23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Faelin

The pants I stole from a dead guard don’t fit well and they’re soaked with the bastard’s blood, but they’re better than running around naked. Not that I’d be alone in being naked. Lots of slaves are running around the ship now, most scantily dressed, some naked. Some are panicking and just trying to get to safety, while others attack anyone who isn’t wearing a collar.

As we arrive at the edge of the marketplace, I can see that the situation has turned into chaos. In the slave transfer cells, we only fought using fists, knives, shock sticks, or stunners. Out here, it’s a fucking battle zone.

Weapon stalls have been ransacked, and everyone is carrying guns. Rifles, pistols, machine guns. Grenade launchers. Plazma throwers. I duck when something whizzes in my direction, cutting off a strand of my hair. The projectile hits the wall behind me and explodes half a second later.

Tareq pulls Astra to safety behind a toppled cargo crate. “This is crazy!” he yells over the noise. “They’re gonna blow a hole in the fucking ship!”

A group of uniformed men storms by, mowing down anyone in their path with precise rifle fire. Their uniforms are different from those worn by the Arcade’s guards and I notice they’re closely surrounding a tall Ataxian in their middle.

My fist tightens on the handle of the shock stick I’m holding, but a closer look tells me this is not Drayth. Still, he has to be here somewhere and I made him a promise I intend to keep.

“Faelin!”

Nala’s voice pierces through the mayhem, pulling me out of my thoughts. I rush to her side immediately, catching both her and Ellen when she stumbles over some charred remains lying on the floor. Ellen is clinging to Nala tightly, humming a tune I don’t recognize, her eyes clamped shut. I hug them both and for a moment, everything is right in my life. The fighting, shooting and explosions don’t register. Nothing matters but these two perfect creatures in my arms.

“I’m not letting you go,” I whisper into Nala’s ear before placing feather-soft kisses to the top of her head. “Either of you. I will do anything for you,” I swear fervently. “Anything you say, Nala. Just stay with me, Nala. Please—”

I don’t get to finish my plea as a heavy body slams into me, sending all three of us onto the floor. At the same time, a wall of fire rolls over us, momentarily stealing all of our oxygen. When I can breathe again, a smell of burning hair attacks my nostrils. No burning flesh, though, so the blast didn’t fully hit us.

Running his hand through his now slightly scorched hair, Tareq glares at me. “Can you wait with the fucking love declarations until we’re not in the middle of a fucking warzone?! We need to get back to the Supernova!”

“Males,” Lyriana snickers. She’s already appropriated herself a rifle and, positioned safely behind a pile of scorched bodies, is steadily reducing the number of potential attackers. I can’t even tell who our enemies are at this point. The marketplace has turned into a deathmatch where the last one standing survives.

Ellen is sobbing now and Nala is doing her best to soothe her but the noise and stress is just too much for the little angel, not to mention her mother being on edge, too.

Another group of guards, also not belonging to the Arcade but rather some visiting crime lord, emerges from the smoke and immediately heads toward us. Fortunately, these guys aren’t carrying guns, otherwise we’d be dead already.

“Go, I’ll cover you!” Lyriana shouts, her precise aim forcing them to take cover.

Seeing that Nala’s struggling to get up, I crouch beside her. “I can carry Ellen,” I offer as I pull them both up and direct them to the next line of cover, protected by Lyri’s firing.

Nala’s desperate look speaks volumes, her eyes filled with tears. She’s exhausted and she must know damn well she won’t be able to keep going like this much longer. No matter how strong her mind is, her body will collapse soon. But I understand her reluctance to hand her precious child over to someone else.

“Nala, I will protect her with my life,” I swear, hoping she’ll see the conviction in my eyes. “I swear I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

Wiping at her tears, Nala reluctantly nods. “O-okay. Just, please… Please, Faelin, I can’t lose her.”

Honored by her trust in me, I vow, “You won’t.” I gently tug on Ellen’s arm to get her to unwrap herself from Nala. “Come on, big girl,” I tell her, unsure whether she can hear me over the sounds of battle and her own crying. “I’ll carry you for a bit. Your mama’s arms are tired from how big you are.”

Ellen doesn’t laugh at my lame attempt at levity, but her crying eases back a little and she lets me pull her into my arms, wrapping herself tightly around my chest. I reach around to hold her up with one hand, grabbing a pistol in the other one. I offer the rifle to Nala. “Know how to use this?”

Grabbing the rifle, Nala points it in the general direction of the guards following us, and pulls the trigger. The laser projectile makes a sizable hole in a nearby stall. “I think I’ll figure it out,” Nala growls.

