Page 39 of Cheating Fate

Before I could tell him not to teleport me first, the familiar tingling followed by a falling sensation swept me away. Darkness surrounded me, then I found myself standing inside my father’s ship.

“Zhara!” Dad exclaimed, his shock reflected on every face.

Before I could make sense of him being here with Ghan and Venya, our companions started appearing in pairs as Rhadames teleported them out.

“We need your healer here at once,” I pleaded with my father, but he was already on the task.

I began healing my own injuries while waiting for Gavin to arrive. In my current state, I risked botching my work on him if I was too distracted by my own pain. The moment he had lost consciousness, his berserker aura had faded, and the burst of energy, strength, and pain dampening effect had vanished. Only now was I able to truly appreciate the blessing his power had bestowed upon us.

At long last, a Braxian appeared with Gavin. Ignoring the collective gasp of horror from my father and his crew, I rushed to my mate’s side. When I reached for him, my knees nearly collapsed and sheer terror ripped my heart to shreds.

Gavin was dead, and his soul had been left behind.

Chapter 9

Zharina

My two brothers appeared on the bridge at the same time I released a heart wrenching scream. Startled, they looked at me with a panicked expression.

“Rhad, take me back! We have to go back!” I shouted.

“What?! The base is blowing up!” he exclaimed, flabbergasted.

“Gavin died. His soul is trapped over there. I have to bring him back. Please!” I pleaded, grabbing his arm with both hands.

“Fuck!” Rhad hissed.

Despite the fear in his eyes, he slapped his hand over mine, and the world vanished before us, only for us to reappear in the deepest pit of Gharah’s lair. We never had a chance of avoiding the plasma-infused rock fragment flying in our direction. We materialized directly in its path. It embedded itself in my brother’s chest. For a split second, I thought it had stabbed him directly in the heart, but it punctured his lung instead.

He doubled over, blood shooting out of his mouth.

“Rhad!” I shouted.

“Catch him! There’s no time!” he replied, his voice wet with blood.

I glanced ahead, and in the nightmarish firework of explosions, flames, and collapsing debris, the most beautiful light beckoned me. I threw my hand towards it, calling it to me. It dashed forward, unable to resist my will. I closed my fist, and the luminescent coil of Gavin’s soul wrapped around it.

“ZHARA!” Rhadames screamed when a violent explosion had the entire floor before us collapsing.

The vacuum of space immediately started sucking everything out.

“GO!” I shouted back.

I couldn’t tell whether he heard me or not as he whisked us away at the same time I spoke that word. We appeared on the bridge only to see people gathering around Vahl with terrified expressions. He had fallen to one knee, clasping his chest, his face constricted with pain.

I realized then that, through the Geminate bond, he had felt Rhad’s wound and everyone else believed he might have perished.

“Zhara! Rhad!” our father exclaimed when he saw us.

He jumped to his feet and caught Rhadames just as he was crumpling to the floor. Only then did I realize that two more plasma shards had embedded themselves in his body and we’re burning him from within.

“No!” I breathed out, kneeling next to him.

“Leave him,” Vahl ordered, his voice strained as he half-crawled to our sibling’s side. “Go tend to your mate in the medbay. We’ll take care of Rhad.”

Without waiting for my response, he gestured for Lenora to approach. She rushed to him and slapped her palms on Rhadames’ leg. The burning rock fragments instantly started coming out of the wounds.

“Give me your pain, my Gem,” Vahl tenderly said to Rhad while slipping an arm behind him and pressing his hand over the puncture wound in his chest.