A rumble starts in Jorusk’s chest.
Sidius backhands Rykarn in the nuts. “Focus, dipshit.”
Rykarn wheezes, then chuckles darkly as he straightens. “Yes, boss.”
“Fuck.” Sidius curses quietly in annoyance.
Rykarn hums a note of interest. “Later.”
The horrified look Sidius gives him tells me they haven’t been working together very long. “Your team is…disorderly, Jorusk.I would not mark them on my skin if they were lost in battle. Perhaps, Osiris. The others…”
“Ouch?” Rykarn gnashes his pointy teeth. “More, please.”
“Don’t mind Rykarn,” Vryskas says from behind us. “He’s just a twisted little egomaniac with sadistic tendencies who, deep down, wants to be a sub to a dominatrix twice his age. And I meanlittle.”
When the two start to bicker, Jorusk stops, releases me, and grabs the two of them by the chest of their armor. He breathes trails of embers as his eyes brighten with angry red light. He spares each of them a glance, then shakes them free of his grip.
They mutter quietly as they follow us the rest of the way through the males’ dorms and to their hangars.
“Unbelievable,” Sidius sighs. He taps his ear com. “Osiris, Sidius. Open the ramp. We’re on approach.”
Ahead of us, the ramp of a dark red Drathious StarEmber lowers to the floor.
A kind-faced Drathious with lighter red skin and a medical badge on his chest smiles at me. His black hair is short like Sidius’ but doesn’t spike up in the front quite the way Jorusk’s does. “Hello, Brynna. Thanks again for what you’re doing for us, and for staying with Jorusk after that battle in the Mingle hall. It’s already all over the news.”
As we hike up the ramp into the ship, I notice a screen on the wall, showing replays of the fight, and me leading Jorusk out of the room.Any of my work contacts who don’t like Drathious will likely back out now.But I remind myself that I have Ohni’s offer after the race. That could be a lucrative option if Jorusk and I work out.
Sidius and Osiris help Jorusk onto one of the medical beds in a room of the ship. Jorusk won’t lie back. He snorts at Sidius and glances at me.
“It’s going to hurt.” Osiris warns.
Jorusk shakes his head, then nods like he doesn’t want to do it but knows he has to.
Osiris grabs a large device with levers and hands one side of it to Sidius. I brace myself on the foot of the bed, ready to help if they need it, while Vryskas and Rykarn just sit and watch from the other beds.
“Store the pain, brother,” Vryskas says.
“Pain is fuel when we have nothing left,” Rykarn adds, a more solemn tone to his voice.
Sidius counts down. “Three… Two…”
Jorusk takes a deep breath.
Osiris and Sidius pry the chest plate off of Jorusk. He grunts a cloud of embers and shudders as he pants. As they move to set the device aside, I notice a similar plate on each of their chests.
Spark arrestors must be required for them to be here.A piece of me views the protective measure like it’s a crime. As I get a better look at Jorusk’s vibrant chest, the blood-orange light that pulses from his core, crawling outward in crags, I suddenly hate the arrestor. With it gone, I can see the relief in his eyes.
Osiris and Sidius slip under his arms and hold him up as he catches his breath, and the worst wounds stop dripping.
Without warning, Jorusk blacks out.
Osiris swears as he and Sidius lay him back.
“Is that normal?” I ask.
“No. Not for him.” Rykarn is back on his feet, digging through the cabinets. “Jorusk has a different Inferno than the rest of us. He’s from another Drath world. DIA can explain it better. But maybe he just overloaded himself, and we took the plate off too fast?”
“What does that mean?” I ask. I’m desperate to help. He protected me. I want to preserve that kind of bond as long as I can.
