She had no intention of leaving the lab. Then she stole a spaceship.

Chemist Razili prefers logic, samples, and controlled experiments to risk. But the Scozid-neutralizing compound she’s developing keeps breaking apart at the molecular level, and the only solution may be on a planet deep in enemy territory. So Razili does the sensible thing: she steals a spaceship and goes after it herself.

She doesn’t plan on taking a copilot. She definitely doesn’t plan on it being Calyx—the massive and infuriating Trelxak who refuses to stop hovering around her lab.

Calyx won’t force a bond Razili hasn’t chosen, but there’s never a good time to let her know she’s his rhun. Now they’re trapped in a tiny ship, heading toward enemy space, sharing a bed, and trying to survive malfunctioning equipment, alien space bats, and the danger waiting on the other side of the mission.

Razili is brilliant, stubborn, and determined to give the Alliance what it needs to win the war. Calyx understands duty, but he also understands what happens when warriors push themselves past the point of breaking. As the war escalates and every test result matters, he becomes the shield at her back.

One very dangerous romantic field trip with no room for mistakes and no safe distance between them leads to one very inconvenient question: how do you love someone when duty could get you both killed?