Explorer X-Beta — L.M. Preston

Barely escaping their captors, Aadi and Eirena are determined to save their dying friend. After their final confrontation with the species that tortured them, they've changed-unfortunately, not for the better.

The changes caused by a terrible experiment force Aadi to accept the possibility that he may never be fit to go home, and that holding onto his sanity, or leading his friends to safety will end in failure and may rip his friendship with Eirena apart, forever.

Time is slipping away and the possibility of losing his friend is not an option, but the foe that awaits them may be worse than the one they left.