They hurry off into the forest.
“As for you,human.” His hand squeezes harder. “The only reason I am not going to kill you is because they want you, too.”
“How did you escape Earth?” I wheeze.
His gray cheek twitches as his red eye dissects me. “I had help.”
The trees rustle. A lone Myndrous limps back to us and falls to the edge of the river, motionless.
The monster that holds me squints into the shadows. I strain to look.
“Put her down,” a voice growls.
Zorin?
My vision is blurring from the lack of oxygen.
The Myndrous throws me back. I splash into the water. A painful wave smashes through me as the heartless river rocks greet my body.
All I see are gold eyes and a smoky haze bash into the Myndrous, sending him back through a portal. The Shifter snatches an item off a downed soldier, twists it, and casually flings it inside the portal. Then he turns to me and kneels to me in the water.
“Tessi…”
His face is dirty and covered in splits from taking hits. But his eyes are not silver blue, they are pale gold. His hair is black, not brindle blue-gray like Zorin’s.
My vest squirms as he picks me up.
“Someone’s pup…” I wheeze. “Lost.”
Azrim draws me close, so close. His hot breath passes over my face as my body rises into the air. His swaying steps rock me into a state of slipping consciousness.
“I’ve got you.”
32: Azrim
Radar barks from the riverbank. He found me and would not let me pass. It took me a moment to regard him with any legitimate concern.
The ground shuddered, and I felt Zorin’s vibrations. His pulses were made with desperation and fear, not anger. He’s in trouble.
When Radar stopped and his ears twitched, then he whined, looking toward the riverbank, I paid attention. The fizzling sound of portals opening made me realize there was another concern. I just didn’t expect to find my brother’s mate in a battle for her life.
Tessi fought hard, harder than Jezza ever even tried. Jezza didn’t believe in violence. It’s clear that Tessi is not afraid of it. Something about her resonates deep in my bones as she stabs her attacker with her voltspear, another with her blade, then throws a one-pulse at the next.
It takes me longer than I want to shred the group that arrived and make my way back to her. By the time I do, she’s suffocating in the leader’s grasp.
But oh, it feels good to release some pent up rage when my body greets the Myndrous with ruthless force. I drew in the light of the forest and threw in an extrafracturefor good measure. The grenade was just for fun.
Tessi is half frozen, soaked, bruised, and carrying a pup inside her armor. I keep her against me as I hike us out of the water. The portal explodes behind us and shuts down the rest of them.
Ears poke out of her vest as the pup squirms and looks up at me. When he does, he grows frantic.
“Easy.” I stop to nip at him and tell him to get back inside until I see his face with Jezza’s beautiful blue eyes looking up at me. His familiar scent curls up in my lungs.
My knees give out.
I clutch them tightly and nuzzle Rhysan’s face as tears blur my vision. Tessi saved the most important life to me in the entire universe. Looking at her sleeping face, knowing she risked everything to save him, rips open the shell around my heart.
“Rhysan…”
