Page 2 of Surrendering Her Heart (Red Planet Fated Mates #10)

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AVA

T he last echoes of battle still ring in my ears as I tighten the straps on my pack. Blood, luckily not mine, is baking in sticky patches along my arms. A grim reminder that we barely survived. One thing is certain, we can’t stay longer. The Order won’t make the same mistake twice.

“Move out!” Shana’s voice cuts through the stunned silence, snapping people into motion.

I scan the wreckage of the attack, my pulse thrumming fast. The makeshift sleds are in varying states of repair, but we don’t have time to rebuild the broken ones. We’ll take what we can carry, use what sleds remain and the rest we leave behind. A shadow falls over me.

“You shouldn’t have tried to fight alone.”

I exhale sharply and look up. Way up and into golden eyes that gleam in the ruddy light of the twin suns. The Zmaj warrior is there, in my space, again. Uninvited, unwanted, but in at least part, not unwelcome. He towers over me with that same unreadable expression.

“I don’t take orders from you,” I snap.

“Because you are stubborn,” he says, nostrils flaring.

“And you’re insufferable.”

For a moment, we stare at each other, the heat between us nearly as unbearable as the desert sun. Then he huffs, a sound partway between a scoff and a chuckle, and shakes his head.

“You fight well, for a human,” he says, just having to add that qualifying jab. “But you take too much risk.”

My fingers twitch toward my knife.

“I killed a fully armed Order scout with nothing but this blade. What exactly makes me, what did you say? Fragile?”

His gaze drops, just for a second, to my hands. To the fine tremor in my fingers that I try to hide. Damn it. I clench them into fists and cross my arms. He doesn’t gloat. Doesn’t throw my exhaustion in my face. Instead, his voice lowers.

“Strength is not just about surviving the fight.”

Something in his tone makes my breath catch, but before I can ask what the hell he means Dan shouts, “Ava! We’re ready to move.”

I tear my gaze away from the Zmaj. Focus. We have to get to the safety of the outpost before the Order regroups and attacks again. As I fall into step beside the others, I feel his golden eyes watching me. It’s creepy. And worse is that my heart speeds up and my breath catches in my throat. That makes me angry. Stupid body. Stupid desires. Who has time for this?

We move quickly, each step kicking up fine dust and sand that sticks to the sweat on my skin. The desert stretches endlessly ahead, broken only by the dunes interspersed with jagged rock formations that shimmer in the heat haze.

I keep my head down, focusing on the path, but my senses remain hyperaware. Of the terrain. Of the weight of the pack digging into my shoulders. And especially of the presence of the Zmaj warrior at my side.

“Quit hovering,” I mutter.

“I do not hover.”

“You do. Like a damn vulture.”

His tail flicks in what I swear is amusement, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he scans the horizon, golden eyes narrowed.

“There will be more Order patrols.”

“No shit, you think?” I snap, giving him a sharp glance.

He looks genuinely surprised by my comment. I glare, unsure if he’s really good at pretending to be innocent or if he really thought he was being helpful. The confusion on his face doesn’t clear and I realize he really was trying to be helpful.

So, I’m the ass. Great. Jerk.

“Yes,” he says, shrugging, his wings rustling with the motion.

His tail flicks at the loose sand as we continue trudging along. Regret is a bitter taste on my tongue. I don’t have time for this.

“Right, well—” a shout rings out ahead.

I snap my head up, heart hammering. Shana is atop the latest of the rolling dunes, quite a ways ahead since I’m at the back of the line. She’s shielding her eyes against the glare with one hand and pointing off with the other.

“There’s a storm coming,” she shouts, pointing off into the distance.

The Zmaj next to me growls. A low rumbly sound that feels like it rattles my bones. He glances over and shakes his head.

“Come,” he grunts.

I snap my mouth shut before reminding him I don’t take orders from him. At this point I’m being stupid and mean and that gets one nowhere fast. He jogs up the dune, wings open, and tail sliding along the sand. I try to keep up, but no human is built for this. Every step my foot sinks into the sand halfway up my calf, making every step a struggle. The Zmaj, I don’t even know his damn name, looks over his shoulder, a frown on his face.

“Are you just going to stand there staring?” I huff, fighting for my next step, cursing the sand and this entire damn planet under my breath.

He doesn’t say anything. I stop trying to climb and look at my fellow humans, all struggling to get up this same damn dune. Some of the Zmaj have taken over the reins of the sleds and even they’re having a hard time getting the supplies up to the top.

When I look back to him, he jumps. The shadow of his wings slides over as I lean my head back, mouth open, too shocked to even curse. He lands at my side. Sand exploding from the impact, filling my open mouth and momentarily blinding me.

“Ah damn it,” I yelp, rubbing my sleeve over my eyes as I blink rapidly.

“I am sorry,” he says, but before I can clear my vision my feet leave the ground.

“Wha—” I can’t finish shouting because I’m cut off as I land harshly on his shoulder, knocking my breath out.

Wind blasts past my face and his wing slaps me in the face as he uses it to help get us up the dune. I mutter, cursing, and kick my legs but when I slip, he shifts his hand and it brushes over my ass, coming to a rest just touching it.

My head fills with all the thoughts I have absolutely no time to be having. My ass warms and not just from the heat of the double red suns beating down on us. A moment later, he lifts me up as if I’m nothing more than a rag doll and sets me on my feet right at Shana’s side.

Dan is here as well, they both look from the Zmaj to me. Two other Zmaj are in the huddle too. I don’t really know why I’m up here but since I am, well I was, a soldier, they like my input sometimes. Shana’s eyes linger on the Zmaj for a long moment then back to me and she purses her lips. I’m sure she’s about to say something, so I cut her off.

“What’s the problem?” Then I see over her shoulder. A dark, roiling wall fills the horizon. My stomach hits the sand faster than I can swallow. “Oh. Shit.”

“Yeah,” Shana says.

A wall of dust and sand churns in the distance, driving towards us and moving fast. Too fast.

“We can’t outrun that,” Dan says grimly.

No, we can’t. My mind races, scanning for options. There’s no cover out here, nowhere to wait it out. The only chance is to push forward and hope we reach the outpost in time.

“We move,” I say forcefully. “Faster.”

The others don’t argue. There’s no time. The Zmaj warrior falls into step beside me again.

“If we do not find shelter, the storm will strip the flesh from your bones.”

“Gee, thanks. That was so helpful,” I say, rolling my eyes.

His gaze lingers on me, assessing. Then, to my shock, he reaches into his pack and pulls out a cloak. Before I can protest, he swings it around me, clasping it tight. I stiffen.

“I don’t need?—”

“You do,” he says simply. “Do not argue.”

I want to argue. I want to shove it back at him, tell him I can take care of myself. But the wind is already picking up, and sand grit is stinging my skin. The storm is closing in, and survival matters more than pride.

I grit my teeth and pull the cloak tighter. We press on, racing against the oncoming storm. And through it all, is his presence at my side. Watching. Guarding.

Damn him.