Page 36 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

The sound stops. There is no slow down, it’s just done and gone as fast as it came. My heart is pounding, and I can barely breathe, both from fear and anxiety and the tight grip that Wren has around my chest constricting my ribs.

We stare down the tunnel, waiting. The boys left the lantern, but the hood has slid down so there is only a tiny thread of light that does little to illuminate the wide tunnel. Seconds crawl past. The caverns are always cool, but the air seems to grow even colder.

“There,” I whisper, pointing a trembling finger down the tunnel.

Something moves in the darkness. Fear claws its way from my guts freezing me in place. The instinct to flee is so strong that it locks me up. Even if I did run, where would I go? The way back is blocked, and the only way forward is right into whatever is coming down that tunnel.

The dark shape in the darkness comes closer. It’s big. Really big. A whimper slips out of Wren. I’m too scared to even do that. My muscles tremble, my throat is dry, my heart is racing, and my knees can’t decide between turning to water and locking up.

“Saylor,” Khiara’s voice emerges from the darkness.

A heavy weight lifts the instant I hear it's him. My breath comes easier, and my stomach un-knots itself. His voice is like a wave washing over and cleansing all the fear and dark thoughts away.

Letting go of Wren, I stumble as I try to rush to him. Relief or no, my muscles are quivering too much to work right. He comes closer, stepping into the single ray of light from the lantern and Wrenlee cries out.

The first thing I see is that Sek’su is leaning heavily on Khiara. The next thing is that blood looks like it’s literallypouringout of Sek’su, splashing onto the ground. Sek’su has his arm around Khiara’s shoulders, but it looks like he’s barely staying upright.

“Bandages,” Khiara says. “Need bandages.”

I blink, trying to figure out how to make him bandages. It’s not like we brought a supply kit with us when we were kidnapped. Wren gulps and then she takes her shirt off. Feeling momentarily numb I turn my head and stare trying to comprehend what she is doing.

She has her shirt in her hands and is sliding it around in them. Her chest is bound, like all of us girls have been doing, with a single piece of cloth. All our bras wore out a long time ago and it’s not like there are shops for us to go try on or get new lingerie. Wren has great tits; I’ve always been jealous of them, feeling my own were a little too small and my nipples are too big. The sound of tearing cloth pulls my thoughts back on track and I get what she is doing.

I take off my shirt, all embarrassment now secondary to the immediate need. I fumble the shirt around until I’m at the bottom and try to tear it, which is much harder than it ever seemed in the old Earth Vids we watched on the ship.

Khiara carries Sek’su over to us, then lowers him to the ground, resting his back against the wall of the tunnel. Pulling a knife from his belt he puts his free hand on mine. I hand the shirt to him, and he nods before using the knife to slice the bottom portion of the shirt off.

He hands the remnant back to me then takes Wren’s and helps her do the same. Sek’su groans and Wren rushes to his side. The two of them whisper together. Khiara is moving back past me to tend to him, but I touch his arm.

“Is he… will he…”

“He should be fine,” Khiara says. “Weak for a bit, but fine.”

I nod, lip trembling as I realize this could have been much worse. I hate that I am glad it’s not Khiara sitting there. It probably makes me a terrible person, but it’s true. I don’t know what else I can do to help, and I hate that too.

Khiara works with quick, expert motions that can only come from experience. In moments he has the wound bound, checks his work, then stands up and takes a step back. He stretches his back and rolls his shoulders then turns to me.

Silent he walks over and takes me in his arms.

26

SAYLOR

As much as I never want this moment to end, anxiety presses in as time and awareness of how incredibly screwed we are increases. Sek’su is hurt, badly from the looks of it and we’re still trapped in this endless maze of tunnels with no clear-cut way home.

“What happened?” I ask, looking up from where I’ve been resting my head against his chest.

The steady beating of his heart is a reassuring regularity. He isn’t anxious or worried or even seems to have exerted himself. Calm, resilient, and in control. There is no keeping the smile from my face, and while it’s not a lie, it also is incongruous with the wings of fear battering around my skull.

“A cudov,” he says, but doesn’t explain further.

The only thing that tells me is it wasn’t more Urr’ki, which is good, but how bad must a cudov be if it managed to do that much damage to Sek’su?

“Oh,” I say as he eases the grip of his arms and takes a reluctant step back, turning to look at Sek’su.

“We need to move, can you?” he asks.

“Yes,” Sek’su says, pressing one hand to the floor and the other to the wall, forcing himself up.

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