Page 35 of The Dreamer and the Deep Space Warrior
One gestured at her and spoke in a series of strange noises. The same Kroid from Ved’s ship, whom she identified by the bubbled and irritated burned skin across its head and neck, closed the distance between them faster than she could move.
Backing away, she stumbled over a raised root. The Kroid grabbed her before she fell.
As soon as she was balanced again, Isobel stomped on its foot. “Let me go!”
It bared its teeth at her as it’s mouth yawned open. Wider, and wider until its jaw popped and unhinged. Rows of razor-sharp teeth lined its dark, putrid orifice and rotten strips of its earlier meals were caught between its teeth. Its tongue was a whip that lashed out toward her in anticipation.
What level of hell was this? Isobel thrashed wildly in its hold, but before she could fully comprehend what she was seeing, she was snatched out of the Kroid’s grasp. At the same time, her captor was knocked violently to the ground.
A large, familiar body braced her. Ved looked down at her, red shields burning. Then he turned his focus to the Kroids and let out a deadly, rhythmic growl that traveled through her bones.
The two remaining Kroids pointed their guns at him.
The next moments were a blur that her brain refused to fully register. All she could say for certain was Ved lunged at them. One moment the creatures had all of their limbs, and the next, they were gone and strewn about. Inky green blood drenched the area around them.
“Ved,” she choked out, taking a stumbling step toward him.
But that same terrible Kroid from the ship sprang to its feet, still very much alive, and grabbed at her. She fought, throwing a sloppy punch and kicking its shin, but then something hot and metal pressed to her head.
The barrel of a rifle.
She froze.
Ved came to hisfull height.
Looking from the weapon at her temple to the Kroid, he snapped his jaws.
The creature behind her began to chitter, but before it was finished, before Isobel could comprehend what had happened, the sound was cut off. A flash, an electrical whir, and the Kroid holding her let out a grunt.
Ved snatched her to him, turning her so her back was to his front, before the body even hit the ground. “Isobel Nott,” he growled. He lifted her as if she weighed no more than a child’s doll and stalked forward, his arm snaked around her midsection, his huge hand gripping her hip.
She didn’t argue against the contact, too shaken from the ordeal to do anything but cling to his arms. He was so sturdy. Solid. The thick cords of muscle beneath his body suit made her feel safe despite having witnessed him commit unthinkable violence once again.
But this time, it had been to save her.
“I can walk,” she rasped eventually. They’d been walking for too long. The ship wasn’t that far away, was it?
But then she truly looked around her. They weren’t going back to his ship; he was taking her to the edge of the forest.
“Ved?”
But he didn’t answer her, and something gnawed at her insides. Was he upset with her? Had she done something wrong?
When he set her down on her feet not seconds later, she swayed where she stood. She wasn’t injured, not really, but her mind and body were having a difficult time comprehending what had taken place. She’d almost died. Multiple times. And Ved was angry with her.
“I don’t know what I did wrong,” she said as she turned to face him, but he was already stepping back from her.
“It isn’t safe for you,” he said gruffly. There was something else there, something unspoken. As if what he really wanted to say wasI’m not safe for you.
His red shields flashed to a dim orange as his hand worked in and out of a fist. “Go home, Isobel Nott, and stay there,” he ordered in a rough voice that brooked no argument. His tone was icier than usual. Was this how he commanded his clan? Was this the true him?
But I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here and help. Isobel took in an involuntary inhale and willed herself not to cry. She stepped toward him, and he stepped back again. Something cracked deep within her.
Her lips trembled. “Please, talk to me. I don’t understand what is happening. What—”
He let out a growl, his hand squeezing into a fist. “I can’t be a part of your world, and you’ll never belong in mine. Go home,” he said again. Clipped. Cold.
Each word was like a shard of ice stabbing her. After the time spent learning his language and his culture, she’d thought, even if just for a little while, shecouldbelong. The crushing weight of the truth settled on her chest like dirt on a grave.
