Page 8 of Risking Her Heart

Everyone in the room is looking at us. Their eyes carry an impossible weight with them as if their very gaze is pressuring me to say yes. Yes, to what though? Scout? Out there? Into the sands?

Some of the other girls have gone with Zmaj on missions. I never, not once, even considered it. Leave the air-conditioned remnant of the ship that has become home? Not only the comfort but the relative safety? Every one of those who’ve gone out has returned with harrowing tales of barely surviving the desert and its threats.

Hell, we barely survive here. Only since the Zmaj arrived have, we stopped losing someone at least once a week. That’s probablythe best part of them showing up, the graveyard is filling up a lot less fast than it was.

“Uh,” I say, stalling as my thoughts continue to spin.

I look around. I’m not sure if I’m looking for an answer or a way out. I’m entirely too discombobulated to be certain of what I want. Fear disperses every coherent thought before it fully forms.

Nyanna walks over, pushing past the bodies in her way, coming to a stop in front of me. She places her hands on my arms, staring into my eyes. She smiles. Her brilliant, sharply intelligent smile makes me feel like it will all work out, somehow. I giggle, eyes filling with unshed tears.

“You don’t have to,” she says, speaking soft. “But he doesn’t want to go without you. And I’ll be honest, we need you, Kat.”

“I…” I trail off, swallow as I try to force moisture into my mouth, “I’m scared.”

“I know,” she says. “Me too. Terrified. But we don’t have a choice.”

“Why?” I ask and once again a single syllable manages to break, partly because I half-laugh in the middle of it which should be theoretically impossible but, here I am, the impossible girl.

“The Zmaj believe that the cult they escaped, the Order, are going to be coming for us,” Nyanna says.

Behind her Zas’tu and a couple of the others out of my line of sight growl.

“For us?”

“Yes,” Nyanna says.

“Why? Why now?”

“Because Shana and Shukach… they ran into an Order outpost. It was destroyed during the encounter, but they managed to bring one of them back.”

The rumors are true!

Rumors had been flying that there was a Zmaj prisoner being interrogated. I hadn’t paid much attention to them because I didn’t really care. But if they have a prisoner, if they know these bad guys, this Order is coming…

“How soon?”

“We don’t know,” Nyanna says. “But the Zmaj say that the ship is not defensible. If they come, we will lose. We need to move to a safer place. Somewhere we can defend ourselves.”

I nod understanding but when she flashes a brilliant smile and Zas’tu jumps, pumping a fist into the air I realize they both took it as agreement to go.

Oh. Shit.

4

KATARINA

My stomach flips over before it feels like it hits the floor. I want to protest. I wasn’t agreeing to go like they think but fear leaves me paralyzed and before my body will respond they are moving on. The conversation moves so fast. It’s a struggle to keep up with it. The words they say don’t really make sense, but one thing is clear. I’m going on a journey. Outside the ship. With him.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. What am I doing?

I wrap my arms around, giving myself a tight hug. Zas’tu slides in behind me and then he wraps his arms around as his tail curls over my legs. He encircles me in his comforting presence.

The idea of traveling away from the ship terrifies me in ways that I can barely comprehend. It’ s like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, again. It reminds me of falling off the cliff and that is not an experience I ever want to repeat.

Zas’tu looms. He’s so much bigger than I am. He crouches and shifts until he is nuzzling into my neck, burying his face in my hair. The warmth of his breath on my neck makes me shiver fora different reason. I tilt my head to the side. No one seems to be paying any attention to the two of us probably because all of us humans are getting used to the Zmaj tendency towards public displays of affection.

“I protect,” he whispers right into my ear then nibbles along the lobe and onto my neck. “My treasure.”

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