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Brutus growled and positioned himself in front of Dallin.

She petted his head. “You’re such a good baby.” Sloane stepped out of the mine. The smoke was lighter outside, and she was glad of the fresh air.

There were no signs of life. The Siblet had cleared out as quickly as they could.

She returned to Dallin and led him outside. “I have an idea.”

He simply nodded.

“Try riding Brutus again. It’s not far to my ship. I landed by you.”

“You should ride him. Save yourself.”

Sloane pressed a finger to his lips. “No one gets left behind. You need to ride my grimlin. And you need to stop thinking I’m more important than you. We go together, or we don’t go at all. Although I really don’t want to die on this gray little planet surrounded by the bodies of our enemy.”

“You’re not dying.”

“Then you’re riding Brutus.”

He opened his mouth as if to protest, then sighed. “Fine. But I need to stop my leg from hitting the ground.”

Sloane grinned. “Brutus, Dallin will ride you side saddle. He’s heavy, so don’t hurry.”

Brutus eyed Dallin, not looking happy at having to carry such a weight.

She knelt in front of him and kissed his head. “You can do this. I know you can.”

Brutus shot a dark look at Dallin, then hunched forward.

“Okay, climb on.” Sloane helped Dallin onto Brutus’s back, making sure his injured leg didn’t touch the ground as he perched on one hip. “You need to hold around his neck, or he won’t move.”

Dallin slumped over Brutus, grunting in discomfort. “I’m squashing him.”

“No, this will work.” It had to. Sloane was running on fumes and sick to her stomach, but couldn’t take a break yet. Soon, she would rest soon. “Let’s go.”

She watched Dallin to make sure he wasn’t at risk of slipping, then spent the journey scanning for signs of trouble from the Siblet. Other than a few faint rumbles from inside the mine, she saw and heard nothing.

Hope fluttered inside her as they got near the shuttle. They were so close to getting out of here.

“We should use my ship,” Dallin said. “I have all the equipment on there.”

“Good thinking. You get inside, and I’ll hook my ship to yours.”

Dallin deactivated the cloaking on his ship and rolled off Brutus. He lay on the ground, his eyes glazed as he stared at the sky.

Sloane dropped to her knees and kissed his lips. “Keep fighting. We’ve almost got this. Do you need me to carry you, sugar?”

He groaned and rolled over, dragging himself up the docking ramp, assisted by Brutus.

Sloane tethered the ships and then dashed onto Dallin’s ship. She almost wept with relief as the docking ramp closed behind her. They were safe.

She stayed on her hands and knees, getting her breath back and ignoring her churning stomach as the poison tried to claim her.

Dallin was also slumped on the floor, his breathing shallow.

Sloane stumbled to her feet. “Let’s get you more comfortable, and then we can get to work on the antidote.” After several failed attempts, she got Dallin up and helped get him to a seat in the cockpit.

“Thanks,” he mumbled. “I wouldn’t have made it off this planet if you hadn’t followed me.”

“Do you see now how important it is to keep your partner informed?” She crossed her arms over her chest, but a smile played on her lips. Being on this ship with Dallin made her feel so much better.

“I do. And I won’t mess up again.”

Sloane chuckled. “Oh, you will. But I’ll be there to make sure you don’t make it too epic.”

She turned and her eyes widened as she stared out the front window of the cockpit. In front of the ship were a dozen armed Siblet.