Page 45 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

She straightened and nodded. “Why would I have a mate connection? I haven’t slept with L—“ She hesitated and finished lamely, “anyone.”

Simone shot her a puzzled look. “You thought about it?”

Emma’s mouth opened.

“It takes more than that.” Sara gestured to the door. “But we really don’t have time to figure it out now. Can you walk?”

“Yeah. The pain is gone.”Strangely.

Emma had never felt anything like that before. It was as if someone had shot her through the chest with an arrow. Every vein in her body had exploded with pain.

She never wanted to feel that again.

“Come on.” Sara ushered her forward.

They walked in a tight group, pushing the door open. To Emma’s surprise, they ran into no guards at all. Every corridor resembled a ghost town. The only slap of footsteps was their own.

Following the plan they had created three days ago, the women took the back exits and scaled the wall again. They ran in the opposite direction of the fight, stopping only when they were at the meeting point.

Sara opened her exoskeleton and stepped out. Thick curls clung to her mahogany-colored skin. Sweat dampened her outfit and dripped down her chin. She swiped it away with the back of her hand, almond-shaped eyes sparkling.

“So, we didn’t get out on time, but that wasn’t bad for our first mission.”

Kia bobbed her head. “I’d say that was a decent first attempt.”

“Think we’ll do better next time?” Simone joked.

Emma walked out of her exoskeleton with a wry smile. “There better notbea next time.”

Sara looked in the direction of the Heronas city. Smoke billowed from within the gates. The faint sounds of battle rode on the wind. “Do you think they got the Healer out?”

“I’m sure they did.” Kia’s voice did not waver. “It’s only a matter of time before they meet us up here.” Despite her confident tone, a worried furrow appeared between Kia’s eyebrows. It grew with every minute that passed.

Sara stroked her zapten’s chin. “Do you think they forgot the location?”

“No.” Simone shook her head. “Zar wouldn’t. I know that for a fact.”

“What if something happened to them?” Kia frowned.

“We would have felt something.” Sara gave Kia a hug. “Don’t think like that.”

Emma froze. “Felt something. Felt—I felt something. I… back in the Heronas lab.”

Simone, Sara, and Kia looked at her with dread.

“You said it was a mate connection, Sara. What did that mean?” She stumbled forward, horror ballooning in her heart. “Was I feeling Lans’s…?”

“We could be wrong,” Sara said, trying to calm her.

Just then, she saw a zapten flying through the air. It landed in front of them. A moment later, Clavas scrambled off.

Emma threw herself forward.

Her voice rose to a feverish pitch. “Clavas, where’s Lans?”

“Where is everyone?” Sara glanced behind him. “Are they running behind?”

Clavas’s worried expression cut Emma to the quick. The alien’s blue skin was dotted with blood and gunk, but it was the look in his eyes that freaked her out. His lips pinched into a thin line and he held a hand out to her. The truth dawned then, pouring like hot wax and scalding to the touch.