Elanie & the Empath

Half–human. Half–machine. Totally unprepared for love.

I was built for efficiency, not emotions. As a bionic, part organic and part AI, I’ve spent my life working aboard my interstellar pleasure cruise in rational, dispassionate contentment. But when I finally install my long–overdue hormone upgrade, everything changes.

Suddenly, I’m distressed, overwhelmed, and alarmed by my changing body. I need help. And even though Dr. Semson, the ship’s empathic physician, is handsome, he’s the last person I want to see about my puberty issues. Since empaths can’t read bionic emotions, we scare them, and they tend to avoid us. But he’s all I’ve got.

While my feelings spiral out of control, something sinister creeps through the Known Universe. Bionics are disappearing. No warning. No trace. And when I hear a voice, deep and coaxing, calling me to join him, I have no choice but to steal an escape pod and run. And for some bewildering reason, Sem follows.

We crash together on a frozen, uncharted planet. The bitter cold bites, but the heat between us builds. Every night by the fire, every accidental touch pulls us closer to something we’ve been denying. But the voice is waiting for me, and when it returns, it leads us to a hidden community that seems like paradise. But this place and its leader aren’t what they seem. And soon we’re fighting for our lives again. For our future. Because this fire between us? It’s more than desire. It’s more than lust.

It’s the one thing that might save us both.