Page 6 of Surrendering Her Heart (Red Planet Fated Mates #10)

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AVA

I must have fallen asleep because I startle awake with the stupid damn Zmaj in my face. He looms over, leaning down, one hand extended.

“It is time,” he says.

I frown, shaking my head and trying to clear it of the dredges of sleep. His hand in my face is annoying but I take it and he helps me to my feet. Most of the others are already up, huddled in groups. A low whisper fills the cavern, echoing their fears off the stone walls.

Outside, the storm seems to have passed. I roll my shoulders, trying to ease the kinks and tension in my muscles. I walk to the front of the cave where Nyanna, Shana, and Dan stand in the entrance quietly talking. Nyanna glances at me when I approach and gives me a tight smile.

“We need those supplies,” Dan says, his voice soft but insistent.

“We can’t risk it,” Shana says, shaking her head.

Dan stares out at the red sands, calmly stretching away as far as the eye can see. Innocent of all the damage it just did. I glance between them, my mind still sluggish with sleep, but their words sink in. The supplies. Everything we had to leave behind when the storm hit. My stomach knots. I know we need those supplies.

“Did we save any of it?” I ask.

Dan doesn’t look at me, still staring at the deceptively peaceful sands.

“Nowhere near enough.”

“We’re not going back for it,” Shana exhales sharply.

A murmur rises behind us. Others are listening. The fear and uncertainty spreads through the group.

“We can’t stay here,” Nyanna says, shifting her feet. “We have to get to the Outpost before the Order attacks again.”

No one says the obvious, but we all know it. We don’t have enough food or water to last long enough to get us there. The storm may be gone, but this new threat is every bit as dire. The Zmaj warrior steps up beside me.

“The sands are unpredictable, but the guster are not. They will return. The prey is too easy,” he says.

A chill runs down my spine. I look from him to Nyanna and back.

“We need to move. There may be salvageable supplies, but we cannot linger,” I say.

“This group cannot go back and forth,” Shana says, crossing her arms. “And waiting here doesn’t seem like a good idea either. And what if the guster are already there? Waiting?”

“Then we kill them,” the Zmaj answers simply.

His tone is so flat, so certain, that a shiver runs down my spine. Dan hesitates, then nods.

“A small group could work, move fast. If there’s anything left, bring it back.”

Shana glares, but she doesn’t argue. I swallow hard, already knowing the next words out of my mouth are a terrible idea.

“I’ll do it,” I say.

“No,” the Zmaj’s head snaps toward me.

“Yes,” I say, pulse spiking. I put my hand on my hip and meet his glare with my own. “Remember? I don’t take orders from you.”

The flicking of his tail and rustle of his wings are the only sign of his frustration.

“It is not safe.”

“Nothing is safe,” I huff with a bitter laugh.

Dan clears his throat and takes a half-step between the Zmaj and me.

“We leave in ten minutes.”

“I hope you’re right about this,” Shana says with a sigh. “Nyanna, you agree?”

Nyanna frowns, her gaze on the group crushed into the space of the cavern.

“We’ll lead them on,” she says grimly. “You’ll have to catch up but we can’t stay here. The other Zmaj will help us, but waiting here is asking to be a buffet for guster and who knows what else.”

“Okay,” I agree, expecting Shana to argue further but she sighs and shakes her head.

I don’t know if anyone is right. But I do know that we have to try. Our odds of surviving without those supplies are worse than the odds of it raining. And whether I like it or not, the Zmaj is coming with me. I look up at him and he smiles. A smile. Great.

Stupid heart. Pitter-patter for someone else. Betrayer.