Page 17 of Pursued by the Dragon Alien (Zarux Dragon Brides #4)

SEVENTEEN

Lilas

Terror swarmed in her gut like a poisoned nest of insects. She thrashed harder. Instinct overrode reason as she tried to wrench free, but his grip only tightened. Arms, as thick as iron bands, locked her in place. “Please settle, little one,” he murmured, his voice containing that same eerie, calculated calm she’d heard before. “She will be very cross with me if you’re hurt.”

Lilas had no idea what he was talking about, or who she was. Some desperate corner of her mind reminded her that the settlements were supposedly free of the Axis, but if that was true, why was the overseer here?

Lilas’ heartbeat slammed against her ribs. She tore at Ellion’s iron grip, her breath coming in sharp gasps as she fought with everything she had. But he was too strong. His muscled arms locked around her, holding her still like she was nothing more than a caught animal.

But then—

“Lilas?”

The voice cut through her panic. Warm. Familiar. Impossible. She stilled. The fight drained from her limbs as her head snapped up.

Turi stood in front of her.

Turi .

For a single, disoriented second, Lilas thought she was seeing things. The dim outpost lights caught the deep blue of Turi’s hair, her green eyes—just as she remembered. She wore different clothes, better fitted, reinforced. Stronger. Little details that meant everything. Details that meant she was here. Alive. Real.

“Turi?” Lilas choked as the overseer lifted his hand from her mouth and fully released her. Her breath hitched violently. Her entire body trembled as a different kind of adrenaline flooded her system.

Then suddenly, they were in each other’s arms.

Lilas clung to her. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of Turi’s shirt as a sharp half-sob, half-laugh wrenched from her chest. Turi smelled like home, like a thousand late nights of whispered conversations under battered blankets, like harvest dust and stolen moments of quiet rebellion.

“You’re okay,” Turi breathed against Lilas’ shoulder. “You’re okay.”

Lilas let out a shaky laugh, squeezing back just as tightly. “So are you.” She pulled back just enough to look at her. “How—what—” Her voice failed. Her hands remained locked around Turi’s arms, as if letting go would make her disappear.

Turi smiled, brushing a tear from Lilas’ cheek. “We have time for that later,” she said gently.

Lilas swallowed hard. Ahead of them, the outpost lights buzzed faintly, casting long shadows around the narrow corridor where they stood. The smell of overheated metal and the faint scent of something sweeter—Turi’s scent, something warm and familiar—filled her nose. She barely noticed anything else, her attention locked on her friend.

Lilas shook her head, struggling to piece this together. “Where have you been? Are the others—?”

Turi’s expression softened. Her lips twitched with something close to amusement, but her eyes were still shining. “Sevas and Fivra are fine,” she said. “They’re back on our ship, but first, you should know—this is Ellion.”

Ellion . Her stomach twisted. The overseer with his purple scales and silver eyes—eyes that were the same as Razion’s. The male who had controlled their settlement, who had given them orders, who had stared down at them with cool, distant authority. Lilas turned to look at him. Her body was still tight with leftover adrenaline. He was watching them, his face unreadable, but his arms hung loose at his sides now, no longer trying to hold her still.

“So, things have changed.” Turi curled her fingers around Lilas’ hands again. “He’s my mate.”

Lilas blinked. Then blinked again. She yanked her hands from Turi’s grip. “Your what? ”

“My mate,” Turi repeated, calm, patient.

Lilas took a step back. “Wow, Turi. But he’s the overseer.”

“ Was ,” Turi corrected. “But yes.”

Lilas’ mind churned, every thought tangled and colliding. She stared in open astonishment as Turi reached for him, her fingers pressing lightly against his wrist, like touching him was the most natural thing in the world.

Lilas reeled, her pulse pounding in her ears.

Ellion remained silent. His tall form was unmoving beside Turi. His expression was unreadable, his silver eyes watching her with unsettling calm.

Lilas’ fury burned hot. “You let us be taken,” she snapped at Ellion. “Stolen. Sold like livestock.”

Ellion met her gaze steadily. “And yet, I am here now—no longer an Axis enforcer. I am very much in love with Turi,” Ellion said evenly, sending a warm look to Turi. “Understand this—I was never truly loyal to the Axis. They tampered with my memory and held me prisoner as much as they did you. I was, however, able to gain the power to break us free.”

Lilas frowned, remembering what Razion had told her about the Zaruxians who had broken free of Axis hold and had escaped. Apparently that part of what Razion had said was true.

“The settlements are no longer under Axis control,” Ellion went on. “I led the uprising myself, with the help of some new allies. We fought. We won. The settlements belong to the people now.”

A sharp breath hitched in Lilas’ throat.

Turi nodded. “It will be a long, slow recovery, with a lot of damage to undo, but our people have the lives they were never allowed to have.”

