Page 82 of Akur

When three guards rushed him at once, he caught the first one’s blade on his own, kicked the second in the chest with enough force to collapse his ribs, but the third sliced across his chest. Dark blood spattered the floor.

Constance’s heart nearly stopped.

“No!” The word tore from her throat as she broke cover, firing rapidly. Her shots caught the third guard in the back of the head just as he was raising his blade for another strike.

“Constance.” The way Akur uttered her name, almost like a whisper, was so soft she didn’t know how she heard it. Her eyes filled with tears as their gazes locked.

Akur’s roar of rage echoed off the walls as he fought his way toward her. But there were too many. The gator-guards kept pouring in like an infestation. Blood ran freely down his chest now, like someone had opened a spigot and refused to shut it off.

“Akur,” her throat felt choked, even though she refused to let the tears fall. But she couldn’t even say it. Couldn’t even tell him to forget about her, because she didn’t want him to. Didn’t want to die here. Was that selfish? Maybe. But when Akur’s golden gaze found her, it was clear all those other times he’d told her he wasn’t leaving her in this place, he’d spoken the truth.

He fought despite the blood, despite the unending stream of gator-guards coming their way.

Pressing the trigger now was useless. No more shots rang out from the weapon and it burned in her hand. When a guard snarled next to her, she didn’t even look his way. Slamming the butt of the weaponinto his snout as he stretched for her, she couldn’t take her eyes off the rebel heading her way.

Reaching out, she screamed Akur’s name and watched as he did the same, his arm stretching in her direction. Their fingers touched and her heart did a big walloping thing, moments before the door behind them burst open again. This time, a Tasqal glided through, its white robes pristine despite the carnage around it. Its lipless mouth curved into what might have been a sneer.

“Enough of this,” it said, its voice calm. Too calm. “Take them.”

Something hit Constance’s neck. A needle—no, a dart maybe. The world immediately began to spin. She tried to grab hold of Akur, but her arm suddenly went dead. Through blurring vision, she saw Akur stagger as multiple darts struck him, too.

“No…” The word came out slurred. She tried to reach for him again, but her legs gave out.

The last thing she saw before darkness took her was Akur fighting even as he fell to his knees, still trying to reach her.

22

Constance

Consciousness returned slowly,painfully. Every muscle ached as if she’d been beaten. Maybe she had been.

Akur?

It felt like his name only echoed in her mind. As if her tongue was too heavy to form speech, her throat too parched.

Agh. A groan as she tried to move. Only the cold metal floor beneath her cheek helped clear some of the fog from her mind.

Constance forced her eyes open. She was in a cell, maybe ten feet square, with energy barriers forming the walls. Beyond them, she could see other cells, all empty.

“Akur?” Her voice was barely a whisper. Fear clawed at her throat as she pushed herself to her knees. “Akur?!”

Swaying, she almost face-planted before she settled back on her haunches.

Where the hell were they?

Blurred vision made her head swim before she stabilized herself.

That’s when she saw him.

They had him chained to the far wall, arms spread wide, feet barelytouching the ground. His head hung limply, blood still dripping from various wounds.

“Akur!” She scrambled to the barrier, despite the warning tingles of energy against her skin. A zap sent her flying back. Pain rocketed down her spine. Stars made her vision cloud again.

It took her a moment to rise to her knees once more, and then to stand. “Akur.” Her gaze found him across the way. “Akur, wake up! Please wake up!”

His head lifted slightly, eyes finding hers through a face that looked bruised, bloody and swollen. “Constance.” His voice was rough, pained. “Are you hurt?”

A laugh that was half a sob escaped her. Of course, he was asking if she was alright. “Oh, Akur. What did they do to you?” The more she looked at him, the more trauma she could see. One of his arms was even set strangely, as if the bone was only being held together by skin.

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