She looked at him with wide, worried eyes, but she didn’t argue. “You are braver than you know, little star. Believe that.”
She laughed softly, but the sound had a brittle edge. “You’re the brave one.”
He didn’t have a reply to that, so he drew her into his arms and kissed her until he had committed every detail of this moment to memory. When it was done, he stepped back and drew his blades.
“Hide,” he told her.
She crawled into the dark hole and vanished from sight. From somewhere in the shadows, she spoke again, her voice soft and heavy with tears. “Come back to me.”
He raised one blade in salute. “Always, little star.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away, but he felt like he’d left part of his heart behind. Something told him he was never getting it back. It would stay with her forever.
CHAPTER 10
Maddison gaveherself to the count of one hundred to feel sorry for herself. When the count ended, she was unexpectedly calm. Even more surprising, she didn’t want to stay safely tucked away until the danger passed. She wanted todosomething. But what? She couldn’t fight. Despite her reluctance to sit here and wait, she had no desire to hurt someone else, even if they were a threat. It wasn’t logical, but that didn’t change the facts.
She wasn’t a fighter. She wasn’t any kind of hero.
A small voice spoke up from the back of her mind, reminding her that Havoc had called her brave. If he believed that, maybe she should, too. He was out there, doing what needed to be done because it was the only way they’d survive the day. She couldn’t do what he did, but she should do something, even if it was something small.
An idea came to her. The part of her mind that wasalready poisoned by fear resisted, but she didn’t listen. With shaking hands, she opened her pack and rummaged around inside, feeling for the smooth handle of the stun wand.
She should have remembered she had it before and given it to Havoc. Would he have used it? Probably not. It was an unfamiliar weapon and one with limited uses. It was better than nothing, though. She pulled it free and settled it in her lap.
Just in case.
Time slowed to a painful crawl that left her with too much time to think and nothing to do. Her back ached from being hunched over, and her legs cramped from being forced into awkward positions for too long.
To ease her discomfort and give her something to do, she crawled closer to the opening and stretched out with her belly to the ground. That was a little better, and it allowed her a glimpse of the outside world. She kept far enough back to avoid being spotted if anyone came close, but the change let her view the area directly in front of the gap.
Outside, the forest looked so calm and peaceful. Sunlight dappled the ground, and a breeze rustled through the leaves, making it seem as if everything was fine. Only she knew better. Somewhere out there, Havoc was hunting the ones who were hunting them.
A branch snapped, shattering the relative calm. Maddison froze. Something was out there. Was it a harmless animal? A local predator? Or was the enemyout there right now? All she knew for certain was that it wasn’t Havoc. He moved like a shadow when he wanted to.
Her fingers tightened around the handle of the stun wand. She didn’t power it up, but holding it gave her a small measure of courage despite the nausea that came with the thought that she might have to use it.
The noise got louder as whoever or whatever was out there approached her hiding place. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be coming from her right. That was the direction Havoc had gone. Had this one slipped past him, or had something happened to him?
Maddison went through every trick she knew to calm herself, but it got more difficult over time. She was almost relieved when the armored and armed mercenary finally stepped into view. Compared with her imagination, they looked almost ordinary.
This was no monster. In fact, they looked human. Other races had similar builds, but most of them were either significantly smaller or larger than her people. This one wore a helmet, but the visor was clear, letting her see the familiar features of an adult human male.
The verexi must have fallen a long way if they were willing to hire humans… a race they considered to be little more than vermin.
The noise he made was because he wasn’t watching where he was walking. His entire focus was on the scanner he held in one hand. He moved it back and forth as he walked. Ice crawled down her spine and wrappedits chilled fingers in her guts. He had to be tracking her somehow. Nobody else was out here. Havoc was gone…
She was wrong about that.
Her lover exploded into view five seconds later. She saw only a blur of motion that slammed into the soldier’s back. She bit back a yelp of surprise, too stunned to do anything but watch as he grappled with the other man.
Havoc threw an arm around his opponent’s helmet, pulling his head back. A blade flashed, and Maddison watched in horror as Havoc drove the full length of the knife into a gap between armor and helmet.
The closed visor meant she couldn’t hear anything, but the man’s mouth opened wide in what she imagined was a scream. Then Havoc twisted the handle before pulling it out with a sideways motion that sent blood continuing into the air.
When he let go, the soldier crumpled and dropped. Havoc leaned over him, and the knife flashed again. He was making sure the man was dead.
Maddison swallowed hard, grateful they hadn’t had time to eat yet today. Tears blurred her vision, but she made herself watch as Havoc searched the body. He took the man’s firearm, the scanner, and some other things she couldn’t make out. She expected him to bring them to her and tell her to hide them in her little cave.
