Page 116 of Saved By the Alien Hybrid

A muscle feathered in Eunha’s jaw as theLithashrank into the distance. When she nodded tightly, Cordelia flicked the switches to prime the ship for liftoff. Eunha did the same on her side of the cockpit, and the ship shuddered as the engines roared to life and shifted into position.

Cordelia spared a final glance over her shoulder.

Nyx was white-knuckling the straps of her harness next to Fendar, her eyes squeezed shut. The whole thing with theCassandrahad apparently sparked a new fear of flying. Fendar was looking down at her with a bemused expression, clearly unmoved by her anxiety.

The other males murmured amongst themselves, checking their low-tech weaponry and going over plans. All but Rentir, who gazed at Cordelia with such open adoration that it made her heart clench. He trusted her so completely with this mission. She would be worthy of that faith.

She would bring him home when this was over. She would bring themallhome. This time, things were goingherway.

Curse be damned.

With a sharp breath, she faced forward and gripped the flight controls. “Let’s go.”

The ship wavered a bit as it lifted off, a warning beeping as something clattered to the ground outside. She and Eunha shared a look.

“What was that?” Nyx demanded in a high-pitched tone.

“Nothing essential,” Fendar said, dismissing her worries. “We need to move before we lose our window.”

As though he possessed precognition, theGidalanchose that moment to strike. Their massive laser hummed as it began carving through the forest in pursuit of Lidan.

“Now, now, now!” Eunha shouted, wild-eyed.

The ship lurched into motion, peeling out of the hangar. The g-forces flattened her back against her seat as they surged up in the atmosphere toward the massive Aurillon ship. Eunha whooped as they broke through the stratosphere, the ship rapidly approaching.

That laser was still firing, but Cordelia could no longer tell if Lidan was successfully evading it. The ship was taking up the entire viewport now, a blur of golden metal and flashing lights as they skimmed along its belly toward its tail end.

“One-eighty,” Eunha said as a warning as they came up along the back of the ship.

The two of them cranked hard on the controls, sending the ship into a tailspin that the thrusters abruptly halted. Everything loose in the cabin went clattering wildly, but Cordelia didn’t dare to spare a glance to make sure no one had been hit. The shimmering forcefield of the docking bay was just before them.

“Fendar?” Cordelia called over her shoulder.

“One moment.”

She squeezed the flight controls, breathing deep for control over the surge of adrenaline in her veins. Something flickered atthe very edge of the viewport, drawing her attention. It zipped in front of them, a tiny orb of golden metal.

Realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. She had seen this thing before.

They’re meant to monitor the airspace around theGidalan, Rentir’s voice ghosted across her mind.

“Rentir.”

“Fendar,” Rentir said urgently in turn.

Fendar cursed beneath his breath. “I need a minute!”

“You do not have it,” Rentir snapped. “We’ve got drones. Unlock itnow.”

A blinding wave of laser light scanned over them from the little drone.

“Fendar!” Rentir shouted.

“I know!”

The orb wobbled for a moment, and then the plates of its facade shifted, revealing two flexible grappling-hook arms and what looked like the barrel of a?—

“Fuck!” Eunha shouted as the drone opened fire, lodging a dozen oblong projectiles into the thick glass that separated them from the vacuum of space. Alarms began to blare around them as alien text scrolled across the holoscreen. “Shit, shit,shit!”