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With her good hand, she reached up to touch her cheek to check if she was bleeding, but he caught her hand in one of his and searched her gaze for a moment. Her confusion must have been transparent, but he schooled his features and began to examine her hurt shoulder. A zing of pain made her wince.
“Looks like it’s out,” he muttered in a strangled tone, his gaze still briefly darting over her face as though he were seeing her for the first time. “I’m going to have to put it back into the socket.” He whipped off his belt and folded it in half. “It’ll hurt. Bite down on this.”
She took the leather strap between her teeth and braced herself. Still, she cried out when he snapped her shoulder back into the socket and the mind-burning pain zinged through her body. Vision blurring and stomach swimming in nausea, she swayed where she sat. Aidan held her steady until the dizziness assuaged.
“I’ll carry you if you need, but it would be better if you could walk. Our presence must be known by now. I’m surprised no one else has rushed me yet.”
She pulled the belt from her mouth. “I can walk. There are three others on board that I know of. I assume one would be on the bridge, flying the ship. Two are likely wherever Caryn is.”
Suddenly she felt gravity shift, and the entire ship dropped in altitude. She let out a yelp. Visions of crashing into a mountainside filled her thoughts. Slowly, the ship righted itself, but then dropped once more to the sound of churning engines.
“Come,” Aidan said. “I’m getting you off this ship.”
“But Caryn—”
“Has an iron giant and a dragon looking out for her.”
Onnika used her gift to scan the passengers. She found evidence of several individuals, but couldn’t tell one from the other, only echoes of violent intentions muddled around a single solitary desperation for escape.Caryn.
“She’s scared,” Onnika whispered.
Aidan gave her a strangely subdued look. “We’ll find her.”
With that, he guided her out into the long passage that ran through the ship. As they carefully made their way through the rocking ship, they crossed under an oddly peeled back hole in the ship’s hull. When she glanced through it, a shadow passed by. She thought she heard an animal roar but couldn’t be sure with the ear-piercing wind battering the opening. Her lungs had to work harder for oxygen as her hair whipped wildly.
At the far end of the passage, sounds of a struggle emerged from a room ahead. Through the hatch, she saw a silver-skinned figure come into view. Asher. He was fighting off three bloodied individuals. Three? So who was flying the ship? Where was Caryn?
Both she and Aidan quickened their pace, but before either of them could move in to assist, Rice appeared wielding a blaster aimed at Asher. He shot several times in quick succession. Asher roared in pain. From somewhere within the room, Caryn screamed.
Another ear-splitting roar came from outside, and the ship lost altitude again. Everyone stumbled, losing their balance, and were forced to brace themselves on whatever they could grab.
Metal screeched. The sound was so terrible that Onnika had to cover her ears.
Glancing up, she saw the terrifying visage of claws and teeth tearing their way into the ship from above, the metal hull bending unnaturally under a savage dragon’s assault.
Then, suddenly a violent crossflow of wind slammed its way through the ship, so strong it dragged Onnika several feet into the room. Aidan caught her by the wrist, his other hand gripping the edge of the hatch to keep his own body from being swept up by the fierce tempest.
One of the bloodied men who’d been clinging to a bolted table lost his grip. Faster than Onnika could process, his body was sucked through the newly opened gap.
Still Lear lacerated the ship, widening the fissure, appearing almost maddened in his task. The gale intensified. Onnika’s feet left the floor, and she felt her grip on Aidan’s hand slipping. She glanced back at him, registering his worried and desperate expression. He was yelling something, not at her, but at Lear, his voice drowned out by the calamitous gushing wind.
Slipping, slipping…
When their hands separated, she screamed as her body took flight. Her body slammed hard into something before she was sent spinning into the blinding sunlight. Her world became a kaleidoscope of color and shape. She glimpsed the planet’s surface, tilting all around her, the ship she’d just been expelled from growing smaller by the second. The whipping wind was like sandpaper grating along her skin, stinging her eyes and stealing her breath. In a panic she fought for air, gasping, managing only to draw in enough to stay conscious.
Heart thundering, she splayed her limbs out wide, gaining a measure of control over her tempestuous fall, the planet’s surface rising up to greet her for a very messy, very pointless end. If she could have conveyed one last thing to Caryn, she would say how sorry she was for not being stronger. For not protecting her better. She should have hugged her more and told her what a blessing it was to have her in her life. How deeply proud she was of her every day. Every minute.
To Aidan, she should have been more honest. More open. More…everything. She wished she’d kissed him one last time. Held him in her arms longer. Told him she loved him. Her thundering heart ached. Out of everything, not telling him was her greatest regret. Fear and mistrust made her squander the opportunity. What she wouldn’t give for just one more moment with him, however brief.
Above her, a shadow darkened the sky. Aidan’s strong intention brushed her subconscious. Yes! In her panic, she’d forgotten what he was! One badass dragon, currently diving straight toward her.
She readied herself. And when his big frame swooped under her, she grabbed hold of his thick scales and plastered her body to his back, holding on as tightly as she could. Their rapid descent slowed, and she felt him pull up into an easy glide. Relief melted through her, and finally she was able to take in a full breath. He hovered over a patch of grass for a moment before touching down on all fours.
Debilitating adrenaline still crawled through her veins like poisoned sludge, and it took her mind a few seconds to realize the immediate danger was over.
She had to peel her stiff arms from around his thick neck before she could dismount. Her boots met cushiony grass that sparkled with dampness. The rain had stopped. For a moment it felt like the planet wobbled on its axis, but it was only her legs, loose and jello-y. Gravity felt too heavy, and she still had the eerie sensation of falling.
It wasn’t a problem for long. Aidan shifted to his normal form and then scooped her up in his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and slanted her lips against his. This kiss was brief, but it felt as though they packed in everything they wanted to say:I want you. I need you. I can’t live without you.Or maybe it was just her imagination. If so, that was all right. She was too elated to care. She still couldn’t believe he’d come for her, that he’d risked his life and the life of his crew to rescue her.
