CHAPTER THREE
K ara stood frozen at the top of the ramp, her heart hammering against her ribs as the enormity of what she was doing crashed over her.
During their furtive journey through the barren landscape surrounding the ship, she’d been too focused on avoiding detection to think about anything else.
But as Thraxar joined them, his powerful body looming over her, she realized how little she knew about him.
What if she had made a terrible mistake?
She had just placed her life—and more importantly, Rory’s life—in the hands of a complete stranger.
“Are you having second thoughts?” he asked, his black eyes unreadable.
“About a hundred of them,” she admitted as her fingers tightened around Rory’s hand. Despite the strange urge to trust him, her survival instincts warned her to be cautious. But even without the threat of Drask seeking revenge, they needed to get away from this place.
He nodded calmly. “A wise approach. Trust should be earned, not given.”
His matter-of-fact acknowledgment of her suspicion caught her off guard, but the very fact that he didn’t try to convince her helped calm her nerves.
He stood there patiently as he waited for her to gather her courage, but his tail swayed slowly from side to side and she remembered the way it had wrapped around her wrist in that oddly comforting gesture.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked again.
His eyes darkened. “Because no female—or child—should ever be treated like that. And no one else here would intervene.”
She found she believed him. Still, she couldn’t prevent herself from looking past him to where the hatch remained open, giving her one last opportunity to leave.
“I promise you will be safe,” he said again, and she finally nodded.
“Very well.”
He closed the hatch, and she fought down another flicker of panic as she reminded herself that she had just made the decision to stay. Rory tugged at her hand, looking around at the ship with wide, solemn eyes.
“You like the ship?” she asked softly, and he nodded before reaching for Thraxar’s tail again.
“I’m sorry. He doesn’t usually…” She hesitated, not sure how to explain her son’s behavior. “He doesn’t typically respond to strangers this way.”
Something shifted in Thraxar’s expression—a subtle change she couldn’t interpret. “Perhaps he recognizes safety when he sees it.”
“Perhaps.”
He gestured to the narrow corridor in front of them.
“My ship is small. I do not have a passenger cabin, but there is a crew cabin that the two of you can share. This way.”
The ship’s interior surprised her. Unlike the rather battered outside, everything inside was neat and clean, painted in soothing colors and with soft lighting that didn’t hurt the eyes.
They reached a modest cabin with a sleeping platform built into the wall.
Although it was spotlessly clean, something about it suggested it had been uninhabited for a long time. Did he always travel alone?
“The sanitation unit is through that door.” He hesitated. “I am afraid it was only designed for a single crewmember?—”
“That’s fine. Rory and I are used to sharing.”
Before he could respond, a loud clang echoed through the ship, and he hit a button on the control panel next to the door. The screen showed two guards at the base of the ramp and more activity behind them.
“Either the guard has been found or they have noticed your absence,” he said. “They are searching vessels.”
Her heart thudded against her ribs so painfully she felt sick. “Are they looking for us?”
“It seems likely.”
“What if they come aboard? What if they search?—”
“They will not find you,” he interrupted, his voice calm but firm. “This vessel has… modifications. Remain here.”
He disappeared down the corridor before she could question him further. She immediately crouched beside Rory, who had begun rocking slightly at the commotion.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, though she didn’t believe it herself. “We need to be very quiet now, okay? Like our hiding game.”
Rory nodded, his fingers finding hers to squeeze three times. The familiar gesture steadied her. Whatever happened, she would protect him.
Thraxar returned, his expression grim.
“They demand entry for inspection.”
Her stomach dropped. “Are you going to let them in?”
“I have little choice without arousing suspicion.” His tail lashed agitatedly. “But there is a secure compartment beneath the floor panels in the cargo hold. It will shield your heat signatures and scent.”
“A smuggling compartment?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, lightening that stern face. “A privacy feature.”
Despite everything, she almost smiled. “How do we access it?”
“Follow me. Quickly.”
They moved through the ship to a larger hold area filled with crates and equipment. Thraxar pressed a sequence on a seemingly ordinary wall panel, and a section of the floor slid silently open, revealing a dark space below. Her heart beat even faster.
“It is not large,” he warned. “Will that bother the child?”
“No. If anything it will give him a feeling of safety.”
She didn’t mention the fact that it horrified her. Another bang on the hull, louder this time, and his head snapped towards the sound.
“I must answer before they become more aggressive,” he said. “The compartment has emergency lighting and air circulation. Once inside, press here—” he indicated a small depression in the wall “—to seal it from within. I am the only one who will be able to open it from the outside.”
She looked at the dark ominous hole, and tried to breathe.