Lilas inhaled slowly, her anger wavering. There was no defensiveness in his tone, no excuses. Her gut told her he was telling the truth. Slowly, her fingers uncurled and she looked up at him, trying to see him in a new light. It would take time. “Then, I suppose I should thank you,” she said. “But you sure scared me just now.”

“My apologies.” Ellion’s silver gaze settled on her as he inclined his head. “You were running,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Lilas dragged in a shaky breath. Not just from the adrenaline crash, but from everything—seeing Turi, the insanity of everything she just learned, the gut-wrenching betrayal still thrumming inside her like an open wound. “I was,” she said, as her voice hitched.

Turi’s fingers tightened around hers. “Lilas,” she said gently. “What happened?”

Lilas let go of her friend’s hands and took a step back, wrapping her arms over her chest like it could somehow contain the storm raging inside her. The back of her throat burned. “Razion—” She swallowed, shaking her head.

“Who is Razion?” Ellion asked.

“He’s a Zaruxian.” Lilas sent him a sharp glance, as if she could transfer some of her anger onto him, just for being the same species as Razion. “He saved me from the harem I was sold to, but—” She broke off and bit her lower lip. “He was going to sell me.”

Turi sucked in a sharp breath. Even Ellion’s expression flickered with disapproval.

Lilas clenched her teeth, forcing down the furious heat crawling up her spine. Her fingers dug into her ribs. “I heard him say it.” Anger laced her voice. “Krask—the first officer—arranged a deal with a known trafficker. Had a deal lined up, and Razion just agreed on the spot.” Her breath shuddered as she forced herself to say it out loud. “I thought we had something special, but I was just another piece of cargo to him.”

The words felt like swallowing glass. Saying them made them real. It solidified the betrayal in her mind, burned it into stone.

“We came here on a tip that there was a Zaruxian here,” Turi said in clipped tones. “We’re trying to find the others, but if this is how he treats you, we don’t need to have anything to do with him.”

Ellion, though—his silver eyes locked onto her, cold and unreadable. “And in the time you’ve spent with him, he showed no other signs of betrayal?”

Lilas’ nails dug into her arms. “No,” she admitted, her voice raw. “I trusted him, but I should have known better. He’s a raider. A space pirate.” A bitter laugh forced its way up her throat. “I was so foolish.”

Ellion let out a quiet hum, studying her like she was one of the crops back home, something to be examined for imperfections. “If he meant to sell you, why allow you so much freedom?”

Lilas’ stomach twisted. She had been free on the Darkslip. Razion had never confined her, had given her duties, a place on the crew. And yet… She heard him. His voice had been clear. He had taken that meeting. He hadn’t even hesitated.

She gritted her teeth. “I don’t know,” she snapped. “Maybe he was playing a long game. Maybe he was having some fun before handing me over.”

Lilas’ heart raced as she wrestled with her emotions. She was still absorbing the conversation about Razion’s potential betrayal when Ellion’s steady gaze bored into her, unyielding. “You’re coming with us,” he said softly. “If Razion is willing to sell you, to put you in danger, then you don’t owe him anything.”

“Thank you,” she replied, relief making her joints slack. “I was on my way to try and find a way out of here when you grabbed me.”

Turi stepped in, glancing between Lilas and Ellion. Her expression was determined as she placed a reassuring hand on Lilas’ arm. “Lilas, we can help you. Come with us; I promise you will be safe. And like I said, Fivra and Sevas will be so happy to see you.”

“Let’s go,” Lilas said. “Can we leave the outpost before he realizes I’m gone?”

“Yes,” Ellion said, stepping closer. “I’ll return to the ship now and tell the others to prepare for immediate departure. You two find your way back without raising suspicion.”

Lilas closed her eyes momentarily, willing her racing thoughts to calm. She thought of Razion—of everything they’d shared. The way he had pulled her from the darkness and into this new world. But he was prepared to sell her, to give her away.

“Okay,” she whispered, her certainty gaining strength with every heartbeat. “I’m so ready.”

Ellion exhaled, finally looking away. “If you’re somehow mistaken, Razion will have to explain himself when he comes looking for you.”

Lilas stiffened. “Who says he’ll come looking?”

Ellion’s silver eyes flicked back to her, heavy with certainty. “Because if he cares for you, there is no force in the universe that will stop him.”

Lilas swallowed hard, but she refused to let herself believe it. Because if Razion really had cared for her…he would have never considered turning her over in the first place.

She lifted her chin, forcing steel into her spine. “I don’t care if he comes.”

Turi’s fingers wove back through hers, grounding her. “Come on, Lilas,” she said. “We have so much to tell you.”

Lilas exhaled slowly, her heart still a tangled mess. But Turi was here. They were back together—alive—and for now, that was enough.

She nodded. “Alright.” And without looking back, she followed them into the unknown.