“Good, because—”

The entire spot where the guards have been taking cover explodes. I turn to protect Ellen from the blast wave, but there isn’t any. No smoke either. Just an empty space where everything has been incinerated to ashes.

“Gods, I love this gun!” a familiar voice shouts from above. Omni’s wings rustle as he glides over us, shooting the monstrous weapon in his hands again. Another group of slavers eviscerated. “WOOHOO! What are you guys still doing here?” he inquires as soon as he lands, lovingly patting his new toy. “The ships are leaving, the clock is ticking. Chop, chop!”

Since no one’s shooting at us right this moment, we speed through what’s left of the marketplace. I keep Ellen’s head tucked into the crook of my neck, telling her not to look, hoping she obeys because what we’re running through is nothing short of a massacre. Slaves lie dead alongside slavers, most of the bodies horribly mutilated.

Some stalls have protective barriers slung down in front of them. Those that don’t, have been turned into smoldering husks.

Whining noises attract our attention as we pass around the burned down exotic pets stall. Before I can stop her, Nala yanks open a mangled cage, letting something out. Her scream has my heart stopping dead in my chest.

I pivot, raising my gun to kill whatever’s attacking her, and stop myself from pulling the trigger just in time. The animal she freed isn’t hurting her. The long, furry creature has climbed up on her shoulder and wrapped itself around her neck like a scarf and refuses to let go.

“I guess we’re getting a pet,” she notes, recognizing the furry creature as harmless as she strokes it, yet her accompanying giggle still sounds a little hysterical. “Ellen always wanted a pet.”

I suck in a deep breath, forcing my voice to sound calm. “Would you please stop touching things that could kill you?!” Yeah, maybe my attempt at sounding calm didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. Whimpering, Ellen stirs in my arms. I placate her with a few soothing words before apologizing to Nala. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know, I know. It was stupid. I mean, that thing could have eaten me alive. I just couldn’t bear to see it suffering any longer in that crushed cage. Look.” She raises her hand, showing me a purple stain. “It’s bleeding.”

The animal raises its head and croaks in panic. Thudding footsteps draw closer, but I remain calm, having recognized Tareq’s tall frame. Without slowing down, he guides us toward the nearest marketplace exit. “This way.”

The animal croaks again, this time warning us of guards approaching from behind. As soon as Lyriana and Omni pass through the door, D’Aakh looks around. “Everyone here?” he asks. At our confirmation, he holds a device to the door console, sealing the guards on the other side.

Since I have no idea where we’re going, I let the others lead the way. I focus on helping Nala, who’s barely able to stand on her feet anymore. Just as I’m about to offer to carry her too, we round the final corner and arrive at our airlock.

“Where the fuck is Nikolai?” Tareq scowls at the empty room. “He was supposed to be guarding the place.”

“Probably somewhere helping the injured,” Astra guesses, pointing in the direction of a distant sound of fighting.

Lyriana growls. “I’ll fucking kill him. Get inside. I’ll drag him back and then we’re taking off. Captain should have the ship ready.”

I help Nala into the airlock and set Ellen down by her side. “Go inside. I’ll be back.” There’s one more promise I intend to fulfill before we leave this ship.

Ellen whimpers, refusing to let go of my hand and Nala looks at me in confusion. “Where are you going? The ship is leaving! You can’t go anywhere now.”

“I’ll catch a different ride and rejoin you in a couple of hours, I promise. This is something I have to do, Nala.”

Realization dawns in her eyes. “You’re going after him? It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you to go.” She chews on her lower lip. “You said you’d do anything for me.”

I nod, anxiously awaiting her next words. Will she ask me not to go after Drayth? I’d obey her wishes, even if letting the bastard go unpunished would grate on my nerves. “I said that, and I mean it. Do you want me to stay?”

Her eyes dart between me and Ellen, and I can tell exactly what she’s thinking. If Drayth lives, they’ll forever be looking over their shoulders, worrying about his revenge. If I kill him, they’ll be safe. The hesitation in her eyes is clear but she’s not going to stop me from going after Drayth. She’s putting the wellbeing of her daughter above mine. As she should.

But clearly, me going after Drayth puts me in danger. And—a thought that pleases me more than I can say—Nala doesn’t want to lose me. It’s a heady feeling knowing that she cares.

“Come back to me. To us,” she whispers hoarsely.

“I will,” I promise, stealing a quick kiss. Running back into the fray, I worry about the blood I just tasted on her lips. My perfection better not be hurt!

Deciding to leave her in the hands of my crewmates, I transfer my concentration back to my mission. I have to be fast if I want to exact my revenge and still make it out of here alive.