“Will there be enough air?” she asked shakily.
“The ventilation system is separate from the ship’s main system,” he assured her. “You will have sufficient oxygen.”
The banging intensified.
“We need to go now,” she told Rory, trying to keep her voice steady. “It’s like a special hiding place.”
Rory moved towards the opening without hesitation, peering down with curiosity rather than fear before jumping down into it.
She managed to control her shaking hands enough to follow him into the compartment.
At least it was larger than it had appeared from above—perhaps eight feet by six, with a ceiling high enough for her to sit upright.
Thraxar crouched at the opening, his big body blocking the light.
“I will return for you when it is safe.”
Their eyes met, and something in his gaze—a steadiness, a certainty—made her nod.
“We’ll be waiting,” she said.
As the panel slid shut above them, plunging them into darkness, she did her best not to panic. She told herself she needed to be calm for Rory’s sake, but he was the one who found her hand in the dark and squeezed it three times.
A soft blue light activated, illuminating the space with a gentle glow. Rory looked perfectly calm in the azure light, and she prayed her face didn’t reveal her own fear as she reached over to lock the compartment.
“You’re being very brave,” she whispered, pulling him close.
A few minutes later she heard the heavy tread of boots and muffled voice—Thraxar’s deep rumble and the sharper tones of the guards.
She strained to hear, but caught only fragments:
“…reported incident…”
“…fugitive female and defective offspring…”
Her jaw tightened at the description. Defective. As if Rory were a malfunctioning machine rather than a child who experienced the world differently.
“What’s in these crates?” a voice demanded.
“Medical supplies,” Thraxar said calmly. “Bound for the Veridian system.”
“Open them.”
A scraping sound as a crate lid was removed.
“Satisfied?” Thraxar asked.
A grunt. “Check the rest of the hold.”
Footsteps moved around the space above them as she wrapped her arms around Rory. He remained surprisingly still, his breathing even. She counted the seconds, waiting for the telltale sounds of discovery—the hidden panel being detected, the compartment exposed.
Instead, after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, the footsteps retreated and the voices faded as they moved towards the front of the ship. She exhaled slowly, allowing herself a moment of relief. They hadn’t been found—yet.
Time stretched in the blue-lit darkness. Rory eventually settled against her side, tracing the pattern of bolts on the wall.. The compartment remained comfortable—neither too hot nor too cold, the air fresh despite their enclosure.
Finally, footsteps approached again—a single set this time—and the panel slid open to reveal Thraxar. A huge sigh of relief escaped her before she could prevent it.
“They have gone. Your presence remained undetected.”
He reached down and offered Rory his hand and to her surprise, her son took it, letting Thraxar pull him free.
He reached for her next, and an odd spark of awareness shivered through her body as his huge warm hand closed around hers.
He lifted her effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing, and settled her onto the deck, his tail curving around her waist to steady her.
“Thank you,” she muttered, suddenly embarrassed by the feeling of warmth that had washed over her when he touched her. It was the first time anyone other than Rory had touched her in months and her body had reacted instinctively. That was all.
He stared down at her for a moment, then turned to the nearest crate, replacing the lid the guards must have opened earlier. She caught a glimpse of neatly packaged medical supplies—ones she recognized from her time in the medical unit.
“You trade in medical supplies?”
“Occasionally. I carry whatever is in demand.”
“I’m guessing there was no demand here,” she said bitterly, and he nodded.
“Liquor is more desirable.” He hesitated. “We should leave before they decide to make a second search.”
She shivered. “Yes, please.”
Rory tugged on her shirt and gave her a pleading look as he pointed upwards.
“He would like to see the ship take off?” Thraxar asked, surprising her. Once again he seemed to understand her son in a way that most people didn’t.
“Yes,”
“Then come.”
They followed him to the front of the ship.
The bridge was surprisingly small, with only a single chair positioned at the control panel.
Thraxar turned the chair in their direction.
Rory immediately climbed up on it, and she reluctantly joined him, perching nervously on the edge.
As he moved to the controls, his tail curled lightly around her waist again, and she felt that same tingle of awareness.
“You are safe,” he murmured, his eyes on the panel.
He fired the engines and they roared to life, the vibration running through the ship.
She was tempted to cover Rory’s ears, but he looked completely entranced, leaning forward to watch the lights on the panel as the ship rose smoothly into the air.
Through the viewscreen in front of them, she watched the ground fall away until they were soaring over the settlement and out across the barren rocky landscape.
As they reached the edge of the asteroid’s thin atmosphere and the vast expanse of space opened up in front of them, a sense of wonder and excitement filled her. The ship accelerated and Jellix V disappeared from view.