CHAPTER 11
POPPY
I don’t step behindthe tree line.
I don’t like taking orders, for one, and for two, I’m not sure his plan is a good one.
Vael is a mountain of muscle, sure, and I still need to lick him all over, but this thing is a tentacled battering ram.
I hold my branch out like a spear. I refuse to sit in the brush like a damsel in distress while my mate takes on this nasty thing.
“Strength in numbers,” I yell at Vael.
“Now is not the time for arithmetic,” he yells back.
I sigh.
The beast lunges.
Tentacles whip through the air, snapping thick trunks like twigs. Vael moves with terrifying speed, his red wings flaring to catch the wind as he launches himself over the creature's back. His tail slams down, a heavy blow that cracks the black armor along the monster's spine.
“Hell yeah, bitch,” I cheer him on. “That’s my man!” I’m not going to lie, I forgot he had wings until just now. That’s pretty handy in a fight.
I give my stick a dismal look.
The creature screeches, a sound that vibrates right through the bones in my feet.
Oof. Okay, maybe I don’t got this.
I scramble backward, keeping my eyes locked on the fight. I want to help, but as I watch Vael dodge a swinging tentacle, I know in my heart I would just get in the way.
Everything is going wrong.
I’m not a survivalist.
I’m not a fighter.
I’m not even a good friend.
I thought I was executing a perfect exit strategy for my friends. Instead, Ellison is bleeding in the woods, Lily is trapped with a purple-skinned dude who looks like he wants to literally eat her, and I am stranded on a death trap with a hot alien who looks at me with disgust.
A hot tear slips down my cheek.
Then another follows.
I don't sob, but the weight of my selfishness finally breaks over me.
This is my fault. All of it. I ruined our lives.
I might be the reason we all die, too.
The monster thrashes, its circular mouth snapping inches from Vael’s wing. He unleashes a roar. He is entirely focused on the fight, and I grit my teeth, hoping with everything I have that he wins.
A shadow falls over me from behind.
Before I can even process that, something cold wraps around my waist. The branch slips from my fingers.
I inhale to scream Vael's name, but something slides over my mouth, choking out the sound.
