9. Talia

Chapter 9

Talia

D im lights started glowing overhead, casting skittering shadows against the floor and the cold stone walls of our cell. With no windows, I didn't know if it was day or night, though I'd slept and they'd brought us food, and Firion believed they'd soon come to take us to the mine, which told me it must be morning, assuming they kept to a day and night schedule.

While we waited, I slouched on the bunk, leaning against the rough wall, the stone scraping my back. I was tempted to remove the bandage Firion had wrapped around my arm, but suspected it might be best to keep it covered and as clean as possible.

“I've never mined anything in my life,” I told Firion who’d risen and started pacing inside the small space between the bunk and the barred door to the hall. His silver hair shimmered softly in the flat lights, such a striking contrast to the blue of his skin. Watching him, I felt a rush of warmth unfurl inside me, despite the fear clinging to my bones. “On Earth, I ran a dance studio with my sister.” Who I needed to look for, but how? “I taught children and adults various dance styles, including pole dancing, which you’ve probably never heard of.”

“Some Zuldruxians dance.”

“Do you?”

“Not so far.” His warm gaze traveled down my frame, and more heat flooded my veins. Despite worrying my feelings were generated by my fear of this place and the fact that this male was probably the only thing standing between me and something even more horrible than the current situation, my feelings for him were growing. I didn't know what to do about that, so I decided to do nothing. What chance did I have of surviving, let alone falling in love?

“I could teach you,” I said.

“When we're free of this place, I'd love that.”

Another thing to look forward to. We'd escape this nightmare and search for my sister. We'd find her safe. I couldn't believe anything else. The thought of never seeing her again or worse, finding her dead, kept ripping through me. It was all I could do to keep down the meal I'd eaten. It churned in my belly, threatening to come back up.

Nerves, I told myself. A hefty dose of justified fear. And the beginning of mourning the life I used to have but suspected I'd never see again.

My new life was full of changes. No Maggie to pester or sit with me while savoring morning coffee. No job to go to or bills to pay. I couldn't even plan what I'd eat for lunch, let alone what might happen in the next minute.

The only constant here and the only thing I could cling to was Firion. He was the light shining a way through the darkness, and my only guide for whatever might come next. Funny how I knew already that as long as I remained with him, I'd be safe. Security was a fine thread in this place, and I worried it would snap, sending me down into the waiting abyss.

Last night had changed everything; like the first flickers of a flame igniting inside me. Firion had reached out, not just physically but emotionally, and I’d sucked in the feelings he’d generated inside me. In the darkness, I found comfort while wrapped in his arms, plus an unspoken promise of protection. Through the night, his warm hand stroked my back and the soft timbre of his voice as he whispered that he was here for me, that he’d make sure I got out of here safe, reassure me. Whenever our gazes met, something sparked through me.

“Watch,” he said softly, sitting beside me on the bed and placing his palm on the wall. He closed his eyes and hummed. A six-inch, very sharp-appearing stone knife slid from the wall and dropped onto the bed behind him. With a grin, he picked it up and tested its weight. “Perfect.” He was rapidly proving that his stone gods truly did exist.

I should be shocked but after eating a meal that oozed from the wall, I almost expected a circus to appear from there next. Clowns would dance around the room and perform tricks while I’d stare at them blankly .

Okay, I really needed to strap down my worry before it carried me to the edge and tossed me over the side.

He tucked the blade into the back of his pants and stood, making sure his tunic covered it from view. “Armed. Finally.”

Should I ask for a knife? Probably, but I’d slice myself if I tried to carry it like him. If I held it in my hand, the lizards would see it. Questions would be asked, and we’d both be in danger.

I’d have to look for something simpler. A rock, maybe. I could lob it at a lizard’s head if need be.

A door banged down the hall, and the stomps and guttural grunts of many guards echoed around us. Two lizards carrying spears like the one that wounded me stopped outside our cell, unlocking it. The heavy metal door screeched as it swung open, the sound making tension ripple through me. My heart pounded against my ribs.

Firion placed himself between us. I slid off the bed and stepped over to stand beside him, taking in the massive, hulking figures that towered over my Zuldruxian friend. Their green, scaled skin glistened under the lights, and their long snouts spread wide as they hissed at each other in a language I couldn't understand. Dark sleeveless tunics clung to their muscular bodies, and mid-calf pants exposed their clawed feet. A few wore chest armor that appeared to be made out of larger scales that reminded me of what might come from dragons. I hoped there weren’t dragons on this planet.

One of the guards grimaced. Or smiled. I couldn't tell. While he barked out commands, I held myself stiffly, trying not to cringe from the view of his jagged fangs and the four-inch claws on his hands and bare feet.

“Stay close to me,” Firion whispered as my anxiety flared. The guards exchanged glances, their eyes narrowing as they scrutinized us with an intensity that left no room for doubt—they were assessing us, sizing us up as though we were prey. No, they looked at us as if they were calculating our usefulness. His, and my vulnerability.

A heavy weight settled in my stomach, an uncomfortable knot twisting through my guts. They relished the power they wielded over us.

How long would I survive in a place run by creatures like these?

The lead guard snarled some more.

Firion translated the guard's rough commands quickly, his lips barely moving. “They want us to go with them.”

Following his lead, I stepped out of the cell, my breath hitching as the guards' eyes latched onto me. Their cold, reptilian gazes felt invasive, as if they were trying to peel away my layers and expose every fear and insecurity I fought to keep hidden. I clutched Firion's arm, tethering myself to the feeling of safety he provided.

He turned slightly, his silver hair catching the light as he leaned close to my ear. “We’ll do this together. Trust me and follow my lead.”

