The bridge door slid open with a hiss, and Lon entered cautiously, a wary expression on his blue face. Andi raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to the holoscreen, which was flashing with an error message. She swiped it away and brought up a diagram of the Mirabel Galaxy, projecting it into the air around them.

“We’re in the Xintra Nebula,” Lon said, pointing to the dusty pink cloud that hovered in space between the Olen and Tavina systems.

“Yes, I’d gathered that already,” Andi remarked dryly. “And why, exactly, are we here, when my crew—when your sister—is on the other side of the galaxy?”

Lon looked weary as he sank down into the seat that was usually Breck’s. “We’re here because Queen Nor is also on the other side of the galaxy. Along with her army of mind-controlled minions.”

She blinked. “Excuse me? Mind control?” Even saying those two words sounded ridiculous. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He sighed in exasperation. “Seriously, Andi? Didn’t you let Dex explain anything before you knocked him out?”

Andi felt her temper rising as heat flooded her cheeks. “He left my girls behind, Lon. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to listen to anything he had to say.”

“He didn’t have much of a choice. If he’d tried to rescue them, too, we’d probably all be dead or under Nor’s control now.” Lon shook his head and rose to his feet, holding a hand out to Andi. “Come on. Let’s head back to the med bay. You’re bleeding all over the place, and we can try to wake Dex up. He was there—he can tell you what happened much better than I can.”

For years, Andi hadn’t allowed herself to rely on anyone but herself and her crew. No one else had proved worthy of her trust, and even when it came to Lira, Breck and Gilly, Andi vastly preferred being the one guarding their backs.

So as she and Lon made their slow trek to the med bay, Andi was mortified to find herself leaning on him more and more, unable to stand upright on her own. She gritted her teeth in frustration and tried to will some strength into her legs, but the effort was useless.

“There’s no shame in accepting help, Andi,” Lon said gently. “You nearly died, and you’ve been heavily sedated for almost a week now. I’m surprised you were even able to make it to the bridge in the first place.”

Andi stumbled to a halt as a wave of shock washed over her. She could feel the blood draining from her face as she turned to look up at Lon. “I’ve been out for a week?”