Page 58 of Saved By the Alien Hybrid (Hybrids of Yulaira #1)

Rentir caught at Cordelia’s shoulder before she turned a corner, pulling her back just in time to avoid the plasma bolt that would have caught her in the shoulder.

It slammed into the far wall and cooled.

The power on their blasters was turned down to keep from damaging the ship’s hull, but it was still more than enough to burn through flesh.

She cursed, dropping to one knee and peering carefully around the corner. “Just one!” she hissed.

Thalen charged the rifle he’d stolen off one of the soldiers, bringing the butt up to his shoulder.

“I’ve got it,” he said evenly.

Cordelia shuffled out of the way, and three shots later, there was a heavy thud.

“Clear,” Thalen announced.

Cordelia eyed his rifle with envy. “Wanna trade?”

Thalen huffed a laugh in answer, clapping her on the shoulder before he remembered himself and darted a wary glance at Rentir—but he was having an easier time controlling his outbursts now that they’d lain together and she’d promised herself to him. He shrugged.

Cordelia checked the holomap on her comm again. “Fendar’s best guess at where they’re keeping Thea is down this hall.”

Rentir took her wrist, studying the blip on the map. “I recognize this area. There are no cells, as such, but there are store rooms that can be locked from the outside.”

“You know your way around?”

“Well enough, I believe.”

Xeth grunted. “Let’s go before they realize this one is missing,” he said, kicking the dead soldier’s ankle with a sneer of disgust.

They crept down the hall as fast as they dared, trying to avoid the ringing sound their boots made against the smooth metal floor when they stepped too quickly.

“Here,” Rentir called softly, gesturing to a side hall lined along one side with wide doors. “Deep storage.”

Cordelia hastened toward the first door, slapping her free hand against the scanner.

It opened without complaint, the security still thoroughly corrupted by whatever Fendar had done.

There were crates upon crates of freeze-dried Aurillon delicacies, but no sign of her colleague.

She moved to the next, full to bursting with silks and leathers from Auretia.

“What is all this crap?” she muttered, kicking an opened chest.

“Luxury lotari-shit,” Xeth answered, opening the next door for her.

Frigid air poured out in an undulating cloud.

“More here, too. Looks like a bunch of frozen produce.” He plucked a berry off a vine, popping it into his mouth.

His expression turned considering as he chewed.

“Hm. This room… I understand.” He grabbed another berry before Thalen pushed him away and let the door to the freezer slide shut.

Cordelia was already at the next door. Rentir looked anxiously up and down the hall. There was at least twenty doors. If they lingered too long…

“Everyone take a door,” Rentir called, stepping around Cordelia to get the next one. It hissed open as he made contact with the scanner. “We don’t have time to—augh!”

The world spun as pain lanced through his jaw, and he barely had time to register that he’d been struck before the metal pipe hurtled through the fog toward his head again. He tipped his head at the last second, taking the blow with his horn instead of his forehead.

A hoarse, faint cry of anger met him as a pale face swirled in the mist, catching the light spilling in from the hall. The woman had already wound up for another blow.

“Cor—” He lost his plea for help to a grunt of pain as the woman kicked him squarely in the cock after feinting with the pipe. “—delia.”

“Thea, wait! Wait!” Cordelia cried, jumping between them before the human could finish the job. “They’re with us!”

Rentir huffed, leaning back against the far wall and cupping his wounded manhood as he watched the other woman take in Cordelia’s familiar face. The pipe wavered in the air and then sagged.

“We’re here to get you out,” Cordelia said hurriedly. “Can you move? Are you good?”

Thea stepped into the light of the hall, revealing her towering, well-muscled frame, somewhat at odds with the girlish beauty of her face. She nodded, casting her glance around at all of them.

“They’re hybrids,” she whispered.

“They are. Rebels,” Cordelia said. “We have to keep moving. I can send you back to the hangar with one of the males. They’re gathering up the kids from the crèche to ferry them down to the surface.”

A figure staggered out of the fog-filled room behind her, and every blaster muzzle rose. “The young? Did she say they’re here for the young?” His voice was hoarse, but melodic and refined.

Xeth stepped closer to the bedraggled-looking auretian, pressing his blaster to the male’s temple, hatred sparking in his eyes. Thea lunged for him, slapping the muzzle away.

“Get the fuck off him,” she hissed, the words little more than a whisper despite the venom behind them. “I’ll shove that thing up your ass if you do that again.”

Xeth looked equal parts appalled and confused.

“I recognize you,” Rentir exclaimed as something sparked in his memory at that white hair and distinctive wing-like marking over his face. Opalescent, violet eyes looked balefully at him from over Thea’s shoulder. “You worked in the crèche. What was it… Eren, Emian…”

“Eldrian,” he corrected wryly.

“That’s right. Eldrian. A favorite of the younglings.”

He was the subject of scorn during Rentir’s tenure on the Gidalan. Too soft-hearted and gentle-handed with his batches, they’d said.

“What’s he doing in there with you?” Cordelia asked, eying the male.

Thea tucked her pipe under her arm, her hands fluttering in front of her in a series of indecipherable signs. Cordelia nodded along, clearly comprehending their meaning.

“He’s a traitor,” she translated. “He tried to take pity on Thea, and he got caught. They threw him in here to punish him.”

Rentir looked to the male for confirmation.

Eldrian sighed miserably. “That is the gist of it, yes.”

“But the bond,” Thalen murmured. “Why would they risk…?”

“They were going to starve me of her,” Eldrian answered. “I don’t think they were particularly concerned about what a male of my caliber would do in the throes of a mating bond.” He gestured pointedly to his long, silken robes and lithe frame.

“And did you?” Xeth demanded. “Bond to her?”

Eldrian’s face flushed a dusky shade, but he hiked his chin, refusing to answer. Thea held up a finger to Xeth—that sign, Rentir did understand. Nyx and Eunha employed it often. Xeth’s darkened expression suggested he understood, as well.

Cordelia ignored the exchange. “Have you seen any of the others on board? We’re still missing Juno and Celeste.”

Frowning, Thea shook her head.

“She’s the only prisoner,” Eldrian said. “The hybrids who serve us meals are former students of mine—horrible gossips. I’m sure we’d know if there was another.”

Cordelia looked crestfallen, but she nodded. “Xeth, if you can avoid convincing her to murder you, I’d like you to take her back to the hangar.”

Thea signed something rapid-fire that ended with her holding an invisible gun and a pointed expression.

“Not yet. Fendar has to add your biometrics to the system. What about you, pretty boy?” Cordelia turned her attention to Eldrian. “You got clearance to hold a weapon?”

Pretty boy? Rentir scowled.

Eldrian’s eyes widened, and he barked an incredulous laugh. “Decidedly not, madam.”

Thea grabbed Melam’s dagger from Cordelia’s belt, making Rentir stiffen in alarm, but she only twirled the blade appreciatively in her free hand. She looked up at Cordelia with her dark gaze.

“Sure, it’s all yours.” Cordelia shrugged.

Thea turned away to follow Xeth back to the hangar.

Cordelia caught at her elbow. “Hey. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

Thea shrugged, mirroring Cordelia’s gesture, and grinned. She tucked the pipe under her arm and signed something brief. Cordelia huffed a laugh, smacking at her elbow.

“Better late than never, my ass. Go on. Get to safety. Help with the kids.”

Thea saluted with her free hand and slid her shoulder under Eldrian’s, helping the male limp along after Xeth.

Cordelia watched until they turned out of sight, and she took a sharp breath. “Alright. Well. Let’s steal a fucking spaceship.”