“I've made you immortal.”
Braxis grabbed me by the back of my neck and yanked me forward. His mouth covered mine in a brutally possessive kiss, his hand threading through my hair and his moans vibrating over my tongue. Those strong arms gently shifted me onto his lap, then wrapped around me as he plunged and withdrew, twirled and stroked, taking and teasing as we celebrated his survival. At last, he drew away and stared at me in wonder.
“You've given me eternity,” Braxis whispered.
“I have. So, don't waste it, Bleiten,” I teased.
Braxis's laugh echoed through the night.
Chapter Forty-One
Braxis got up and was about to help me to my feet when two Furies landed nearby. Before we could act, they grabbed Talon and took to the air.
“No!” I shouted and dove for the paintball gun. I shot after them, but missed. “No!” I threw the gun after them.
Braxis came up beside me to watch with me as their silhouettes shrank against the night sky. “Don't worry, my love. We'll find him.”
I groaned in frustration. “How?” I waved a hand after them. “They're not going to come back here again.”
“With this.” Braxis pulled a little black box from his pocket. He flipped open a panel to show me a small screen. On that screen, a red dot was moving.
“Is that what I think it is?” I whispered as my eyes widened.
Braxis grinned. “I knew there was a chance that the Fury would evade us again. He's cunning, but so am I. I was carrying a tracker on me when they attacked tonight. As we wrestled, I attached it to his wing, right in the curve where bone meets membrane. The tracker is too light to be felt and the bone will hide it.”
“I guess you know all about leathery wings.” I smirked.
“A little.” He grinned wider. “Now, let's get back to the others, they may need medical assistance.”
“Sweet maple syrup!” I cursed and ran for the house. I'd forgotten all about the others in the midst of Braxis's near-death and Talon's escape.
Braxis made it to the front door ahead of me—he really was amazingly fast. His boots pounded across the marble floor as I followed him through the foyer and into the living room. My friends, father, and kishanos were sprawled across the floor and furniture, bleeding and asleep. I couldn't help but go to my men and my father first. Braxis understood and helped me check on my kishanos and Landry. Once we made sure they were okay, we checked on the rest. Alex and Lily looked the worst, but I didn't think any of their wounds were life-threatening. Still, Alex's arm had a suspicious bulge; it was likely broken.
“Can we get Alex and Lily up to Mal's med-bay?” I asked Braxis.
Braxis nodded and scooped up Alex, putting him over one shoulder before grabbing Lily and putting her over the other. I gaped at him as he started for the spare room where Mal's transporter was set up. Then I hurried after them, sliding ahead so I could turn on the transporter.
“I'm not leaving you here alone, Dvarra,” Braxis said firmly when I stepped aside.
Dvarra. It had been a while since I'd heard that word. Malik used it back when we were dating—seriously dating. It was the Bleiten word for a girlfriend, but held a bit more weight than that. A dvarra or dvarro was someone you were planning to eventually mate.
“We just started dating,” I chided him. “You can't be calling me that yet.”
“Are we going to argue about this now?” He looked pointedly at my friends.
“Fine.” I stepped through the panel of light, going from Earth to Malik's ship in a second.
Braxis stepped out of the ship's transporter right after me and strode past, heading for the med-bay. I hurried after him, our footsteps muted by the alien insulation in the walls. We made it to the ship's clinic—a sterile room of shiny white equipment and glass cabinets. I watched anxiously as Braxis set Lily down on an exam table before laying Alex in the open med-mod—a pod-shaped machine that examined and then healed. Braxis operated it expertly, getting the lid shut and the machine whirring in seconds. Then he walked away.
“Where are you going?” I chased after him.
“To get the others. We can't leave them alone down there. What if the Furies return?”
“You're right.” I went with him to the boarding deck.
“You are staying here, Dvarra,” Braxis declared. “Go back to the med-bay and monitor Alex.”
“But there are nearly twenty people down there.”
