Brevan didn't wait for me to respond. He swept me up—one arm under my knees, the other behind my back—and ran.
The guards were screaming behind us, trapped on the other side of the ravine. They'd find another way around. Twenty minutes if we were lucky. Less if they were smart.
“I can run,” I said against his shoulder.
“Not barefoot on this terrain.” His voice was calm. Matter-of-fact. “And we need speed.”
He was right. My feet were already cut from the bridge. The ground ahead was all sharp rocks and thorns. I'd only slow us down.
So I held on.
He ran like I weighed nothing. Vinduthi strength. Inhuman speed. The landscape blurred past us—rocks, ravines, scattered vegetation. His breathing stayed even. His grip stayed secure.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Away from their search grid. They'll establish a perimeter. We need to be outside it before it forms.”
Flinx’s claws dug into my shoulder, his weight a familiar, steady anchor as we moved. His eyes were dim, conserving power after his battle with the villa's systems.
he warned.
“Down,” Brevan said.
He dropped into a cluster of boulders, pressing us both into shadow. A patrol craft roared overhead, searchlights sweeping. The lights passed over our hiding spot. Missed us by meters.
The craft continued on.
“They're not searching efficiently yet,” Brevan said. “Still reacting. Once they organize, this gets harder.”
“Can you keep carrying me?”
He looked down at me, something almost amused in his red eyes. “I could carry you for days. The question is whether we can avoid detection while I do.”
He started running again. This time staying lower, using the terrain for cover. We moved through a maze of rock formations, natural passages barely wide enough for his shoulders.
Ten minutes. Fifteen. The voices of ground patrols echoed in the distance, but fading.
Then Flinx tensed.
Brevan froze. “What kind?”
“The stream,” I said, remembering the sound of water I'd heard earlier. “Water masks thermal signatures.”
Brevan turned toward the sound. The stream ran through a shallow gorge. Without hesitation, he waded in, still carrying me. The water was ice cold, soaking us both immediately.
He moved upstream, staying in the water. The current fought against him but he pushed through like it was nothing.
Flinx reported.
We stayed in the stream another five minutes before Brevan finally climbed out on the opposite bank. We were both soaked, freezing, but undetected.
“You're shivering,” he said.
“So are you.”
“I run hotter than humans. I'll be fine.” He looked around, evaluating. “We need shelter. You need warmth.”
