Page 35 of Black Mamba

The naga by the door shifts and, with a final glance at the original, slips out the door. He waits on the other side as I wave at Greg and Levy to follow after him.

“Are you sure?” Greg asks.

“Yes,” I snap. “I’m not going to get any rest with all of you here. And I want to rest, more than anything.”

“Your shoulder was dislocated. Don’t try lifting anything with it for a couple of weeks if you don’t have a booster in your med kit—I couldn’t find one. And as for your head, you might have a concussion. Sit down if you experience nausea.”

“Thank you,” I groan. “Now, please go.”

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and, with a look at the original naga, walks out.

My gaze returns to the naga’s dark one before dropping to the swollen bulge at the front of his tail. It hasn’t changed since I last saw it. Swallowing, my eyes flick back up to his face. A shiver flutters down my spine as he openly assesses me.

Expecting to see anger in his expression, I’m surprised when it’s worry I read instead. Worry and… loss?

“I will not steal you again,” he whispers. At odds to his shouting earlier, my skin prickles at the quiet tone of his voice.

I don’t nod, I don’t respond. I don’t give him anything.

“Lukyssss,” the naga outside warns.

Lukys?

Lukys. So that’s his name.

His gaze trails over me once more, his expression determined, before he slips across my room and ducks out the door. The naga in the hallway follows after him and they disappear around the corner. Waiting a moment for them to leave, I creep forward.

The back hallway is clear and with my pulse thrumming, I dash to the front of the ship and initialize the ship’s AI out of stasis. “I command you to turn on and close the back hatch.” Lula pops up and glimmers.

There’s a short pause before I hear the hatch close.

I sink into my father’s chair and drop my head into my hands.

Tears stream down my cheeks—damned tear—and for the next few minutes I sit there and let them fall.

But when I lift my head, my gaze lands on Lukys.

My heart erupts into a frenzy and I quickly stand. Doing so makes me dizzy, except before I can leave, he twists and enters the woods. I watch his long tail disappear into the bushes.

Do I have a stalker now too?

Swallowing thickly, I flee to my room and shut myself inside.

EIGHTEEN

THE DEAD

Elena

My hair falls around me, a wet veil against the pounding rivulets beating on me from the showerhead. Steam rises in the air as I stare at my bare feet and the water pooling around my toes. Too tired to move, I stand there for what seems like hours, barely managing to sway back and forth as the past few days wash off me.

I shouldn’t be wasting water like this, but I can’t muster the energy to care. After a brief nap, I climbed in here. I’m thankful enough to have what I have. Giving into the fleeting luxury—because it is fleeting—I lift my good arm and push my hair back, streaking my nails through it to rinse out the last of the shampoo still clinging to the strands.

Only when the water turns cold and I’m woozy with hunger and adrenaline do I step out of the bathing unit and into the bathroom. I take the time to dry my body before dressing in a pair of Jenna’s loose workout pants that I pilfered from her closet. Luckily, she has stuff stored on the ship from long ago and we’re almost the same size.

My clothes are all gone—lost within the Lukys’s cave. I wiggle Jenna’s loose black tee shirt over my bad shoulder, taking an uncomfortable few minutes to get my arm through it.

Once dressed and cleaned, I’m finally willing to face whatever’s waiting for me. I open the door and leave the bathroom, walking down the hallway to the middle of the ship. Glimpsing outside as I dash into the kitchen, no forms—alien or otherwise—appear.