Page 98 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

Fear trapped her in place.

She couldn’t face these guys.

They were stronger than all of them combined.

They would never succeed.

There was no way.

Tap, tap, tap.

Simone strode forward, the exoskeleton glimmering in the dim light. It’s broad metallic shoulders hugged her slim body in a fierce husk. She faced the approaching warrior head-on, fist raised in preparation.

Emma’s chest crowded with too many emotions. Her knees went weak. She slapped her hand against the wall, stumbling to the left. The exoskeleton’s palm flattened against the rocky cavern surface.

“Hey, hey, hey,”Sara hissed, springing toward her. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t do this. I can’t—”

“Yes, you can, Emma,” Sara said quietly.

Tap, tap, tap.

The Plutonian warrior would find the door to the basement soon.

They would find them.

And they would kill them.

They had to.

That was the only way to keep the threat of the Ungazi at bay.

But maybe you deserve to die.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut.

That voice sounded like her mother’s. Those words had played a repeat loop in her head almost a month ago when she was trapped in the auction house and sold to the alien with the deepest pockets.

“Emma.Emma!” Sara dug her brown fingers into Emma’s arms. “Look at me. Hey.” Metal gears whirred as the head of her exoskeleton folded back into the shoulders, revealing Sara’s dark skin, big brown eyes and firm lips. “I know you’re scared. We all are.”

Emma glanced at Kia and Simone.

Both of the women watched her with wide eyes and she saw, in that moment, the same fear mirrored in them.

“But,” Sara said quietly, “we’re not going to let that fear guide us. We’re not going to let it rule us. We’re going to beat them, no matter what. We’re going to win.”

“How are you,” Emma panted, “still as confident now as you were in that auction house’s prison cells?”

She smiled slightly. “Here’s a secret. I was terrified too. But you know what made me strong?”

Tap, tap, tap.

“What?”

Tap, tap.

Sara lifted her chin. “You. Alone, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but I took courage from you. We’re stronger together, Emma.”

---