Page 93 of The Pregnancy Pact

“Nooo…”

The word escaped as a moan.

Move, Lorelai, move!

My mind was screaming at me. From inside the spaceport, I could hear rushing feet. They’d spotted me. They were coming. From the other side of the spaceport, I heard a second noise. That of opening doors. The ship. Someone was coming out. Feet were moving. Voices talking.

This is your one chance.

If anything was harder than fighting a battered body and ferocious pain, it was combating the debilitating phobia. I had to squint to see where I was going, inching up the walkway towards the ship. When I did, I saw the clouds all around, vessels rising and landing, and the tops of the skyscrapers, far, far below us. Bile filled my throat, naked panic gripping my limbs, and yet I pressed a step forward. And another. And another. The faces of my twins swam before my eyes. The featureless faces of humans back on Earth. Ellax’s face.

Ellax.

If I get caught, I’ll never tell him goodbye, either. He’ll never know how hard I fought to survive. He may think that I broke our pact; that I ran away and abandoned him. He’ll think…

“Lorelai!”

I heard my name. It was a shout. A shout of horror and panic but also relief. Who would be shouting like that?

Another step. Another.

“Stop!” That voice belonged to one of the guards Sirena had sent after me. “This woman is under the authority of Elder Sirena Rinsdread.”

Their boots pounded towards me.

Tears leaked down my cheeks. Clutching the railing, I inched towards the ship, even as the urge to surrender overtook me.

I wasn’t going to make it. And it would be okay. I’d die here. I’d simply let go and topple into the clouds. Fear of heights be damned. If I couldn’t do anything else, I could keep Sirena from taking me. I might die apart from my boys—and a sob broke free. I might die separated from Ellax. But I could die with my self-respect and self-worth intact, knowing I’d fought to the end, knowing I’d refused to let her use me as a bargaining chip to harm humans on Earth.

The boots were there. Right there.

One more step towards freedom, and then…

“Stop!”

Who was that voice talking to? It was demanding. Incessant. Brooking no arguments or disobedience. Who was it? I didn’t know, yet the time had come to do what I had to do.

“Goodbye, Joell and Isak. Goodbye, Ellax.”

My lips, crusted with blood, barely moved. The names of the three people I loved more than anything would be my final epitaph.

Lifting my face to the sky, I breathed deep before releasing the railing and pushing off with my feet to sink over it and into empty air.

I surrendered.

Chapter 53

Ellax

Ihad known fear before. I had known torment. I had known grief. However, I had never had a feeling such as what exploded in me at the sight of my human wife, my bride, my mate, clinging to the footbridge railing, stuck in the sky, halfway between my space ship, which had just landed, and the spaceport platform. Her body was nearly draped over the railing. From the doorway of the ship, I could see the blood marring her pale skin and splashing her clothing. Her limbs appeared awkward and disjointed. Bruises painted her face, neck, hands, and any other visible skin.

This female looked like death brought to life. I was astounded. Not truly astounded to see her here. After the Admiral and I had recorded our message for the Coalition’s panel of Lead Advisors and left it in Major Barak’s care, Commander Ashin had appeared at his Admiral’s call. He'd taken my phone, pressed several buttons, swiped his thumb left and right, then lifted the device to show his commanding officer.

“She is moving towards the central spaceport,” he said.

I could not hide my astonishment. “How can you tell?”

Ashin had chuckled, the scars on his face bunching in a frightening parody of a grin. “Little known fact, Elder, unknown even to most Lead Advisors. Each of these devices contains a back door tracking device. If you know how to use it, and if you know what to do, you can find the object in any picture and track where the picture was taken, as well as where the object is in real time.” He dropped the device back in my hand. “There you are. You’ve learned your lesson for today.”

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