Page 21 of Akur

The words stopped in her throat, her entire body stilling as a loud screeching sound echoed through the still air. In the dark, Constance’s head snapped toward the sound, her heart beating hard in her chest as her ears perked.

That wasn’t the sound of the wind.

They weren’t alone.

It was a chasm of darkness all around her. If she was at the edge of a cliff, she wouldn’t know. And that meant that whatever made that sound would be hidden by the darkness, too.

Seconds turned into minutes where she didn’t breathe, eyes wide in the dark as she stared in the direction the sound came from. But it didn’t repeat. Whatever it was, it was either gone, or it was still somewhere out there, lurking.

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to focus on the alien before her. Using the wad of cloth she’d ripped from her clothes, she pressed it against the largest unwrapped wound she could find. “Now would be a really good time for you to do that magic thing you did and teleport us out of here,” she whispered. But that wasn’t going to happen. For all she knew, he wasn’t going to ever move again.

“Come on, Constance. What would he do?”

She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe slowly. Whatwouldhe do? This teal alien was a warrior. One of the best. She knew that, because when the gator-guards descended on the Restitution, he was there. He and a cyborg guy had saved her and her roommate, Alaina. He’d moved with lethal precision and he’d saved her life. Just like he’d saved her life again here.

If he wasn’t injured, he’d take his swords, and he’d find a way out of this. He’d fight his way through. Swallowing hard, her hands moved over him again, and she tried not to focus on the damage she could feel. The charred skin, the ripped flesh. “Come on, big guy. Was it some kind of device? The thing you used to get us out of there?” Her hands ran down his legs, pressing against his trousers as she tried to find whatever thing he’d used to teleport them. If she could just find it, she could figure out how to get it to work again, maybe. It was the best idea she had now. “Maybe something I could use?”

Her fingers continued moving as she searched his pants. They closed around a definite bulge at the apex of his thighs that made her stop short, a moment before she jerked her hands away. Fuck. Of course, he had a dick. He was a man. Amale, rather.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “If you’re hiding some kind of magic stick, it’s definitely not that, I’m sure.” But she couldn’t find anything on him. Nothing except his two large blades, which almost cut her, and his blaster that she’d been carrying.

“Fuck.” Her voice caught as her hand brushed his chest again. Was his breathing more shallow?

“No, no, no.” She leaned down, pressing her ear to his chest. The heartbeat she found was thready and weak. “Don’t you dare die.”

But he was still burning up.

She needed to help him.

Head tilting, she looked over her shoulder into the darkness. There was still that sound of dripping water off in the distance. Shit.

Trembling, she reached for the alien’s sword. It was heavier than it hadlooked when he’d been wielding it just moments before. Gripping the hilt in her hand, she released a shuddering breath.

“Alright.” She shifted from his side while remaining on her knees. “Here’s what’s going to happen.” She had to force steel into her voice, even as it wavered. Because what she was about to do went against all the instructions her inner Constance was screaming. “You’re going to keep breathing. That’s your only job right now. Just keep breathing, and I’ll…I’ll figure something out.”

Fuck. She was really going to do this.

Crawling on all fours, she used one hand to map the way before her. It was slow going. The soft clang of the sword in her palm every time it hit the stone seeming to crack the silence like an alarm. The tunnel—she was almost certain it was a tunnel now—seemed to stretch endlessly. But that sound of dripping water was getting louder.

God, please let it be water.Cleanwater.

When the air moved slightly to her right, Constance paused. Tongue like a ball in her throat, she stretched her arm right. There was an intersection here, and the tunnel curved slightly. Ahead, the air movement grew stronger. Somewhere around that bend, there had to be an exit. Or at least another tunnel. Something that might lead them to safety, or help, or…

She’d rather not think about it. For now, she’d think about the most immediate catastrophe—the alien bleeding to death somewhere in the tunnel behind her.

Off to her left was the pitter-patter of water she’d heard. She headed that way.

Making a note of the turn, she moved as quickly as she dared. It took several minutes, her breath sounding like echoes as she moved quietly. She could hear the water more loudly now, but it felt like it was taking forever to get there.

Feel. Move. Crawl.Focus on the sound. Not on the fact you can’t see a thing. Not on the fact you have no idea where you are.

She could hear the pitter-patter louder now, as if it was right in frontof her. But when she stretched her hand there, she came upon nothing.

But it had to be here. Where was it?

Crawling forward, her palms almost slipped against the wet stone. The water! Blindingly feeling in the dark, she followed the moisture, her palms moving over the stone until she was following the water up the wall. There, the drops began to hit her skin.

She could almost rejoice. She’d done it! She’d found it! But now for the test.

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