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And there was nothing I could do about it.
In my dreams, I heard the outside world. I heard rushing footsteps that kissed the dirt. I heard an unfamiliar voice of a young boy and his father. My stomach rose into my chest and I felt sick as I was manhandled and strapped to something soft. The rope cut into my arms and chest and legs.
The sound I heard above all others, the sound I focused on even in my unconscious state, was her.
Maddy.
My senses were full of her. When the wind blew at just the right angle, I could smell the sweet scent of her femininity.
And her rank fear.
Heavy footsteps thudded after us as Iron Hoof gave chase. We moved faster than him. I could only imagine an arjath or similar creature was capable of such a feat.
And then, a long endless trail.
My body was fixing itself, healing. But each footstep drove that shard in my back a little deeper… and deeper still.
Then I passed completely unconscious, adrift in the darkness of my inner space, every bit as lonely and cold as the depths of intergalactic space.
I wondered when I would wake up—if I would wake up. I feared I would never again open my eyes and set them upon the most beautiful creature in the galaxy.
Maddy.
My Maddy.
The pain was intense.
Titans were known for their ability to heal fast and their courage in the face of death. But that didn’t mean we relished the agony of inflicted wounds.
I shot up into a sitting position. My back was on fire. The pain was unreal. I hissed through my teeth and reached over to feel at the chasm I knew had to be present in my back.
Maddy slapped my hand away.
“No touching!” she said.
“But it hurts!” I said.
“That means you’re still alive. Be thankful. And it’s nice to see you back in the land of the living.”
I groaned.
“I wish I could say it was good to be back,” I said. “Do you need to dig so deep?”
“Do you want me to get all the splinters out or don’t you?” Maddy snapped back.
I raised my hands in surrender. She dug even deeper after that.
“How did you manage to escape Iron Hoof?” I said in an attempt to focus on something else.
“I rode an arjath out of there.”
I nodded. Just as I thought.
“I’m sorry I got put out of commission and couldn’t defend you,” I said. “I know what Iron Hoof’s species is like. I should have expected it. They tend to go through things rather than around them.”
“Reminds me of someone I know,” Maddy said, nudging me on the shoulder.
“I’m not that bad,” I said.
