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“Raela sent me to find you. The Federation has arrived.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Shae
* * *
As I follow the orc back the way I came, I feel like I’m in a stop-motion movie.
Flash.Hallway.
Flash. Lobby.
Flash. Elevator.
Flash. Nothing but smeared, plum-colored blood where I left Volethos.
“Shae!”
I turn at the sound of my name, feeling like I’m moving through molasses. A pair of arms wrap around me, squeezing me tight, before I’m able to place who they belong to.
“Are you okay?”
Like recoil, everything catches up, and I’m thrust back into the present. Danielle has her arms around me. It’s her asking if I’m alright.
“You’re here!” I gasp, bringing my arms up to hug her back. I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from the smeared blood. The not-human blood. “Where is he?”
Danielle is talking again, but it’s too fast, and I’m not tracking anything she’s saying because all I can think about is where is Volethos?
“Where is he?Where is he!”My chest is tight, and I feel like Kurrahstka’s hand is wrapped around my throat again. I can’tbreathe!Does this mean he’s gone? Is this what it feels like? “I need to see him!”
“Shae, honey. Calm down.”
But I can’t. My body is shaking so hard, my teeth clack together. “I need to see him! Where is he?”
My throat feels raw, like I’ve been screaming for hours, and a pressure keeps building inside my head like it could explode at any moment.
“Shae!” My name is a shout that finally gets my attention. When I turn my head, I see Raela.
“He’s okay!”
“He’s…”Okay.Not fine. But okay is better than dead. Gone. He’s… okay.
My legs buckle, and if it wasn’t for Danielle and Raela, I’m certain I would have crumpled to the ground. But they catch me. Hold me up.
“Come on. We’ll take you to him,” one of them says.
“Where?” I croak. “Where is he?”
There’s a long pause, then Danielle says, “Zell took him back to the cruiser so he could put him in the medbot.”
“What’s a medbot?” I hear myself ask.
“He’s hurt, Shae,” Danielle tells me. “Zell thinks the medbot will keep him alive long enough to get him to a doctor.”
My knees go weak again, but my friends keep me upright.
I don’t remember the walk through the station. Only that it feels like years pass before I’m finally stumbling up the ramp of the cruiser. I can feel him here. Or maybe I just think I can. Either way, I break free and run as fast as I can down the hallways, opening each door I come to until I find him.
