Page 8 of Revealed

There was nothing I could say to explain the Kronock. There was no reason for their violence aside from the need to dominate and destroy. The only thing we could do was to run and try to survive.

My gaze caught on a gray vehicle at the end of the street. Gray and covered in scale-like panels. Fear and fury iced my body as I realized that the Kronock had deployed ground forces.

I grabbed Allie’s hand. “Now would be the time to pray to whatever Earth gods you believe in that we can reach those caverns before the Kronock reach us.”

She returned my grip with a hard squeeze, and for a heartbeat I marveled at how small her hand was in my grasp. Small but not weak. My pulse spiked, an overwhelming urge to protect herslamming into me. It was more than just Drexian duty or honor. Allie had awakened something in me I'd never experienced, and I would die before I let any harm come to her.

"Stay close to me," I ordered as I backed away and pulled her with me. "And if I tell you to do something, you do it without question. Understood?"

“Understood.” Her brows flicked up in a moment of challenge. “For now.”

The ground vibrated as the Kronock vehicle rolled forward, one of the mounted canons on the front swinging toward us.

“Run!” I roared as a blast of energy sizzled past us so close the heat of it seared my skin.

Allie kept up, even though her strides were shorter, and I was practically dragging her as we reached the corner. We dove into the alley as another blast hit the brick wall and crumbled it. I rolled to my feet, pulling Allie up beside me. "Keep moving.”

She didn’t speak as we ran deeper into the twisting side streets, but soon the sounds of destruction faded behind us. Even if we had outrun them for now, the Kronock would find us, would find me. Our only hope was to go underground so they couldn’t track me.

I glanced at Allie as we paused to catch our breath. Her face was streaked with sweat as she checked on the cat in her bag, managing to speak to her in soft tones between panting.

She looked up and locked her gaze on mine, shooting a nervous glance behind her. “Now what? We’re still miles away from the cavern.”

“Do you think you can run the rest of the way?”

She barked out a laugh then slapped a hand over her mouth. “Not a chance.” She gestured to her bag. “And Dinah hates running.”

Before I could tell her that the animal’s comfort was the least of our concerns, a nearby blast made me grab her hand again. They were closing in on us.

Chapter

Six

Allie

My lungs burned as I sprinted down the debris-strewn street, struggling to keep pace with Maxxon's long strides. Sweat trickled down my back, and a sharp pain stabbed my side with each gasping breath. If I survived this, I was definitely hitting the gym more often.

As we rounded a corner, I spotted a dented gray car idling in front of a convenience store, its driver's side door slightly open. No one sat in the car, and the convenience store looked severely damaged. I didn’t want to think about the fate of the driver or why his car was running with no one in sight.

I made a beeline for the car, tugging Maxxon with me.

He followed my gaze before narrowing his eyes. "You want to use that vehicle?"

As we got closer, I could see the faded paint and rusted metal, but I didn’t care. "Unless you want to carry me the rest of the way, this car will have to do.”

Maxxon didn't argue and he didn’t even try to drive, getting in the passenger’s seat as I hoisted my tote with Dinah into the back and then hopped into the driver’s seat. With a final glance around, and my fingers crossed that the owner wouldn’t come screaming after us, I threw it into gear and peeled away from the curb.

"Hold on," I warned, swerving to avoid an overturned SUV blocking half the road. "This might get bumpy."

Maxxon braced his hand on the dash as I took us down the side streets and back roads, trying to avoid the worst of the chaos and hopefully the aliens. The car bounced and rattled as I pushed it to its limits, and Maxxon’s knuckles went white.

"Are you trained to operate this machine?" he shouted over the disconcerting rattling of the engine and the wind rushing through the open windows.

"Trained?” I shot him a quick look. “Well, I've been driving since I was 16. Although I'll admit, this is the first time I've had to outrun aliens.”

I glanced over again, taking in his tense posture and the way his head moved back and forth constantly, scanning for threats. "You know, you don’t talk like you’re from here.”

“I’m not from here. I already told you I was visiting.”

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