AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“On Jaya, yes,” I say. “But here…just this.”
I pull an instrument out of my bag—a tool sometimes used for field surgery but that I normally use to graft roots together on Jaya. I try not to let her see it—it isn’t very pretty when applied to living flesh—but it will have to do.
“We have to seal the wound,” I say. “Please close your eyes.”
Malix gets to his knees beside her, putting a delicate hand on her hair and the other on her shoulder. “And don’t scream,” he says, his lips brushing her temple. “We don’t want anyone knowing we’re hiding here.”
She closes her eyes.
“Do it.”
“Hold still,” I say.
I lean forward and press the grafting tool to the edge of the cut, just above her lip. She sucks in a breath but Malix stays beside her, his forehead pressed to her temple, his drone rumbling in his chest. I hear her knuckles pop as she squeezes his hand, the only other sound the hiss of the splicer.
Frankie whimpers.
“Steady,” Malix growls.
“Almost done,” I rasp.
“Hurry,” she says.
I hit the edge of the cut at her cheekbone and come to the mess of her eye, quickly grabbing some gauze from my bag. It isn’t much, but it will have to do for now; I’m no surgeon. I bind some bandages around her head, making sure that it’s secure before I lean back.
“How does it feel?” I ask.
“Like hell,” she says. “But…not as bad. And at least it’s not bleeding now.”
I run my fingers gently over the ugly, grafted pink scar. The tissue underneath is still tender and will need time to heal—but she isn’t bleeding, and it looks like the damage will mostly be cosmetic.
Other than her eye, of course.
“This asshole hasn’t been honest with me,” she says, her right eye looking into mine. “How bad is it?”
I glance at Malix. He sighs.
“It’s bad,” I say. “Your eye will need to be…replaced.”
She sucks in a breath and blows it out in one deep gust. “Hoooly shit,” she says, drawing out the vowel.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Malix says. “We deal with our woundsafterwe’ve won the fight.”
“Which we’re more likely to do with all of us together,” Frankie says. “Taraven, I—you know what, I’ll ask questions about how the hell you got here on the other side of this. What’s the situation?”
“There are ships in the docking bay ready to evacuate when we return,” I say, “but we need to deactivate the weapon. They’re threatening another attack against the Lyra.”
“Where?” Malix asks.
“Halla,” I say. “Our joint forces are staging an attack on the other side of the planet to distract from our presence here. If we don’t succeed…”
Frankie nods, cringing at the slight motion. “Understood,” she says. “In that case, we’d better get a move on. Sounds like we have to save the world…or, the galaxy, I guess.”
Malix frowns. “I don’t like you doing this with your injuries.”
“Too bad.” She meets my eyes, her good eye dancing with newfound energy. “Help me up.”
I stand and put out my hand, hauling Frankie to her feet as I go. She wobbles a bit, her hands splaying out across my chest and her forehead resting on my sternum. Malix comes right with her, one hand on my shoulder and the other on her waist as we huddle up.
