She tried not to faint.
They managed to make it to the stairs, and from there she had to work up the strength to bear down on her feet and use the wall while Pigeon kept her upright. By the time they made it to the bottom, they were both sagging. Alexa peered down the long hallway ahead of them and the hatch at the other end.
They were never going to make it.
But it wasn’t about her anymore, it was about Pigeon’s safety too. Hysterian might have told her he’d never harm her, but he never said such words to any of the other crew… Not that she knew of.
Hobbling along the wall, she and Pigeon made it to the armory, the menagerie. She looked into her work space for the last time as they drifted by. Her eyes landed on the male locust curled up sleeping in his enclosure on the other side. Alexa turned away. They made it to the hatch.
Pigeon set her against the wall, and she slid down as he moved the panel to type in the ship’s security code. She tried to catch her breath.
We’re going to make it.Hope and fear, and another dose of misery, filled her.
The hatch opened.
Hysterian was on the other side.
“Captain...” Pigeon said, straightening.
Alexa’s eyes fell on the Cyborg blocking their path. Tall and decked, with his white hair once again perfectly held away from his face—she didn’t need to see his mouth to know he wasn’t happy.
“What’s going on here?” Hysterian said cooly. “What in the ever-living hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I was taking— That is— Alexa needed some air—”
“We’re leaving,” she whispered. She wasn’t going to let Pigeon take the fall. This wasn’t his battle. It was much too late for lies.
The next thing she knew, she was in Hysterian’s arms, and he was carrying her back into the ship. “Like fucking hell you are.”
“Captain!” Pigeon chased after them. “Please.”
Alexa wrenched her eyes closed when Hysterian spun to face him. Sweat poured from her brow.
“You’re fired, Pigeon. Get off my ship.”
“But—”
“Now!” Hysterian roared. Teal light burst forth. “Unless you want to spend the next few months in the brig!”
Alexa gripped him weakly. “You hurt him, and I’ll never forgive you,” she gasped, catching his glowing eyes. She held them through the pain.
Something in his gaze shifted. Frustration?
“Get out of my sight,” he warned Pigeon though he stared at her while he said it. Hysterian swiveled and took her back to medical. He laid her back down on the pallet, and the machine hooked her up. Tears rushed from her eyes, knowing what was about to happen.
She caught sight of Pigeon in the doorway, watching on in horror.
“Why the fuck were you trying to leave?” Hysterian demanded, pulling off her boots. There was a heavy thud when they hit the floor. “What’s possessed you? You need to rest. Do you know how close you came to dying?”
“Hysterian,” she tried to stop him.
“I’m this close, Alexa, this close”—he put his fingers together—“to ripping off every head on Libra, and you’re trying to take a fucking stroll?”
“Stop—”
He leaned over her as the needles slipped back into her arms. Her chest constricted.
“You can’t die,” Hysterian said. “I won’t allow it. If I have to rip my skin off and give it to you for that to happen, I will.”
