Page 66 of Destined For Her Alien Daddy

My fingers tighten around the scanner core. “Of course I continue.”

Ghar’s voice hardens. “No.”

I look up.

He stands close enough now that silver light cuts across his chest and catches on the fresh sealant at his neck. His face is controlled, but something darker works beneath that discipline.

I already know I am not going to like what comes next.

“No?” I ask.

“You stop now.”

Brakk sighs from the chamber entrance. “And here we go.”

Ghar does not look at him. His attention stays fixed on me with a force that makes the bond tighten beneath my skin. “You have decoded enough for the moment. We know the archive was suppressed. We know someone inside the expedition helped the Choir. We know the ruins respond to the fragments. Further analysis can wait until we reach a safer position.”

“Safer position?” I repeat, gesturing toward the dark passages around us. “Please point to the luxury bunker hidden inside the impossible murder maze.”

“We continue moving.”

“We don’t know where we’re going.”

“We know the Choir is above us.”

“And we know the ruins are guiding us deeper,” I snap. “Without understanding the fragments, we are walking blind.”

“You are not trying to understand our route. You are digging into every dangerous implication because you cannot tolerate a mystery remaining closed.”

“That is my job.”

“That is your obsession.”

The word hits harder than it should.

I close the scanner case slowly. “Careful.”

Ghar steps closer. “You are shaking. You have slept less than twenty minutes since the attack. You nearly collapsed twice while pretending to check readings. Your hands are bleeding from gripping that case, and you are so focused on the fragments that you did not notice Brakk found movement sensors in the relay tap ten minutes ago.”

I look toward Brakk.

The Fratvoyan winces. “I was going to mention that after the yelling.”

Heat rushes into my face. “You could have said something.”

Brakk’s ears tilt back. “I coughed meaningfully.”

“That is not a communication strategy.”

“It is when people are listening.”

Ghar’s voice booms through the exchange. “You are not listening to anything that is not the archive.”

I stand too quickly, and the chamber tilts around me before I force it back into place through pure embarrassment. “Do not lecture me about paying attention.”

“I am not lecturing. I am telling you that you are endangering yourself.”

“Because the truth is dangerous?”