His Instinct prowled within him at that thought, but Devix knew it was for the best.Sheshouldn’ttrust him.He was nothing more than scum.He didn’t deserve her.
Finally, he heard a slight change in her breathing pattern.Her heart beat calmed and Devix knew that she slept.
Unable to resist, he glanced over at her, lying on the sleeping platform, huddled in her dirty cloak, her gold hair fanning out around her head.
The pain of loss hit him hard.He wanted to bellow to the ceiling, wanted to rage at the Fates for toying with him so cruelly.They had truly abandoned him if they tormented him like this.
The pain was unconceivable.
And Devix knew that he was in for the longest night of his entire life span.
FOUR
“This is your spaceship?” Cara asked, her voice rising slightly in awe.
The towering alien behind her just ushered her along quickly, forcing her to approach the massive hunk of metal.There were larger ships in the docking bay—or wherever they were.But the majority were smaller, none of them even coming close to the size of this beast.
She must’ve been glancing at the smaller ships for a little too long because the surly alien next to her, who’d acted like a foul asshole all morning, grunted, “Do not try it, female.”
Cara blew out a short breath.Even if she did try slipping from his grip and stealing aboard a vessel, she wouldn’t get far.She knew nothing about their technology, had not even flown so much as a kite in her life.And even if she did somehow manage to pilot a ship?She would have no idea where she would go and would probably starve and get captured once again before she ever even made it out of thegalaxy.
Fighting annoyance, she glanced back to his ship.It was a gleaming gunmetal gray and Cara couldn’t help but admire its lines.She’d often done that with her dad’s motorcycles.She’d stare for hours.And now, she was getting caught up in those same feelings.
Cara’s hood blocked some of her vision.The alien had insisted that she put it up that morning as they strode down the quiet streets of the colony in the early hours.The sunlight had been blocked by a heavy red cloud cover, casting the colony in bleakness.She almost felt sorry for the inhabitants that lived there.Almost.
The alien hit a button on the metal strap around his forearm and silently, a silver ramp edged towards the ground from the ship.The docking bay was deserted, thankfully, so no one was around to witness them stride inside the ship and seal it closed again.
The sudden hush and coolness that drifted past her cloak felt heavenly.After being in the humidity on this colony, and the heat on the Pit, and the damp muskiness of her cage, the inside of the ship felt like a breath of fresh, pure air.Cara longed to feel it on her face so she shook off her hood and closed her eyes.She was shocked when she felt a small smile cross her lips.It had been so long since she’d smiled.Guess it only took an agreeable temperature to make her happy…
When she opened her eyes, the alien was staring at her.Her breath hitched.The intensity in his gaze made her heart beat increase but she didn’t know if it was out of fear or something else entirely.
He jerked his head to the side, like he was forcing himself to look away, and then strode down a brightly lit hallway, the sides brushed with a matte black metal.
Cara followed after a moment’s hesitation, their footsteps the only sound between them.Cara’s feet were still bare and she didn’t want to think about everything she’d stepped in while on the colony.
The hallway led to an…elevator.A glass tube elevator that, when activated, shot them up two levels to the very top of the ship.Through the glass, she could see a small control room, not like anything she’d expect to pilot a ship that size.Then again, what did she know about alien technology?
There was a single panel that stretched the entire length of the room, full of buttons and tiny screens that reflected words in a language she couldn’t even hope to understand.A single steel chair was raised in front of it.It was scuffed from extensive use, the ends of the armrests worn.Along the other walls of the room, large machines whirred and flashed and beeped, but her alien captor paid them no mind as he stepped towards the controls.
He tapped a series a buttons and she heard a sound deep within the ship.Bright lights flickered on, making her squint, but she watched in amazement as what she’d assumed was a wall in front of the control panel began to lower, revealing the docking bay below.
Cara peered down and she realized they were a lot higher up than she’d originally assumed.Carefully, she watched his fingers flit over the buttons and screens, perhaps trying to catalogue and memorize his actions just in case.
He let out another huff from his nostrils when he saw her watching a little too raptly.She swore he waslaughingat her behind those blue eyes when they connected with her own.He quirked his sparse brow, like he wasdaringher.That arrogance infuriated her but it didn’t stop her from tracking his movements.Infuriated and…excited her?No.That couldn’t be.
She ignored her treacherous body and focused.He must truly think that she wouldn’t be able to recreate his actions or else he wouldn’t have let her watch.But she had a good memory.She just might surprise him.And by the time he finally figured that out, hopefully she would be long gone.
Every time she had the chance, she would study this, studyhim.
Cara let out a gasp when the ship suddenly lurched forward, hovering above the ground, the cables that had been fueling it disconnecting all at once.The ship tilted and they began to move, slowly and steadily nearing a thick wall.Cara’s eyes widened, casting a nervous look at the alien, but before she could ask him what the hell he was doing, the wall peeled back.
To reveal space.
Space…with stars that didn’t twinkle like they did when their light filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.Terrifyingly beautiful space.Just inky blackness and stars.
Cara’s lips were parted as she stared.She’d never seen the view in front of her before, despite traveling to that colony from the Pit.The Baquarian had kept her locked away below.Always in darkness.
Buthewas letting her see it.
