Page 27 of Diamond

I recognize the blood-covered blade in his hand. The same one that he used to tear Tehlmar apart. He wants to do the same to Roshan, and I muster all my energy to scream through the pain in my throat.

"Stop, please!" My voice barely escapes, a squeak lost in the air. It's far too weak to stop the freight train of an alien barreling straight toward us.

He will not hear me, and Roshan will be dead shortly. Despair grips my heart like a vise. The alien doesn't even glance at me as he approaches, his focus completely on hurting Roshan.

The argila turns to look at him before lowering himself over me and angling his body toward the alien. My heart hurts again, and I raise my hands up to Roshan's neck, digging my fingers into his fur.

Roshan's yellow eyes meet mine, filled with a strength I didn't know was possible. I burst into a fresh round of tears when I realize he is actually willing to die for me.

"I'm so sorry, Roshan," I sob quietly when the alien reaches us and prepares to strike. I cannot bear to watch him shred another thing to pieces before me. Not after the last time, so I close my eyes tightly.

The sound of the blade against the argila's body sends a chill up my spine and his injured cry echoes in my ears. Then I find my voice, letting out my grief.

When I pull in a breath, I expect his lifeless body to fall, but all I can feel are his legs shaking on either side of me.

He opens his eyes and turns, a fierce snarl directed at the terrible alien, then glances back at me. I poke my head out, unable to resist checking on him, needing to make sure he's alright.

"Oh, Roshan, you're okay," I whisper, my voice trembling. But the relief is overwhelming, and before can stop myself, I break down completely, sobbing loudly. My hands wrap around his neck. I bury my face in his fur and cry shamelessly with relief.

"You're okay.Alhamdulillah. You're okay."

The argila envelopes me with two of its free appendages as if to return my hug, the agony of the movement almost worth it. I feel liquid dripping on my leg and blink the tears away to see that it is Roshan's dark blue blood on me.

I know the alien meant to kill him, so why didn't he? I have already seen that he is capable of brutality, so what changed? What stopped him?

I would have thought it was another attacker swooping in to save Roshan and me if not for the utter lack of sound and evidence of a struggle.

I can hear babbling from behind Roshan, and my heart skips a beat in fear that this might be some kind of ritualistic killing, with him now praying to his god or something like that. My fright almost makes me miss the fact that I can still understand what he is saying, which, to my relief and slight confusion, is not a prayer.

"I have no honor. This is a loss of honor," he continues to mutter, his face twitching and the bright lights along his nearly black skin flickering as he stares at Roshan and me with dead eyes.

He just keeps saying it.

I don't want to say anything to risk triggering his anger again, but something tells me that if I am not already dead, then he either didn't want to kill me at all or has changed his mind.

Although it causes enough pain to make me grind my teeth together, I move from under Roshan, hoisting myself up to asitting position with great difficulty and supporting my back against a small boulder.

Roshan is incredibly protective of me, standing by my side and glaring at the alien whose eyes have followed me the entire time.

The alien's dark lips continue to move as he babbles about his loss of honor.

I don't want to be anywhere near this creature anymore, but neither Roshan nor I are in any condition to move. I listen to him for a few moments, growing more uneasy, before I realize he may have nothing of importance to actually say to me.

"Please leave us," I choke out, wincing as my throat constricts over the switch from Farsi to his language.

His head shifts up at the sound of my voice and some life returns to his eyes when he stops mumbling. The silence suggests he didn't hear me, and he attempts to lean in closer, which makes me gasp and try to roll painfully to the side.

Roshan makes a braying snarl at the large alien. His feelings for the guy are obvious. I can't argue with him because I feel the same, but I don't want to lead the alien into another frenzy where he kills us.

"Leave us alone, please."

All three points of his ears twitch and he shakes his head furiously, the trinkets in his long braids clinking against each other.

"I cannot do that," he refuses, rubbing his three-fingered hand over his cheeks, causing glowing green patterns to ripple brightly in the dark.

His hands slide down the armor of his chest and he continues to look at me, well, in my general direction, unblinking.

I don't know what the gesture means, but I don't ask because, honestly, I don't care. He killed Tehlmar like a complete savage, and the only reason I am not running for the hills is because I am far too weak to move, as is Roshan.

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