“No!” she cried, fighting against their hold, feet kicking uselessly against the ground as she was lifted bodily away. Her arms were useless against the armor-clad warrior who held her, his words lost as she watched another warrior press something to Domik’s neck and then he collapsed, face first, onto the lawn.
“Domik!” she screamed his name over and over until the press of cool metal on her neck brought darkness.
* * *
When she woke, it was to stare at khaki green canvas. She tried to speak, but just croaked.
“Here,” a familiar voice said, “drink this.”
The familiar face of Dr Amelia O’Malley swam into CJ’s vision, and she lifted her head, aided by Amelia’s hand behind her neck, and took a long pull of cool water.
“How long?” CJ croaked, lifting a bandage-clad hand to her face.
“About an hour,” Amelia said.
“When did you get here? The others?” CJ took another drink of the water, letting her head fall back to the pillow.
“Not in time to stop the Xakul attack that you saw, but we chased them off.” She grinned. “The others are fine. They all made it back to the Zataras before the EMP.”
CJ closed her eyes, letting the relief wash over her. When she opened them again, she looked past Amelia, her white coat and bright red hair in contrast to the darkness in the canvas tent.
A field hospital, then.
“The hospital?” CJ asked.
Amelia’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Destroyed in the Xakul attack.”
CJ reached out and grasped the doctor’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Amelia took a shaky breath. “I would have been in that building, but Oren wouldn’t let me out of his sight.” She looked over her shoulder to where the Taurean intelligence officer could be seen standing near the entrance to the medical tent. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.” She smiled softly, then turned back to give CJ a soft smile.
“Where’s Dom?”
Amelia lifted an eyebrow. “It’s Dom now, is it?”
CJ flushed, but held the doctor’s gaze. “Yes. Where is he?”
“He’s over there.” She gestured across to the other side of the tent.
CJ pushed up to a sitting position and swung her legs over the side of the stretcher. Her head swam, but she waved the doctor off with a dismissive hand as she braced her hands on her knees and pushed herself to standing.
She staggered between rows of stretchers with injured Space Force marines and Taurean warriors being treated for minor injuries. Domik was lying on his front on a stretcher and turned his head as she approached.
“Dom,” she said, her eyes widening at the broad expanse of his back now stripped of his shirt. The skin had been torn apart in places, blood streaking across his bronzed skin.
A nervous-looking human medic was holding a pair of forceps and, as CJ watched, reached down to grab a shard of glass with shaking hands and pull it out of Domik’s back. The medic wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and prepared to repeat the task, but stopped when Domik shifted on the stretcher.
“Clodagh,” Domik said, his voice hoarse. He reached for her hand and squeezed it before closing his eyes tightly.
“I’ll take it from here,” CJ told the medic as she placed a proprietary hand on the only undamaged part of Domik’s back she could see.
Nobody is going to touch him except me.
The medic paused, the forceps he’d been using in one hand as he looked from CJ to Amelia, who nodded. “Go on, there’s plenty more who need your help.” He shot a relieved look at CJ and put the forceps down before moving on to another patient.
CJ squatted down next to the stretched, making sure she was level with Domik’s head. “I’m going to take care of you, Dom.” She brushed his hair away from his face and he closed his eyes, tension leeching from his muscles. She dropped a kiss to his brow and stepped away to where a sink had been placed and quickly scrubbed her hands.
“Will you be ok?” Amelia asked from where she had stopped next to CJ, resting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Her blue eyes were intent as she examined CJ’s face.
