Chapter 76: In the Dagerstanteen Palace.

NIGEL FELT LIKE he drowned in a thick, dense fog, his senses muffled, his limbs heavy. He forced his breathing to remain calm, even and shallow, resisting the urge to jerk awake. Such sudden movements were suicidal on Umicore Prime, as Nightmen had always drilled into him.

Dagerstanteens got eaten that way.

He listened, assessed. A whisper-light touch grazed his skin. A slide. A glide. Something repeatedly stroked his waist. He ...