Page 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Tivek

I rolled onto my side, instantly alert, my body tensing for combat.

My eyes scanned the edges of the pit we'd fallen into, searching for the telltale glint of Kronock weapons or the reptilian silhouettes of enemy soldiers.

Was this part of their trap? An ingenious way to capture anyone attempting to flee?

But something felt off. The pit wasn't particularly deep. A proper Kronock trap would be at least twice as deep, with sharpened stakes or water at the bottom.

"Tiv," Morgan whispered beside me.

I followed her gaze upward and felt my jaw clench so hard my teeth ached.

Deklyn was standing at the edge of the pit. And my grekking brother was grinning.

"I didn't think I'd catch you," he said, that familiar cocky smile spreading across his face. "I was hoping for Kronock."

I stood up slowly, brushing dirt from my environmental suit and extending a hand to help Morgan to her feet. My eyes never left my brother's face as I silently cataloged all the creative ways I might make him regret this.

"You made this?" I asked, my voice deceptively calm.

Deklyn shrugged, looking entirely too pleased with himself as he lay on the ground and hung his arm down into the pit. "Had to set up some quick defenses when I landed."

Vyk appeared beside him, his broad shoulders blocking out the morning light as he joined my brother in reaching down. Morgan took Deklyn's offered hand while I accepted Vyk's, then both of us were hauled up briskly from the pit.

Once on solid ground again, I turned to examine the trap. It was a hastily constructed shallow trench covered with a camouflage mesh supporting a thin layer of soil and vegetation. Effective enough to catch someone running at full speed, but hardly a masterpiece of military engineering.

"Didn't have much time," Deklyn admitted, following my critical gaze. "The Kronock patrols were getting closer, and I needed something to slow them down if they got close to my ship.”

“ Grekking hell,” I muttered as I shot my brother another scathing look. “We could have been injured.”

Deklyn thumped me on the back, nearly sending me stumbling forward. “But you weren’t, and now you’ve found us."

I looked around, reluctance overtaking my anger me as I spotted Sasha, Ariana, and Torq. They looked exhausted but relatively unharmed. Sasha and Ariana immediately rushed to Morgan, examining her for injuries with worried expressions.

"Are you hurt?" Ariana asked.

Morgan shook her head. "Just bruised pride," she said with a wry smile. “It could have been worse.”

“It could have been a Kronock trap,” Vyk said under his breath. “That would be worse.”

“What happened to you two?" Sasha asked, helping brush dirt from Morgan's hair. "We thought you were right behind us during the escape."

"We got separated in the chaos," Morgan explained. "Then we almost got walked over by a Kronock patrol in the marsh."

Sasha visibly shivered at the mention of the enemy. "Those scales, that blinking red eye.”

I pulled my gaze away from the women, satisfied that Morgan was unhurt, and turned to my Vyk. “Speaking of Kronock traps, we’re in the middle of one.”

The commander’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that Morgan and I overheard a Kronock patrol talking about how they let us send out a distress call. They purposefully didn’t jam transmissions around the planet so another Drexian ship would come rescue us. Their goal is to trap us all here.”

The series of Drexian curses that Vyk released made all the woman stare at us.

“Did you say the enemy plans to trap us here?” Ariana’s voice shook slightly. “And the ship coming to save us?”

Morgan put a hand on her arm. “That’s their plan, but it’s our intention to ruin that plan.”

"Did anyone else hear that Drexian ship flying overhead?" I asked, turning to the group. "It passed over us while we were running here.”

Everyone nodded, but it was Vyk who spoke. "It kept going, though. Flew right over these hills and continued eastward."

I frowned, glancing in that direction. "That's strange. Why would they head away from the facility and from the only other Drexian ship on the planet?"

“Maybe they assume it’s a trap,” Sasha said. “I would.”

I pivoted to my brother. “I assume your ship is nearby?"

Deklyn nodded and gestured for everyone to follow him around a cluster of chunky boulders that jutted from the hillside like broken teeth.

As we rounded the rocks, I saw the Drexian vessel draped in camouflage cloth made from the same adaptive material as our environmental suits.

Most of the ship appeared to blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, virtually invisible unless you knew exactly what to look for.

The cloth had slipped at the front, revealing the glossy black nose of the vessel.

Deklyn strode forward and pulled the covering the rest of the way off, unveiling the sleek craft in all its lethal beauty. I felt my breath catch. The ship appeared undamaged, which meant the chances of our escape just improved dramatically.

Deklyn waved everyone toward his ship with impatient gestures. “If this is a trap, we need to get airborne now before the Kronock surround us."

"If a Drexian ship is here, then Volt is flying it," Ariana said, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I'm not leaving without him."

"We can search for the other ship once we're in the air," Vyk suggested, glancing overhead. "We'll have better visibility and maneuverability from above."

“He’s right.” Sasha wrapped an arm around her sister’s waist. “We’re sitting ducks down here. The best way to help your guy is to be up there.”

Ariana pressed her lips into a thin line but finally nodded. “But we’re not leaving without him.”

“Never,” Vyk agreed, the set of his jaw as determined as hers.

"I'm just glad to be leaving this hellish planet,” Sasha said glanced over her shoulder.

"I told you I'd get you out, sweetheart,” Deklyn said with a wink.

Sasha rolled her eyes, but there was no real annoyance behind the gesture. “I’m so happy to be leaving, I’m not even going to kick you in the nuts for calling me sweetheart.”

“She loves when I call her sweetheart,” Dek said to me under his breath.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Clearly.”

I would normally dismiss my brother’s banter as typical cocky Deklyn, but I’d never seen him look at a woman the way he was looking at Sasha.

She might be gaunt and dirty, but he stared at her like she was the most enchanting creature he’d ever seen.

More surprising still was that he seemed to enjoy her threats and barbs.

I’d never known anyone who dared talk to Deklyn like that without facing his temper.

But with her, he seemed amused by her insults.

We all proceeded into the ship, breathing in air that was stale and cool. It was obvious that the vessel had been sealed for weeks or months.

Ariana, Sasha, and Deklyn immediately headed for the cockpit, with my brother and Sasha bickering about who would pilot the vessel, even as the female pilot walked stiffly and Deklyn winced every few steps.

"I was flying fighters while you were playing with dolls,” Deklyn said.

Sasha bristled. “Shows how much you know. I never played with dolls. Besides, who’s the pilot here?”

While they continued their verbal sparring, Ariana simply slipped between them and dropped into the pilot's seat. "You two can keep arguing while I fly us out of here," she announced, her fingers already dancing across the control panel.

They both turned to her with identical expressions of outrage, but neither challenged her. Deklyn swiftly dropped into the co-pilot’s seat while Sasha huffed and took the seat beside Morgan.

I took the seat on the other side of Morgan, as the rest of our group busied themselves with safety straps and the engines rumbled to life. The vibration traveled up through the floor panels, a familiar sensation that somehow felt like safety after so long on hostile ground.

Morgan didn’t look my way as she reached over and squeezed my hand. "We did it.”

I squeezed back but couldn't fully share her optimism. We were a long way from being safe. The Kronock trap was still out there, waiting to be sprung, and somewhere beyond these hills was another Drexian ship which was flying into danger without any warning.

As the engines reached full power and the ship began to rise, I found myself staring out the viewport at the alien landscape below. Somewhere out there, the enemy was waiting and watching.

And I couldn't shake the feeling that we were playing right into their hands.