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“It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard,” said Heath. “I doubt a dragon hybrid would have either.”

“Put the word around,” said Danni. “Let’s see if we’ve got any language experts among the dragon hybrids.”

“We’ll take a look, as well.” Kade glanced at Honor, and she nodded. “It could be we can fit together some of the language patterns using a program I’m testing.”

“Is there anything you’re ever not testing?” Heath grinned at his brother.

“I like to keep busy.”

“Octavia wants to help,” said Jude. “I suggested she come here. We could do with her skills in figuring this out.”

“If she’s agreeable,” said Danni. “However, meet her away from this base. I understand she has helped us in the past, but we don’t know a lot about Octavia. We need to make sure she can be trusted.”

“She can.” Jude bristled at the insinuation. “She’s never let us down.”

“Even so, I insist on caution,” said Danni. “Meet her off-site and assess her level of threat before bringing her here. We cannot put this base at any risk.”

Jude grudgingly nodded. Even though he trusted Octavia with his life, it made sense for Danni to be cautious.

“It is about time we meet the elusive Octavia,” said Heath.

“Especially since Jude is so sweet on her.” Honor smiled at him.

Jude’s teeth clenched. “She’s excellent at what she does. If we can get her to come here, she’ll be an asset.”

Heath raised his eyebrows. “I imagine in more ways than one.”

Jude ignored the comment. “I need to get her here first. She’s not keen on the idea.”

“From what I know of Octavia, she has spent the last two years on her own,” said Honor. “Coming into a place with over four thousand people will be a shock to the system. I understand her reluctance.”

Jude knew it was more than that. She was reluctant to meet him. Did she have a problem with him? “I’ll ask again. It will be easier if we’re working side by side.”

“It would.” Kade flashed him a smile. “We’ll get to work on listening to this Dinnorm language. We can join forces when Octavia arrives.”

“Keep me up to date on your progress,” said Danni.

The debrief ended, and Jude stood. He’d endure all the teasing he had to, so long as he could get Octavia here. He just needed to figure out how the hell he would do that. What would convince his honey-voiced mystery woman to meet?

***

SCRAPING HER SPOONin the bottom of the cold tin of beans, Octavia savored the last small mouthful of juice. She only ate once a day. The food barely impacted on her constant hunger, but she had to keep a check on her appetite. It wasn’t easy finding food when the world was out to get you.

She hadn’t seen herself in a full-length mirror for over a year, but could see from the way her bones jutted through her flesh that she was in need of a few weeks of stuffing herself. Octavia had never been tiny. She’d always been the larger girl in her group of friends. Even when she’d joined MI5 and had gone through rigorous physical training, her curves had remained. Not that it mattered whether or not she had curves anymore. As soon as anyone saw the damage on her face, that was all they would look at. She could have a centerfold figure and no one would notice.

Licking her spoon clean, she set it on the side, the empty tin she added to the small pile in the corner. She kept any metal she could get her hands on. It was always useful to use for repairs on the van or the comms equipment. Octavia was handy with a soldering iron and could reshape almost any piece of metal to fit her needs.

She sat back in her seat. She liked to call it her DJ Hotspot. She smiled to herself as she lined up the next track from her favorite rock band. Never in a million years had she imagined herself doing this. She loved music, but it had always been a hobby. She’d always known she wanted to do something that helped others. What could be better than joining the largest agency in the country and helping to foil terrorism plots?

Octavia had loved the work and excelled in every area—intelligence gathering, comms hacking, detecting patterns and codes in language, and being adept at posing as an ally in forums and chat rooms. Then the State had appeared overnight, destroying the hierarchy and the values Octavia held dear.

And now, thanks to Jude, she knew who they really were. Well, she knew the basics. She’d considered running a search on them, but the State must be on high alert for anyone searching for any mention of Dinnorms. They’d gone to great lengths to hide their identity.

As the song continued, Octavia tuned into the State channel she’d been scanning. The strange language was back. It made no sense to her. She knew it must be important. Why hide something if it wasn’t?

She’d tried different combinations to figure out what they were talking about, but nothing made sense. If you didn’t know the rudimentary basics of the language or code you were trying to break, you had zero chance of success.

She knew she needed help. Jude was offering her that help.