I jerked out a nod.

We stepped farther into the hall and stopped to await new instructions. On either side, guards urged lizard people from other cells. They joined us, waiting while they finished bringing everyone out. Once we'd gathered together in a mass of sweaty bodies, they pushed us to the left of our cell, down the hall. At least six guards marched ahead of us while an equal number took the back. We shuffled through the corridor, the combined anxiety and fear thickening the air like smoke.

At the end of the hall, a guard unlocked a metal door and creaked it wide. They started down a long series of stairs with us following.

The dizzying descent seemed to have no end. I lost count of the number of treds partway down, the metallic echo of my boots bouncing off the cold, damp stone walls, blending with the hissing of the guards behind and in front of us. My heartbeat matched the thud of our feet, each thump a reminder that I was far from home. Would I ever see Earth again? Would I ever step on grass or smell fresh air again or was this it? I worried I’d die here soon.

Finally, we reached the bottom, and a guard swung open another metal door ahead of us. I squeezed Firion's arm as we stepped into an enormous cavern that seemed to swallow us whole. Awe-inspiring and terrifying all at once, the size of it stunned me.

Far above us, strange, luminescent insects skittered across the ceiling, their faint glow blinking, making them flicker like distant stars.

“Stay close.” Firion kept his voice low and steady. His tall figure hovered protectively at my side, always alert. He was my only anchor in the horror unfolding around us. He scanned the area, snarling at any lizard that came close, and I appreciated that more than I could say, knowing I was relatively safe as long as he was beside me.

Chunks of black rock littered the cavern floor, jagged and rough, yet the ground was oddly slick beneath our feet. As big as multiple football fields, the cave stretched in a circle ahead of us with passages branching off like the veins of a furious beast.

I hoped we wouldn't be asked to travel down any of them. From the time I was little, I'd feared tight spaces. Claustrophobic, the counselor said when I was ten. Don't push her too hard. Let her work through this with counseling—which hadn’t helped. In my last session, they said if I ever needed an MRI, I might need sedation. My parents were busy with work, so they let it go at that. Now I wished they'd done something—anything—to help me, not brush it aside.

Focus on the now, I told myself. Deal with passages if you have to face them.

Firion's steady gaze met mine, and he nodded as if he’d heard my thoughts and was saying he'd make sure I got through this.

With each moment I spent here, something stirred inside me, a connection to Firion that fueled my determination to hold myself together. My fear was morphing into something too much like hope. It was fragile and flickering like the glowing insects overhead, but it was there. It gave me the strength to hold my head up and deal with whatever the lizards asked of us next.

They wouldn’t kill us as long as they felt we had worth. Firion, for sure. I’d have to prove I could do whatever they asked of me.

As they pushed us across the stone cavern, the guards nudged us into groups, steering each toward a smaller section of the big open area. Firion remained by my side, assessing everything around us, his body tense and ready to strike. The lizard Firion had spoken with in the cell across from ours was assigned to our group.

Once we'd been sorted, the guards started barking orders. Their voices hissed like serpents, making me shiver.

“They want us to take mining tools,” Firion said.

A bunch of strange objects lay in a pile on the floor: metal picks at least three feet long, buckets that hummed with a faint pulse, and weird devices that reminded me of tire irons. Each was as long as my forearm, blunted on one end and sharp on the other.

We took one of each. The pick felt awkward and too heavy for me to hold long, but I suspected I'd need it. I dropped one of the odd tools into a bucket and gripped the handle tight. Stepping back, I met Firion's gaze, and the steady reassurance in his gave me the strength to hold on.

The guard assigned to my group rumbled more orders and started herding us into one of the many narrow passages leading away from the cavern with a ceiling too low for anyone but me to stand upright .

Firion and the lizards hunched forward, shuffling down the passage.

My pulse slammed in my throat, and it was all I could do to breathe. The stone walls closed in, and panic roared through me, gnawing on what little confidence I'd clung to.

I stopped, and a lizard bumped into me from behind, grumbling as he shuffled past me, his body brushing against the left wall.

It was too tight. The weight of the rock above pressed down on me. I was going to die here; I knew it.

I'd never see my sister again.

Swallowing hard, I struggled to maintain control. The group left me behind except for Firion, who'd paused and was looking back at me.

“Tight spaces,” I choked out. “They make me afraid.”

He rushed back to take my tools from me, juggling them together with his own, then took and squeezed my hand.

“I'm with you. I'm not going anywhere.” He stroked the hair off my face. I'd bound it in a messy braid down my spine, but some had come loose already. “Breathe in and out, slow and easy.”

“I’m trying,” I gasped, my voice barely a whisper.

After placing our tools on the floor, he grabbed my shoulders. “Focus on me.”

I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut for a second and focusing on the warmth of his hands, the steady rhythm of his breathing, and the way he projected incredible strength .

“Think of the crysthron we’ll soon mine.” His low, calming voice soothed me. “It has beautiful, glowing energy, something we might be able to use to escape.”

“How?”

His lopsided smile rose, making my chest ache as if he’d reached in and gently squeezed my heart. “We’ll figure that out soon.”

Lifting my own, though shaky smile, I jerked out another nod. “I'm okay now. Thank you.”

His hands tightened on my shoulders. “Lean on me, precious one. I'm not leaving your side.”

Grunts rang out from the others. We had to catch up or they'd come back and hurt us. I just knew it. I'd deal with whatever blow they might give me, but I couldn't bear for them to hurt Firion.

That was all it took for me to shake myself off, regroup, and find a way to move forward.

We rejoined the others and continued down a slope that grew even more narrow.

I tried to tell myself we weren't being swallowed by an alien beast.