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She gave him a confused look back until he closed the distance between them and picked her up. “Take…”

“Wait, your wounds—”

He held her close and nuzzled against her neck. “Esta vas nas ishka, lillak,”he whispered against her.

She stilled at first. Then she began to realize.

Pressing her head to his, she hugged him back. “We have to go,” she breathed against him.

She felt his claws almost cut into her suit as he clung to her. “We go.”

Swiftly, he moved for the door, not once looking back.

They made better time with Kryxis carrying her, racing through the medical sector and on past the rows of housing units. The closer they got, the more cautious they grew, keeping a better eye out for soldiers on the rooftops.

She knew she wasn’t going to be able to show up and expect Saul and the others to let Kryxis on board. Nexacor prohibited stowaways. Thankfully, Kryxis was good at not being seen when he didn’t wish to be.

Hiding behind one wall on the edge of the landing dock, she noticed a few men were still outside, including Saul, talking with Lex who was speaking and pointing over to a set of buildings.The ships were running, engines humming to life, but Lex must have found a way to stall them for time.

Dani had Kryxis put her down as they moved around the wall. When Saul and his men had their backs turned, they made a break for the back of the ship. Sheek opened the hatch into the engine room and together they snuck inside.

“You’ll have to stay in here,” Dani said. She went to follow Sheek up to the top but noticed Kryxis still behind her. She turned around and put up her hands. “Stay. Wait for me. Okay?”

He took a step back. “Stay.”

“That’s right. And no messing with the power this time, got it?” She pointed to the power supply. “No.”

He bared his teeth in a wicked grin.

“No.”

He laughed. “Riza niset arkaris, sifa lillak.” He reached out and caught a lock of her hair, curling it behind her ear before letting his talon brush against her cheek. “I wait for you.”

She shivered at his touch, then took his hand. “You might want to hold on to something.”

“Xa,” he said as she released him. He curled his fingers on each hand, showing he’d have no problem with that at all.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Dani

She hadn’t felt this tense lifting off since maybe her first day as a collector. Her hands were sweating just gripping the seat. The ship rumbled, making her feet vibrate, lights flickering as the ship prepared to take off.

Her team was quiet, a few catching her eye before glancing around to the back where Saul, Tristan, and Garret sat. She turned her gaze over to them also, noticing neither of them talking or laughing like they had when they first arrived. Saul glared her way, while Garret wouldn’t meet her eyes.

She looked back over to the window. The rain was still coming down, but she could still see the patterns of the buildings. Soon they would all be gone, turned to rubble.

Myrell and Tom had tried to reason with Nadine and the other heads. But the council had made their decision, and it was final. She’d saved Kryxis from an awful fate at least, but the rest would perish. Even if the creatures had been turned into awful experiments by Marityne, they were still living things that called X110 home. Maybe some would flee from the city or make itdown to the labyrinth of mines below before it was all wiped away.

The city would be gone, but the world would still be standing. It could go on. She might not be able to save what was, but she could still talk to the council about the possibility of rebuilding in the future. For now, she had to watch as the ship slowly began to rise as plumes of white smoke from the rockets blocked her view.

The ship left the landing dock and rose above the buildings, only to turn clockwise and begin to steadily ascend into the blue-gray clouds above. The ship roared and picked up speed, pushing her body back into the seat. She shut her eyes and thought of Kryxis below, hoping he’d secured himself.

The window darkened as they broke through the atmosphere and out into the dark of space. By now the response team’s ship had to be right behind them. She hadn’t considered yet how exactly she was going to sneak Kryxis into the main ship. She just had to hope his stealth skills would be as good in a spaceship as they were in the city.

As the stars started to pop up, she saw the main ship ahead, growing bigger as they sped toward it. Her heart pounded in her ears as she thought about the crazy thing she’d done.

As their ship approached, a voice rang overhead. “Clear to dock.”