Chapter 17

Paige

D raxel launches forward, his chest bright and shining like Varek’s does.

Does that mean…

Varek lifts off me and I roll over, propping myself up on my elbows. My friends are fighting the Thachiens, desperate to get out of their clawed hold. Then I see Ryan lying unmoving on the ground.

Varek leans in close to my ear. “Stay here. I must help Draxel.” He takes off and leaves me alone on the ground.

Draxel gets to the first Thachien and slashes through him in one swipe of his spear. Black blood sprays and splatters all over the ground as the thing collapses in a pile of limbs. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch it, fear clawing through my gut. Varek sprints for another creature, grabbing it and tearing the thing in two with his bare hands.

More Thachiens emerge from the ship and I see an opening.

Ryan is lying on the ground. Lara and Cristina are screaming as they are dragged off, but Draxel and Varek are right behind them, slaughtering the Thachiens to save my friends.

That just leaves Nicole and Melina. They must still be inside.

I rise up on my bare feet and hurry forward. I stay low, praying Varek doesn’t see me or that I draw the attention of our enemies. My feet burn and sting as I step over gnarled vines, but the pain is nothing compared to the tightness in my chest. I can barely breathe as I near the ship.

I huddle close to the metal and tip-toe forward until I can slip inside the door.

Nicole is huddled over Melina, dirt covering her face as she stares at me with wide eyes. She grips a metal pipe in her hand, the end covered in that nasty black blood.

Melina looks lifeless behind her.

“Paige?” Nicole asks, her voice a weak rasp.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, falling to my knees in front of her. Knots tangle through her blond hair and her cheeks look sunken. Like she hasn’t slept or eaten in a week. “Are you—”

“Melina is,” she trails off, her voice wavering. Heavy tears fall down her cheeks as she turns to look down at the woman she’s protecting. “I don’t think she’s going to make it,” she cries.

I shake my head. “No. She’s going to be okay. We’re here to save you guys, I promise.”

I can’t stop the words as they tumble out. Promise after promise.

“The alien who took me? He’s kind. I mean, he has his flaws but his people are—”

“No!” Nicole snaps. “They are all evil. They came in here and snatched Cristina while she was sleeping. Lara and Ryan couldn’t get to her fast enough. Then they were screaming and—”

She shakes and shuts her eyes.

I grab her by the shoulders as the chaos and killing from outside lessens to a dull roar. “Look at me.”

Nicole’s eyes open and I mimic deep breathing, forcing her to calm down with me. It’s hypocritical because I feel like things are spiraling out of control and I haven’t seen Melina’s chest rise or fall once.

Maybe we were too late.

But I don’t think about that. I need to be strong for these women. I need to be strong for my friends.

“Those things that came for you just now? They are bad, not the one that took me. We came back for you all, okay? You don’t have to fear us.”

Us. Because I’m one with Varek. The fear in Nicole’s eyes shakes me to my core. I did this. I put them in more danger.

When Nicole finally nods and wipes away her tears, we both look down at Melina. She isn’t moving. She’s pale. I reach out and touch her shoulder but she feels cold.

“How long has she been like this?”

“Days,” Nicole answers.

“Come on,” I say, holding back all the anxiety pumping through me. “Let’s carry her out of here.”

I grab Melina under her arms and Nicole grabs her by the ankles. She feels like dead weight, but we work together to carry her to the door.

I lean out the door to check what’s going on. There are fewer Thachiens now—their bodies lying cracked and dead across the ground. Varek is tearing another one in half while Draxel kicks one to the ground.

“Let’s go,” I whisper.

We walk out, watching our step over the thorny vines. I stay as close to the ship as possible, praying that we don’t draw anyone’s attention. Thachiens or Varek’s.

He’ll be pissed, but I can’t help it. No one gets left behind.

Lara screams as Draxel slashes through the Thachien holding her by the hair. She scrambles to the ground and crawls away. When she sees us, she sprints in our direction.

“Lara!” I shout. So much for not drawing attention.

An anguished scream erupts from the middle of the chaos and I look over. The Thachiens are leaving. Only three of them survive as they hurry away, too far for us to catch up. But slung over one of their shoulders is Cristina.

Lara gets to us and nearly collapses, black Thachien blood caking her suit. “Paige! You’re alive?”

I nod. I can’t go into the details now. “Here, take Melina.”

I hand Melina off and sprint to Varek. Draxel approaches Ryan on the ground and kneels by her side, his chest fiery and bright.

“Varek!” I shout.

His jaw is tight as he opens his arms and captures me, crushing me to his chest. I tangle my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck that still stands on end. His nose drops to the crook of my neck and he inhales deeply. “Why don’t you ever listen to me?” He asks.

“They have Cristina,” I tell him. “We have to go after them.”

My hand slides down and Varek hisses.

“Are you hurt?” I ask. I wiggle out of his hold and step around him. Across his muscled back is a nasty gash. Three claw marks like he was slashed. “Oh my God,” I whisper. “You’re bleeding, Varek.”

“We can’t go after them,” he grunts. “They are heading into Strid territory and we have injuries.”

“But—”

Varek whirls around and captures my cheeks in his hands. “But no. Go check on your friend on the ground.”

My heart clenches as the Thachiens—and my friend—disappear from view. Those things are terrifying and evil, not like the Vruts and I shiver when I realize her chances of survival are…

Gone.

“It’s all my fault,” I murmur.

Varek shakes his head, but what does he know? None of this would have happened if I didn’t try to play the hero. If I hadn’t idiotically tried to do the right thing. What the fuck did I know about this place? Nothing.

And now Cristina would pay for my actions.

My shoulders sink as the tears brim my eyes, but Varek nudges me in the direction of Ryan. “Go. She needs you.”

I nod. Inside, I feel like my heart is cracking into a million pieces and no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to put them back together.