Chapter Forty-One
The other men on our cruiser stared at me and then at Braxis in shock. Braxis ignored them. He took me to the back of the craft, past the final row of men, and buckled me into a seat. Then he opened a panel in the wall and removed a wide strap. Braxis wrapped the strap around my chest, pinning my arms down, and fastened it behind the chair.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You thought that I was going to leave you on the cruiser without restraining you?” Braxis lifted an auburn brow. “I'm not a stupid man, Amara.”
I just grimaced at him. There went my plan. I may have some of Malik's strength through his mark but I didn't think it was enough to burst through a leather strap like the Incredible Hulk. Or a Bleiten warrior.
Braxis chuckled, went to the front of the cruiser, and settled into the pilot's seat. Cruisers are smaller spacecraft that are used to travel to and from planets. Malik's personal spacecraft wasn't battleship sized, but it was still large enough to carry six cruisers and four speeders—the sleeker, smaller, and faster craft used for space battles. Only four of the cruisers were being used so—going by the number of men on our cruiser—Braxis was bringing forty men with him. That wasn't even a quarter of the men he had available and yet he left two cruisers behind. Which meant that he was expecting to have the upper hand. And he would. When the Triari saw that the approaching cruisers were Bleiten, they'd likely assume it was a peaceful visit. They'd be taken completely unaware.
When everyone was aboard our cruiser and the door sealed, Braxis started the engine. With so many men between us, I couldn't see more than the top of Braxis' head, but I heard the tapping of buttons and our vessel soon rose smoothly from the deck. Voices came through a speaker—the other pilots reporting that they were ready for takeoff as well. Lights flashed and a siren sounded outside our cruiser. It was a warning for anyone in the docking bay to exit quickly; they were about to open the bay doors and everything not bolted to the floor would be sucked out. A few minutes later, the far end of the docking bay slid open, the panels parting to reveal star-spotted space. Braxis pushed forward on the yoke and we sped out into the darkness.
We zipped down to the planet, the darkness lightening as we went. Our cruiser hit the atmosphere of Agranen and slid through, emerging into a blue sky. I couldn't see much past the massive shoulders before me but I knew that Agranen was a lush, water-rich planet similar to Earth. The Ungaru, although repellent in their blood-leeching lifestyles, were an advanced race, and their planet was covered in shining cities that stretched toward the sky. I hoped to be visiting one of those cities very soon. Braxis may have tied me up, but he didn't know I had my magic back. I'd wait for an opportunity and strike.
“Closing in,” Braxis said as he pushed a button on the control panel.
“The outpost looks quiet, Chief,” a man's voice came through the speaker. “They haven't hailed us yet.”
“Attack,” Braxis said without emotion.
I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out. Braxis knew he was destroying a truce that had saved his people from a bloody war that had lasted millennia. And still, he did it. Why? Because of honor. He was doing a horrible thing for a good reason and that somehow made it even worse.
Suddenly, a light began flashing on the control panel and something beeped. Braxis' shoulders tensed—everyone's did. Something bright whizzed by the windshield. Shouting came through the speaker, then crackling nothingness. An explosion resounded, casting a glow on our right.
“Retreat!” Braxis shouted as he slapped the control panel. “We've been betrayed! Retreat!”
Braxis pulled up on the yoke and turned us around. Another cruiser came into view beyond the windshield. Fire burst around it as it was hit. The craft plummeted as Braxis growled in fury. Then a missile hit the side of our cruiser with a deafening boom. Flame erupted before my face and shrapnel exploded. The sound of men screamed in agony remained hollow for a second as my eardrums healed. Metal shards slashed into my shoulders, chest, arms, and face but the fire managed to miss me. The strap Braxis had secured me with fell away, likely cut by flying debris, but my seatbelt was a stronger harness and held. Wind blasted my hair into my face and pain stole my voice.
A siren blared. Bodies bashed around the cabin. Blood hit my face in a warm gush. Braxis snarled and fought for control of the cruiser. Through the tear in the hull, past a veil of hair and blood, I saw the ground approach. Fast. We hit a forest canopy. Tree branches stabbed through the opening but were quickly sliced away by our descent. Leaves whipped my face. I reached out a hand and braced myself against the wall beside me. We came to a teeth-jarring stop. The ship creaked and groaned but managed to hold together.
The quiet that followed that chaos was eerie. I could hear my harsh breath, the creaking of metal, and a steady dripping but nothing else. I shoved my hair out of my face and wiped Bleiten blood from my eyes.
“Everlasting emerald,” I whispered in horror.
Bleiten warriors lay limp in their seats or crumpled against the walls—fewer warriors than we'd started with. The missile had taken out a good chunk of the middle of the cruiser and several seats. The nose and rear had survived—lucky for me—and there had been enough of the middle left to hold them together.
I groaned as the last of my wounds were healed—a broken arm that I hadn't even noticed until it snapped back together. My immortality kept me from going into shock but I was still mentally stunned and that had kept most of my pain at bay. I unbuckled my harness and had to catch myself on a Bleiten shoulder to keep from falling. The man's head shifted with my grip and his dead eyes stared at me.
I stifled a scream and lurched back, hitting the wall and falling on top of another body. I scrambled back up and worked my way around and across the corpses. They were all dead. If not for the elixir, I might have been too. A horrible feeling rocketed through me as I set my stare on the pilot's seat. Braxis hung limp in his harness, one arm brushing the floor. Blood dripped down that arm to pool beneath his hand. He didn't so much as twitch.
I swallowed roughly. My enemy was dead; I should be ecstatic. All I had to do was walk out of the cruiser and head to the Triari outpost for help. Then again, the visuals of me emerging from a Bleiten ship covered in blood would not play in my favor. I might do better to avoid the Triari entirely and head for an Ungaru city as planned. Still, I was free, I should be thrilled. But instead, I felt sick and had a horrible urge to cry.
I tried not to look at Braxis as I headed toward the tear in the hull.
“Amara,” a breathless whisper stopped me.
“Braxis?” I spun around and hurried over to him, relief bursting in my chest like a popped boil—it felt good but also disgusted me. I shouldn't feel this way. And I should be running away from him, not toward him.
The man seated beside Braxis had been decapitated by a tree that had come through the windshield. Its trunk had missed Braxis but one of the branches had impaled his belly. Not his side but his stomach, right in the center. It was a killing wound and a horrible way to die. Even now, the acids of his stomach were likely burning through him.
But Braxis didn't convey the pain he had to be feeling. He looked down at the branch, assessed the situation, and then refocused on me. “Take my blaster, sweetheart. Run. Don't let the Triari catch you here. They'll think you've—” he coughed and blood spurted from his lips.
“Ah, fuck,” I whispered furiously. “I can't believe I'm about to do this.”
Braxis frowned at me as I unbuckled him. “What are you doing?”
“You're going to have to help me here, big guy,” I said gently. “I just need to get you on the floor and get this branch out of you.”
