Series: Zandian Brides Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
My heart thuds painfully against my chest.
“She intends to sacrifice herself if the need arises.”
“No!” The word rips from my throat. “I won’t let that happen. Axe, we have to find her.”
“I know,” Mirelle says. “I wanted to help her, but I couldn’t risk leaving my craft.”
“Vecking straight you couldn’t,” Lanz mutters, already jogging toward Sia’s craft. Domm is right behind him.
Axe and I grab our weapons and race from the craft, as well. I’m unfamiliar with the layout of the planet, but once we approach the buildings, I hear voices.
Mirelle speaks to us through the comms unit. “I’ve turned off all their sensors and cameras using the codes Sia remembered, and I can guide you. Go left, then right twenty paces to the flat gray building. I think they’re behind it. Hurry.”
We rush, but once we arrive at the location Mirelle told us, we slow our pace and peer out from behind the corner of a flat gray structure that looks like a dormitory.
In the distance, not too far, there’s an orange-yellow glow, and I detect heat. Veck, is that a huge fire pit?
To my horror, there’s a small figure right at the edge.
Sia!
She’s bloody and appears weak, and she’s holding something in her hand, some piece of tech.
An Ocretion stands a few feet from her, weapon pointed, but he’s not using it. Instead, he pleads as he inches closer. “Listen, Sia, you’re smart. Give me the device, and we’ll promote you. You won’t work in the labs anymore. You can choose! Ag worker, pleasure slave? Your choice. You can even bring a friend.”
Ocretions aren’t known for their sympathy or their flair, and he’s clearly lying. His voice doesn’t even have a trace of honey in it, not that she’d believe it, anyway. My Sia is too smart for that.
For a split second, my memory flashes back to my first human, the one who betrayed me. But this is different. I know Sia isn’t like that. She isn’t here to betray us Zandians. She didn’t ask me to follow her. Whatever she’s doing, she’s trying to help.
“Do you want a bigger dorm? We won’t use the shock stick on you again, I promise.” He reaches out a hand.
“Stay away!” Sia’s voice is strong. “I’ll drop it, I swear.” She’s bleeding and swaying. I’m terrified that she’ll just fall forward into the fire, she seems so unsteady as she holds her arm out, dangling the device in her fingers over the fire.
“I’m your master, Sia. Surely the loyalty we built into you is still there. This is a direct command. Come to me now and hand me the device.” He’s snarling now, nearly close enough to grab her. He’ll try anything to get his prize.
“Never. I’ll never let you get my chip.” She stares him down. “I’d rather die.”
He steps even closer and reaches for her.
She looks at him, then down at the pit, and I know what she’s going to do. She’s going to sacrifice herself, so he can’t get to her chip.
“No!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
Startled, they both turn, and I line up to take my shot. With perfect aim, I can blast my laser weapon through her old master’s heart then his head.
But I don’t need to. Sia reaches out and gives her old master a hard shove, and he teeters and shouts at the edge of the pit.
Sia has enough sense to jump back as his body swings and careens, seemingly taking forever, then topples forward into the pit.
Flames flare as they engulf his body, then there’s silence.
I race to Sia and snatch her into my arms. Just the feel of her small, fragile body against mine makes me want to fall to my knees in thanks.
“Sia! You’re safe. You’re all right.” I can barely believe it.
“Daven,” she says with wonder.
I pull her further from the edge of the horrific hole. “Come, we need to get back to the craft immediately.”
Axe has his back to me, weapon up, looking for any other guards. It’s oddly silent, until I hear muted yells in the distance. “We need to get the veck out of here,” Axe growls. “Before any other being sees us.”
I lift Sia, and the feeling of deja vu flickers. This is almost how we started. Except this time she means more to me than I could have ever known.
“Daven, what are you doing here?” Sia’s voice cracks, but I can’t answer yet. First we need to get back to our ship.
It doesn’t take long before we’re safely ensconced inside the craft. I communicate with Mirelle. “Package retrieved. Depart immediately.”
“On it, you first,” she replies, and Axe starts up the craft.
Within moments, we lift off the ground, and then we hurtle through the stars, away from Larew, where we’ve left at least one Ocretion dead and a mystery that they’re not going to like once they investigate. But the only Ocretion who saw Zandians, Sia’s old master, is dead. Mirelle remotely turned off their sensors and cameras, so ideally they’ll have no true idea about who came in and ruined their lab, even if they have suspicions. But I can’t focus right now on how to handle that. All I care about is Sia.