Page 81 of Nansar
I moved before I could think, scrambling away from Nansar, my hands slipping in his blood. There—a blaster, still clutched in a dead Romvesian's hand. I pried it free, my fingers shaking, and spun back toward the shuttle.
The weapon felt heavy as I raised it, pointing it directly at the Alliance ship.
"Chloe—" Ahrick's voice, warning.
"Nobody moves." My voice shook, but my aim didn't waver. "Nobody gets back on that ship. Not without him."
Xabat held up one massive hand. "Miss Blackwood, lower the weapon. You've been through trauma. You're not thinking clearly."
"I'm thinking perfectly clearly." Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them away. "He protected me." My voice broke. "He chose me over his own life. And I will not leave him here to die alone on this fucking planet."
"The law—"
"Fuck the law!" The blaster trembled in my grip. "I swear to God, I'll shoot anyone who tries to take me without him. I'll blow a hole in your ship. I'll—"
The tears came then, hot and fast, streaming down my face. But I didn't lower the weapon.
"Please." The word came out broken, desperate. "Please. He's—please."
Xabat stared at me for a long moment, and I saw something shift in his expression. Resignation, maybe. Or perhaps grudging respect.
He let out a sound that might have been a sigh. "You're going to cause me a lot of trouble, aren't you, Miss Blackwood?"
He turned to his scaled companion. "Bring a stretcher. We're taking the prisoner."
"Sir, the regulations—"
"I'll handle the regulations." Xabat's voice dropped to a growl that brooked no argument. "Move. Now. Before he bleeds out and she decides to redecorate my shuttle with our internal organs."
The scaled alien vanished back into the shuttle without another word.
I lowered the blaster with shaking hands, my entire body trembling like I'd been caught in an earthquake. "Thank you."
"Save your gratitude." Xabat's gaze pinned me in place. "You just complicated both our lives in ways you can't begin to imagine."
I didn't give a damn. The blaster clattered to the ground as I bolted back to Nansar, my knees hitting the dirt hard enough to bruise. His chest still moved—barely, so barely I had to watch for three agonizing seconds to be sure.
"Hold on," I whispered, my palm finding his cheek. His skin felt too cold. "Just hold on a little longer. Please."
The scaled alien materialized moments later with a sleek metallic stretcher floating in his wake. Ahrick was already in motion, his movements efficient despite the network of cuts crisscrossing his pelt. He slid his arms beneath Nansar with surprising tenderness, lifting him.
"Careful," I breathed, my hands fluttering uselessly as Ahrick settled Nansar onto the stretcher.
I bent over him, desperate to find the reassuring rise and fall of his chest, but everything had become a blur of blood and stillness. The crimson had soaked through every layer, and his face looked like carved marble—pale and lifeless.
"Is he—" The words shattered in my throat. "I can't tell if he's breathing—"
Ahrick's hand landed on my shoulder, solid and grounding. "He'll make it, Chloe. Get him to a Garoot Healer within the hour, and he'll be fine."
I looked up at him, this male who'd thrown himself into danger for both of us. "Come with us. Please. You saved him. You saved me. Come with us."
Something soft and sad flickered across Ahrick's features. He shook his head with slow finality. "No."
"Ahrick—"
"I don't deserve freedom, Chloe." His voice carried quiet conviction. "I've done too much. Hurt too many. But maybe I can earn back some scrap of redemption." His jaw set like stone. "I'm going to hunt Declan Hewes down. And I'm going to end him for you."
I didn't think—I just moved, throwing my arms around him.
