Sensing the weight of my gaze on him, he turns his head for a second and catches me openly checking him out. The corner of his mouth curls slightly, and he shoots me a teasing look.
But Anatoli points toward a spot down below, and Prax turns away from me.
“?? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ????????. ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? !” Anatoli says loudly, calling out to Constantin.
“???????? ???!” the other man replies, nodding.
I’m not particularly surprised. On Mars, English is the official language, but everyone still speaks their native tongue. My brother and I speak French, and Esteban prefers Spanish. So I figure these two are cracking a joke at our expense, especially when a wide grin appears on Constantin’s face.
“C???!” Anatoli suddenly shouts.
Everything explodes into chaos.
I see Prax whip around, his eyes instantly locking on mine with a flash of concern. At that exact moment, Anatoli slams both hands into Prax’s back, shoving him hard.
My beautiful Sadjim is caught completely off guard. He flails, trying to regain his balance—but it’s no use. With a deep, guttural roar, he tumbles backward off the cliffside.
“Prax!” I scream, bolting toward the edge.
I drop to my knees, crawling forward until I’m right at the rim of the abyss, staring down. The drop is dizzying. I can only see the very tops of the pine trees far below. Prax’s roar fades away.
And then—nothing.
No more movement.
No more sound.
I realize that after a fall like that, there’s only one possible outcome.
He’s dead.
Frantically, I scan the cliff wall, hoping—praying—that maybe, somehow, he managed to grab onto something. But there's nothing. No movement. No sign of him clinging to the rock face.
I grip the frozen, reddish stone so tightly that my knuckles ache. Every inch of me trembles as my brain tries to process what just happened. Everything had been fine—calm. We were relaxed. And then Anatoli pushed Prax into the void.
In disbelief, I turn slowly toward the two men who brought us here. At their feet lies Hans, motionless.
I don’t know if he’s dead or just unconscious.
Half-numb from the shock, my heart shredded into pieces, I don’t react when Anatoli steps toward me. For a second, I think he’s going to shove me off the edge just like he did to Prax.
But he proves me wrong.
“Don’t worry, Neela,” he says, crouching down beside me. “We’re not going to kill you. We’re taking you to Do-yun. And I’m pretty sure he’s got big plans for you.”
Before I can even try to get back on my feet, he strikes me hard at the temple.
Everything goes black in an instant.
And I don’t fight it.
What’s the point?
Nothing makes sense anymore…
21-Prax
My senses are tingling—someone’s watching me. I tear my eyes away from the jaw-dropping view just long enough to catch her staring. No surprise there. My Human’s gaze is practically dripping with appreciation.
