“Calia?” Jane placed a gentle, steadying hand on the Kinsian’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She seemed to snap back to herself at my mate’s touch and blinked her large round eyes. “Yes, it’s just…” Pushing the door on its hinges, it swung open to reveal a stone passageway. “Be careful.”
I nodded to our attendant. Truly, thankful for her and her mate’s help. “We will.”
“Good.” Her smile was small but genuine. “Lorn and I shall meet you when you’ve completed your task.”
Jane whispered a final “thank you” to Calia as we stepped into the tunnel. The door closed with a creak behind us. “So, this is different.”
I ducked my head to avoid injury as the passage rose to my height or lower in several spots. “It is at that, my mate.”
We walked side-by-side with little space between us. The tunnel continued to narrow, until we had to shift to a single line. Jane led the way, and I watched our backs. But soon a light flickered not far from us, revealing the end of this stone nightmare. By the time we reached it, I had hunched over almost in half.
“Phew,” Jane straightened and stretched as we emerged. “That was not fun.”
I hummed my agreement as I scanned our new environment. The scenery was…odd. It gave the appearance of open space, as if we were in a jungle on some unknown planet. Yet, this had to be a room like the others. A scarlet mountain range indicated a distant border, but the remainder gave no hint that we were inside the palace. Thin trees with trunks no wider than my wrist reached toward an endless cloud-filled sky. Hot, humid hair caused our clothes to stick to our skin.
“This is something.” Jane commented as she touched her palm to the ground. Brown soil fell from her hand as she scooped it up and let it go. “Reminds me of dirt from Earth.”
I searched the horizon for signs of a curved wall, but all I saw was empty sky. “I can’t see anything that indicates the end of the room. Do you?”
“No.” Jane rose, shielding her eyes from a bright orange sun streaming from above. “Do you think the passage led us outside?”
I pictured the landing platform where we arrived and the surrounding region of golden sand. “I don’t believe so. It doesn’t match the terrain we saw earlier.”
“A holo-projection then? Like the one on your ship.”
“It’s possible.” The space fighter’s holo-room could project an outdoor environment with fair accuracy, but not an infinite space. If this were a holo-projection, it would be the largest and most sophisticated I’d ever seen.
“Well, whatever it is,” Jane swatted at an insect flying in front of her face, “we need to figure out what we’re supposed to do here and finish this.”
I waggled my brows. “I have ideas.”
She slapped my arm.The faster we get the ergamite, the quicker we can get back to the ship.Her mouth twisted into an evil grin.And it is a long trip home. How will we occupy the time?
I wanted to show her exactly how I planned to fill the time—and her. But a crash through the trees caught my eye. The trunks curved to the sides, parting a path. Through the split in the jungle trees, a creature emerged. It had to be ten times my size. Its orange fur shone as if absorbing the sunlight and matching its hue. A wide, gaping maw held a single fang in its center. It walked on two thick hind legs and pushed the trees aside with its four arms. When a branch snapped in its face, it threw its head back and roared. Its powerful arms beat its chest in a fit of fury.
“Holy shit!” Jane cried, her eyes widening with the sight of the creature. “It’s like a cross between a gorilla and a saber tooth tiger, except its huge.”
I didn’t know what either of those creatures were, but this beast was unlike any I’d known. And we had no weapons. “Jane,” I said softly, not wanting to startle her and chance drawing the beast’s attention. “Stay behind me and move toward the passage.”
“What?” Her gaze shifted to me. “We can’t run. What if the test is to face this thing?”
“Truxoria.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her close to me. “We carry no weapons. And I will not lose you in a fruitless battle.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you planning, Tor?”
Drav it.I cursed, shielding my thoughts from her. It scratched my insides, feeling unnatural to block her out. But she’d never agree to my plan, and I had only one chance to bring it to fruition. “We have to go back through the tunnel.”
“I don’t believe you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I told you, we can’t back down.”
“Jane, be reasonable.” I motioned toward the creature.
“No, you listen here.” She poked a finger into my side. “If you think I’m going to hide in that tunnel while you go and fight that giant gorilla-tiger alone, you are out of your damn mind. That clear?”
A smile tugged at my lips, despite our dire situation. My mate knew me too well, guessing my plan before I had a chance to even execute a first step. “I won’t lose you, my mate.”
“Yeah, and I’m not losing you.” Her hands balled into fist. “So, let’s not die today.”
