Chapter 1

Chapter

One

LYRA

" S hit."

Okay, deep breaths , I thought, even as the acrid smell of smoke stung my nostrils. Deeeeep breaths.

My heart felt like it would explode. It pounded in my chest as my knees wobbled and threatened to give out from underneath me.

"Shit, shit, shit," I whispered, my eyes flitting from blue tree to blue tree. To the varieties of potentially poisonous plant life that brushed at my bare toes and shins, all creeping vines and oddly-colored leaves.

I let out a little scream when one of those vines curled around my big toe and I scrambled back into the life pod I'd come out of moments before, as a sob threatened to choke me.

My hands were shaking as I jabbed at the com control screen again.

"H-hello?" I asked, lowering my mouth towards the speaker, my voice wobbling. "Can anyone hear me?"

The screen flickered once…

And then died completely.

"Dammit," I whispered, as tears dripped down my cheeks. "Stupid, stupid cruise. I can't believe this! Okay, okay…think. Think, Lyra."

I blew out a loud breath and then inhaled deeply through my nostrils. I was lucky I'd landed on a planet with oxygen , I realized. That was something to be grateful for. I could have?—

A snap from outside my pod made me freeze.

A rustle sounded…like something was walking through the creepy foliage.

The pod was shaped like a giant egg and since I'd pushed the escape hatch off the top, I had no protection. The pod had crash landed on its side and I would have to stand up to peer over the rim.

But then whatever was approaching might see me .

Frantically, I swiveled my head around the interior of the life pod, running my hands around for a weapon. In a small compartment, I found an emergency pouch, but it only had a bagful of thick-looking water and a single high-energy ration bar. Like that would last me.

This is what I get for choosing the cheapest galaxy cruise available, I thought hysterically, hearing the rustling come closer and closer. Was it an animal? Something that could eat me in one bite? I'd watched so many nature documentaries on the Nu device that I knew about all sorts of beasts and predators that lived in the Second Quadrant.

With flashes of large teeth and sharpened talons running through my overactive imagination, I realized my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't even grip a weapon if I found one.

In the nature and survival documentaries I watched, the narrators always said that the majority of large beasts would only attack if they sensed weakness. And I was the weakest thing in this entire Quadrant . My only chance to survive an attack was to make the first move. Scare it away before it got too close.

My other option was just to huddle in the life pod, wait for it to jump onto the hull, and devour me in one bite.

The rustling drew closer and closer. When I sensed the beast was just outside the life pod, I steeled myself. My breaths came in rapid, endless pants.

I did the only thing I could think to do.

Before I could second guess myself, I leapt up from my seat, threw my arms wide over my head, my hands curling into little claws, and roared as loud as I possibly could.

Only, my roar sounded like a petrified, squeaky scream and it ended with a pathetic choke after I gasped suddenly.

There I was in all my glory…

Jiggly boobs nearly popping out of the small, red bikini top I'd somehow thought was a marvelous idea for that gods forsaken cruise.

Choking on my own saliva.

With terror on my face as my eyes fastened on…

A male.

An alien male.

A Luxirian male whose eyes went wide in disbelief and surprise at the sight of me while I screamed down at him.

He's hot , I thought, my hysteria and fear making the thought appear without warning.

My vision went a little blurry. Blood rushed in places I didn't think blood could rush as my adrenaline spiked.

And then—like a cherry on top of this wonderful sundae of a day—I fainted.