Page 10 of Akur

She reached for the spot as her vision blurred and her head swayed.

No. This can’t—

Her head swayed again.

No. She needed to remain conscious. Couldn’t fall asleep. Not now.

“Qrakking signal must have been like a beacon.” She heard the reptilian grumble as the little ship they were on shook and swayed before stabilizing. It took her a moment to realize they were floating above the deck now. They were going to fly.

Her head fell back against the seat as automatic restraints strapped her in, her gaze focusing on what she could see of the viewport even as she fought to remain awake. But she was weak. Oh, so weak.

The gator-guard kept grumbling about the signal, his anger and annoyance evident. It made her giggle.

Wait. That giggle felt good. The tension in her muscles was seeping away like it was just a figment of her imagination.

Shefelt good. Better than she’d felt in years.

This wasn’t so bad after all. The pain in her jaw and the other injuries she’d sustained suddenly didn’t exist. Being abducted was so bad, was it? She felt like she could stand in a flower garden and dance. Another giggle went through her throat as the guard grumbled some more.

Why was he so worked up, anyway? Whatever communication was sent didn’t matter. Survival was dim—and that was hilarious!

Only a fool would see a ship like this and come to rescue them, guns blazing.

3

Akur

“Get the blasters.”Akur sat up straighter in the seat.

It had been just a blip, but he was following the coordinates. Something was there. Something big.

“What did you find?” From the back of the ship, E’lot lifted his head from where it had hung between his claws.

Akur’s brows furrowed as the message from that one transmission came up on screen. It made no sense. Just a bunch of tones and pauses that were either some kind of code…or a mistake.

He stared at the message, his nefre pulsing so hard he had the urge to reach back and rip it from his spine.

He had a good feeling about this. For the first time since they embarked on this journey, there was a thrill deep within his gut.

It was the ship they wanted. He just knew it.

Rising, he was walking to the back of the ship where the weapons were stashed before E’lot could ask another question.

Grabbing a blaster from the wall, he tested the weight. A growl rumbled in his throat, one that almost sounded like a groan of pleasure just feeling the heft of the thing. Killing something with this would feel good. So qrakking good.

When he glanced over his shoulder, he realized E’lot was at the control panel now, eyes on the spatial chart. He hadn’t even heard him move, but that’s why he was one of the Restitution’s best. Both of them. And if they were all that was left of the rebel forces, then by all the gods, they were going to make it count.

Grabbing another blaster, he strode up beside E’lot, his own blaster rifle slung at his hip now, ready to be unleashed. At his back, his twin blades burned with insistence, ready to be bathed in blood.

The display showed them closing in rapidly on the signal’s origin point.

“Whatever it is, it’s in orbit around…” E’lot frowned, scrutinizing the information coming up before them. “…something.” Without looking, he accepted the blaster thrust toward him, checking the charge level as he continued analyzing their approach vector.

They’d trained and fought side by side for so long that they could anticipate each other’s moves instinctively on a mission. Two parts of a lethally effective whole. And this could be their most important mission yet. This was the moment Akur had thirsted for across all those empty cycles of pursuit.

He’d failed before. He would not do so again. This time, he was taking that human back. And the other females, too.

“Approaching target,” E’lot reported before standing at his full height. His jaw was set, eyes hard as the ship phased into normal velocity.

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