Page 29 of Aria's Ascension

Everything else faded away, and Aria ran.

The moment she reached him, her knees gave out. Dropping to his side, she scanned his body, her hands hovering over him. There was a mottled black and blue bruise spreading across his side. Bending, she pressed her ear to his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat past the rushing sound in her head.

There.Da-dum dum, da-dum dum.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she choked on a sob. Relief flooded her, making her feel dizzy. His heartbeat sounded strange, like it was doubled or had an echo, but it was there. He was alive.

“Kix, baby, wake up. Talk to me,” she demanded, reaching out to cup his cheeks and shake him lightly.

Thudding footsteps and heavy breathing had her looking up sharply and reaching for the gun she’d dropped, only to relax when she saw Tirox come to a stop beside them, next to the body of the last guard. He bent to wrench his ax from the back of its head then turned to her, worry tightening his features as his gaze dropped to Kix lying unconscious.

“He lives?”

“He’s alive, but he isn’t waking up,” she rasped, her throat tight with the tears she refused to shed. Now wasn’t the time. She could break down later, but for now, they were still in danger. “We can’t get the doors open without him. We’re trapped down here.”

Tirox nodded in understanding then cocked his head to the side like he was listening to something and stiffened.

“They’re still coming, aren’t they?” she asked.

She already knew the answer, but he nodded grimly anyway. The octofly had stopped its warble at the detonation of her first throwing star, but that obviously hadn’t been enough to stop the prisoners Zhrovni had lured to them.

Forcing herself to get to her feet, Aria ran to the body of the nearest guard, stripped him of anything that might prove useful, then moved to the next and the next.

Finished, she turned back to Tirox, but he answered before she could do more than open her mouth.

“I have him, my heart.”

Glancing quickly at Kix’s body slung over his broad shoulder, she nodded jerkily then spun on her heel and ran deeper into the cavern, gun up and ready to shoot anyone who stood in their way.

Her only plan was to get somewhere safe. Thoughts of rescue and rebellion were pushed back, forgotten for the moment. Being trapped down there, with no idea if or when they’d manage to escape, didn’t matter. Even not knowing if Zhrovni had lived or died seemed insignificant.

She’d worry about all that once she knew her mate would live.

Until then, everything else could cheerfully go fuck itself.

Chapter 17

Aria spotted a large tunnel opening off the main cavern, one headed away from the running footsteps rapidly approaching from the back of the cave, and veered that way.

Twenty feet in, she slowed to a stop. The light from the main cave had dwindled until they were in almost total darkness.

“Tirox,” she breathed.

He was already laying a hand on her shoulder and guiding her behind him. She curled the fingers of one hand into the harness on his back so she wouldn’t lose him in the dark and found Kix’s neck with the other to reassure herself he was still alive.

Tirox started off again, moving at a steady clip, but one she could keep up with even blind, and occasionally called out “jump,” “turn,” or “duck”as they traveled ever deeper down the tunnel.

After what feltlike damn near an hour, Aria was starting to worry. Had she picked the wrong opening? Were they being followed? Was there anywhere down here even remotely safe where they could stop?

As though he could hear her thoughts, Tirox declared lowly, “Nearly there.”

“Where?”

“I smell water. Water means an underground spring or river. Oftentimes they are in a cave of their own, having eaten at the stone around them. Defensible, so long as there are no secondary shafts.”

Aria blinked into the darkness, impressed, and thankfulother herhad chosen an alien caveman as one of her boyfriends.

A few thankfully short minutes later, Tirox pivoted sharply to the left and slowed as he led her down a rough decline. After having gone maybe thirty feet, the temperature dropped at least ten degrees, and the sound of their footsteps changed, telling her they were in an open space. The trickle of water reached her ears and humidity thickened the air she breathed.

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