Page 38 of Slavic

Accordingto yourMam, the plan was for her to meet yourSireand all of you at the dock a tick after second sun rise.Shewas on her way there when the primary mage who had taken a personal liking to her, spotted her.Shetold me that she had no clue he was trailing behind her because the rising mate sickness had fogged her thoughts, and she was just determined to get to her mate one step at a time.

YourSirewas the one who planned the mine collapse and the landing of theVespira, now theZenith, to coincide with each other.Hisprimary plan was to get his family on that shuttle while the workers in the mines were being rescued from an alternate entrance that he and a few others had been working on.

Oncehe got into orbit, he was supposed to bomb the main headquarters.However, we know that is not what happened, and this is how several of theAynarwere able to escape.YourMamwas found when another ship landed close by.Whilethe males in the mines fought the remainingAynar, all the females were rounded up and put on that ship.Onceloaded, that vessel was programmed to head to the outer quadrants to an unpopulated moon called,Deapra.

Ittook several lunar rotations for any of the males to join us there, so in the meantime, we had to rebuild on our own.YourMam, even though weak from the attack, only several rotations away from birth, and suffering the loss of her heartbond mate, is who took charge.Withouther guidance, we would not have the trade routes or the society we have now.Shewill be overjoyed to find out that you all are alive and well, as she never believed any of you were dead.”

Noneof the guys are hiding their emotions well.Someare angry, others seem sad, butIcan tell thatSlavicis still not convinced.

“Iwatched her die,Kallen!”

Theconviction of his words and the anguish behind them brings tears to my eyes.

“Hervoice was damaged, and she has a terrible scar on her neck that she shows off proudly.Whetheryou believe me or notSlavic, she is alive and well, along with your sisterAtasha, who is the spitting image of her.”

WhenSlavic’seyes turn my way,Ifind myself releasingRowan’shand and walking toward him.Idon’t know if it’s the pain in his eyes or the way he’s trying to hold himself apart from the others who are throwing question after question towardKallennow, but when he opens his arms hesitantly,Iwalk right into them.I’mhoping after all he’s done for me thatIcan offer him some comfort at a time when he should be rejoicing.Wrappingmy arms around his massive frame, he pulls me close, andIfeel a tremble go through his body before he bends slightly, lowering his head on top of mine.Closingmy eyes,Iconcentrate on the beating of his multiple hearts and wonder whenIstarted caring.Wecouldn’t have been standing there long when an alarm sounds across the ship.Instantly,Slavicreleases me. “Everyoneto your stations now!”Hisbellowing voice makes me jump as they all rush out the door.

WhenIsee thatEinaris not leaving the room but heading to a corner with a huge screen overhead,Ilook back atRowanwho is still standing against the wall, her eyes huge as she takes in the sudden chaos. “StaywithEinar, do not leave his side, do you hear me?”Shenods yes andIrun out of the room chasing after the huge footsteps pounding away from me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

RUBY

Idon’t get therequick enough and the doors close right in front of me.Nomatter whatIdo, they won’t open.I’veput my hand on the shiny thing on the opposite wall, jumped up and down in case there’s a sensor and was just about to start pounding on it, when suddenly it opens.Oneof the brothersI’veonly caught a glimpse of storms past me.

Steppingout of the way quickly,Ijump inside the door before it can close back again.Slavicis standing in the middle of the room issuing orders thatIhave no understanding of.Theship shakes for a second and the lights dim, and beforeIknow it another one of them is rushing past me heading out the door.

Slavicmust have realizedIwas in the room now because he turns toward me, then motions to the seat behind him in the middle of the room.Iquickly plant my butt in it, asI’msure one of these giants is going to accidentally run over me as they head toward various parts of the ship.Helpless,Isit here watching, as they all talk back and forth.Myeyes jump over to the one whose fingers are rapidly flying over the panels and instruments.Slavic’svoice echoes throughout the room as he asks questions.

“Bikar, what’s going on?”

“ThehyperdriveFalonjust installed is not getting enough fuel.Therehas to be a vacuum leak somewhere due to the fuel hatch being open.EverytimeItry to engage, it shuts itself off.Falonis on his way toward the engine compartment now.”

“Havethe swarm ships spotted us yet?”

“No, the asteroid belt has us hidden at the moment.Butif they get a lock on us, we will not escape them without that hyperdrive.Theirships are too big, and theVoiddoesn’t have enough space for them to operate that feature safely within its borders.Whereaswe can duck in behind places, they cannot.”

Well, at leastI’velearned another name to go with a face, but the word swarm ship catches my attention. “Slavic, are we being pursued by the bugs?”

“Notnecessarily, they are just in radar range and theZenithalerted us once detected, giving us plenty of time to get away from them.Youhave nothing to worry about little mate.”

Thedoor opens again, “Thehyperdrive is starving for fuel.Thebatteries can provide long-term power; however, it requires both fuels for startup.EachtimeBikartries to activate it; the fuel line collapses.”

“Frack!Falon, do you have any suggestions?”

“Oneof us is going to have to go out and seal that hatch.”

IwatchSlavicrun a hand along his bald head for a second before he turns back toBikar. “Finda place to set us down,I’llgo suit up.”

“Slavic, it would make more sense for me to go.Iam the engineer on this ship and if something else needs to be fixed whileIam out there,Iwould have a better grasp as to how to do it.”

“No,FalonIneed your eyes up here.Iwill wear a viewer so if you see something whileIam out there, you can advise me on how to proceed further.”

“FrackSlavic, you have a mate now.Sheis your first priority, let one of us go instead.”

“Sheis the reasonIam going, little brother.Iwill do anything in my power to make sure she is never in danger again.Ifsomething should happen to me,Iknow the five of you would protect her with your lives.Now, quit stalling and let’s get this done quickly.”

Theship shimmies andIgrab onto the arms of the chair whileSlavicandFalonsimply stand there like nothing is going on.Thismust be comparable to getting your sea legs, now we’ll just call it space legs.Ican’t help but shake my head as ignorant thoughts flow through my mind.Amind that is doing its best not to flip out.Slavicturns to walk out of the room and just asIstart to get up,Bikar’swords stop him.

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