As the cheers swelled around him, Cael closed the distance between them in three long strides. He swept Midori into his embrace, pressing his lips against hers as wave after wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm him. She was here. She was safe.
Cael pulled back slightly, cradling Midori's face in his hands as he drank in her radiant features. Her eyes shone with tears of joy, her full lips curved in a beatific smile. All that mattered was she was his and he was hers, for as long as their hearts would beat.
TWENTY-THREE
Pugly's stomach rumbled as he watched Zana tend to the fire, prepping it for their evening meal. His ears twitched at every crackle of the burning wood. Days had passed since he bid Midori and Cael farewell on their mission to infiltrate the slave compound and free the enslaved Zebran females.
The ineffable one's brilliant smile replayed in his mind. How he missed basking in her radiant presence and earning her adoring pets. He'd even come to miss Cael's exasperated huffs, eye rolls, and grumpy stares. An uneasy guilt gnawed at Pugly for not accompanying them.
When the Zebrans returned from the battle without them, Pugly had been inconsolable. In fact, this was the first day he'd awoken without nightmares and weeping. One of the Zebran warriors confessed to leaving them behind. Thoughts of the traitor made Pugly's hair stand on end. He'd wanted to stomp the man to a bloody pulp or gore him to bits with his tusks. Instead, Zephryn merely cast the man from the tribe, forbidding him to return. A far too lenient punishment, in Pugly's opinion.
When Zephryn and the warriors later returned to the compound to free his mistress, they learned the horrible news—Cael and Midori had left Equus. Pugly didn't even know where they were. They were up there, somewhere among the stars. Did they even realize they had left without him? Did they remember him at all?
Pugly sniffed, and a fat tear rolled down his shaggy snout.
"There, there, Pugly," Zana said, patting his head. "It will be all right. Don't lose faith."
Zana had been a great comfort and his constant companion since the beauteous one left him behind. He couldn't imagine how hard these days would have been without her caring for him.
"Don't cry," she said. "Your friends are resourceful and faithful. They will find their way back to you. I know it."
Pugly whimpered, unconvinced. Zana smiled kindly, sinking her fingers into his fur and reassuringly stroking him as she resumed poking the fire. For now, all he could do was wait and hope she spoke the truth. He would make it up to Midori and Cael when they returned, vowing to be braver next time, a better protector. Whenever that would be.
Pugly's ears perked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. His snout twitched, recognizing the familiar scent—Zephryn returning from scouting the area. The large Zebran man's black-and-white striped face was grim as he entered the camp causing Pugly's stomach to knot with dread.
"Father, what news?" Zana asked, rising to greet him.
Zephryn sighed, removing his pack and weapons. "Another tribe attacked the slavers' compound last night."
Gossip of the slave compound had become a daily occurrence. Contrary to the tribe's hopes after rescuing the women, the slavers had not given up their ways. Instead, they doubled down on their efforts. More and more slaves were brought in from other worlds, and other Zebran tribes were also facing raids stealing their women away. Pugly had overheardZephryn and the tribespeople debating moving farther into the jungle and away from the city.
"What happened?" Zana pressed, her brow furrowed with concern.
"The entire compound lies in ruins," Zephryn stated grimly. "A neighboring Zebran tribe attacked, released all the prisoners, and burnt the compound to the ground."
"That's good news, isn't it?"
Zana's fingers stopped moving through Pugly's fur, and he lifted his head.
Zephryn nodded. "It is. It is. But something troubles me. There have been rumors of a human female working with the tribe."
Pugly stopped breathing.Could it be true?
"I do not think it is Midori, friend. The description is of a smaller human, her skin not nearly as dark as your mistress's. But, perhaps they knew each other. Maybe she knows where to find the Earthan woman and her Zyranthian mate."
Pugly's heart thundered in his chest. Could it be possible? It was a longshot, but if they could find this woman, perhaps she might know something leading back to the illustrious one.
"I will let you know if I hear more." Zephryn scratched the pig dog's head and gave him a sad smile before returning to his hut.
Pugly paced restlessly, his hooves leaving imprints in the soft earth. The valley stretched out before him, serene yet impossibly vast without Midori's presence to fill it. How many sunsets had he witnessed alone, wondering if she would ever return as promised?
A faint whir of engines in the distance made Pugly's ears perk up. The sound was foreign here at the edge of the jungle. Pugly froze, his snout twitching as he scanned the horizon. A glint of reflected sunlight caught his eye—a metallic speck growinglarger by the second. His heart raced with hope, trepidation, and fear.
The object resolved into an unmistakable green spacecraft descending toward the valley floor. Pugly's mouth fell open, gaping in disbelief as the ship's engines flared, slowing its descent. It hovered above the clearing before touching down, sending up a billowing cloud of dust.
Pugly squinted against the particulate storm, straining to make out any sign of movement. There—the ship's ramp was extending downward, a silhouetted figure emerging into the dusty haze. His breath caught in his throat as the swirling debris parted, revealing a very familiar face.
"Pugly!" Midori called out, waving to him with her free hand.
