“Neh.” The Healer glanced at him with worried eyes. “By our own.”
“Plutonians.”
Shouts erupted, echoing to their ears like low thunder.
“They sound close,” Sah-ah said, her eyebrows pinched together.
“Yes.” Eema met his eyes. “And they sound angry.”
Twenty-Six
Emma
“This way!”Clavas opened a square hatch and pointed down a flight of hewn stairs that looked older than any of the Egyptian tombs she’d seen on TV. He hurried them forward, his voice low but urgent.
“Why are we hiding again?” Simone asked. “It’s not like we did anything wrong.”
“Didn’t you hear the anger in their voice when they called for the Healer?” Sara shuddered. “I bet they spent hours sharpening those pitchforks.”
“They may not mean you harm.”
“And yet we’re being locked away like our life’s in danger,” Kia spat out.
“The sons of the elders are angry and grieving. They will not want to hear your rational thoughts. We cannot take the chance that they discover, not only your presence here, but your meaning to the future elders of the tribas.”
Kia frowned. “I get that. But running and hiding isn’t in my nature. Not anymore.”
Emma wanted to voice her agreement but, to be honest, she couldn’t.
She was a coward.
Instead of talking to Lans about why she didn’t want to have children, she’d snapped at him. When he’d asked deeper, she’d ignored him.
Back in the room, she had the perfect opportunity to come clean and what had she done? She let the alien destroy her against a wall. Rather than talk things through, she’d screamed his name and driven deep into an ecstasy that only his body could bring.
But it was just a distraction.
An escape.
For a coward.
If anyone had a right to be brave, it was those girls.
But it wasn’t her.
Not anymore.
“Be quiet.Please.” Clavas pressed a finger to his blue lips.
She glanced behind him. There was a long hallway that wrapped around the caverns. The Healer had given Clavas a map so they did not get lost.
“No one will be able to find you down there,” the old Plutonian had said before rising regally to distract the crowd so they could get away.
Clavas met her eyes. “Your mates will be back for you.”
“The mob isn’t going to…hurtthem, are they?” Sara winced, her usually flawless dark skin wrinkling in concern.
“Of course not. Our guys would beat them to pulps before that happened,” Simone snapped, but she didn’t sound sure.