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Payim quo Desero

He wanted to skim closer to the ground but the steam coming from the hot springs made it impossible to see. He veered the cruiser closer to the base of the mountain. Light reflected off something ametrauphill as his gaze swiveled toward it.

“That’s it!” he whooped, his heart leaping as he aimed the cruiser toward the metallic shape.

As swiftly as his excitement came, it fled as it set in that the cruiser had obviously crashed.

“Elena,” he rasped, pushing the cruiser faster.

He haphazardly landed on the uneven ground and was out of the cruiser before he could think better of it. Besides the falling ash, there was no movement around the downed cruiser. He listened as he cautiously approached, but there was no sound. Payim paused when he reached the damaged ship, his gaze riveted to the set of small footprints. The falling ash had obscured them, but they were definitely Elena’s.

She made it out.He tugged in a sharp breath.

Relief swamped him. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt. Suddenly he’d been reprieved from death itself. His expression twisted again as he spotted the reptiles’ tracks. She was still in grave danger.

He studied the scene, following Elena’s prints a few paces from the cruiser.

She then turned.His brow furrowed, realizing she’d attempted to escape but had been halted.That’s when those bastards emerged.

He snarled. He could feel his mate’s fear and desperation. It made him want to claw at his skin. As he felt himself slipping again into the enraged haze, he spotted a bit of yellow beneath the ash.

Wasp repellent.He picked up the spent seed pod.

He noted Elena’s tracks leading downhill as a better picture of what happened here formed in his mind. She’d obviously negotiated her way out of this situation using the wasp bombs. He knew she was intelligent and resourceful but yet again she’d impressed him.

“That’s my mate!” He slapped his thigh.

He grew serious again. Until he found her safe, he couldn’t celebrate. Though this gave him hope. He was close.

She’s taking them down the mountain.

He debated following on foot but hadn’t spotted them on the hillside. They were undoubtedly already crossing the hot springs or even as far as the geysers.

“I’m coming!” he growled, part assurance to his mate, part warning to the reptiles as he sprinted back to the cruiser.

TWELVE

INTO THE DESERT

Elena

Cautiously she climbed the rocky black hill. From a distance the desert looked flat but it wasn’t. The regular lava flows created rolling hills that were as brittle as glass in places. Her gaze shifted to the nearest river of magma. She was doing her best to skirt it, but it was hard to say if they’d avoided it or not. Like some of the hot springs, the crust here could be hiding a fiery death below. Any minute she expected to crash through. Elena wiped the sweat off her brow as she took another tentative step, feeling for a change in heat radiating through the ground.

“This is taking forever,” Spiny snarled.

“Be my guest.” She flung her hand out, indicating he could lead.

The scaly asshole glared at her with his beady yellow eyes as he stepped into her personal space. Her hair stood on end when his clawed hand shot out, but instead of throttling her he snatched the bag off her shoulder. Roughly he rummaged through it, grabbing her flask of water.

Maybe you shouldn’t have made the pilot fetch and carry your water. Or better yet, go fetch it off his dead body.Her gaze narrowed on the bastard as he took giant swigs of their only water.

“You humans don’t need that much.” He tossed the nearly empty canteen back at her.

She stared at the flask in disgust. No doubt the last few swallows were mostly reptile backwash, but she couldn’t be picky. If she didn’t drink it now, the asshole probably would. She tried to ignore the gross thought, tugged down her mask, wiped off the spout and brought it to her lips. As she downed the bit of water, what Spiny said triggered something.

He talks about humans like he knows them.She recalled the pair’s comment about hating the way humans smiled.

“So, you’ve met my people before,” she probed as she picked her bag up from the ground.