Page 14 of Caldar
No. That was ridiculous. The Suhlik had space lasers or whatever and wore armor. She wore Caldar’s steward jacket over a white off-the-shoulder blouse, ruffled skirt, and strappy sandals. Very vacation chic, but very pointless in a survival situation.
The best thing she could do was hide and wait. Caldar would take care of this. She had to believe that. Yes, he was shady beyond belief. She really couldn’t trust anything he said.
He had also stopped those muggers.
The table toppled, exposing her.
CHAPTER5
SONIA
Strong arms liftedher to her feet.
“There is no time. Hurry,” Caldar said, pulling her to the balcony staircase. He limped, blood soaking his white uniform.
Sonia hated whenever people said there was no time to explain in a movie. Ten seconds wouldn’t make a difference, usually, but they were in the midst of a gunfight.
Actually…
The gunfire had stopped. The Suhlik were leaving, teleporting away.
“What’s going on?”
Caldar pointed up to the dome. Splinters spread across the glass like a wispy web.
“Oh, shit,” she breathed.
“Breach. Hold tight. Do not let go.” He placed her arms through a gap in the staircase’s metal frame. “Close your eyes. Hold your breath.”
“Caldar, you’re hurt.”
He hesitated before answering. “I will survive.”
Yeah, now she was thinking he wouldn’t survive.
“I’m scared,” she said. Terrified. Why had he hesitated before answering? How badly hurt was he?
“I am here.” He positioned her, tucking her head down, and stood behind her. His body covered hers. “Soon. Breathe steady. An elevated heartbeat will use extra oxygen.”
Knowing he was with her helped. For all his faults and lack of respect for her boundaries, Sonia absolutely trusted him to keep her safe. All that pro-Mahdfel propaganda must have wormed its way into her head.
Stay calm.The cruise ship did safety drills all the time. She hoped it’d be enough.
The cracking noise grew from a whisper to a deafening rumble. Sonia took a giant gulp and held her breath. Air rushed by as the ballroom depressurized, the force of it lifting her off her feet.
She tightened her grip on the railing. Caldar wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around the railing. Her lungs burned. Pressure—or lack of it—squeezed her chest.
It was cold. Too cold. Absolute zero or close to it. Exposure for more than a few moments would kill her.
Finally, silence. Her feet drifted above the floor even as she clung to the railing. She didn’t want to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see.
Something prodded at her mouth.
Sonia turned her face away. It was probably drifting debris. The burning in her chest was impossible to ignore. She needed to take a breath, but she couldn’t. Her eyes watered.
A piece of hard plastic was forced into her mouth.
Sonia gasped, then bit down on the plastic. Oxygen flooded her nose. Warmth spread over her. The device generated a low energy field around her body to keep her from freezing to death. She coughed, eyes watering.
