense even mean? What sort of claim do you think you’re making? Is this about property, sovereignty? Tell me what you think you’re doing, and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong!”
    “I don’t ‘think it,' I know it. I made a mate claim. We will bond as life mates.”
    “What? No! You’re mistaken. Do you have any idea how unethical it