Page 45 of Keeping Freya
For a moment, I feel as if nothing else exists but me and them, the noise of the fight fading away in the background. When it all comes crashing in, I rush towards the door, shooting left and right to make my way out.
Outside, I hear my mate yelling. With a feral grin, I follow her voice. I was already going to kill the High Commander, but I guess I have to do it slowly now.
I run through the settlement, not caring who sees me. The feeling is mutual because nobody bats an eye at the chase or the way Fr’ya is screaming. Lucky for me, lawlessness works on both sides here.
I hear an engine powering up, and when I reach the coastline, I see small hoverboards lined up. They must be for short use in the area, and the High Commander is racing away on one of them, making a sharp turn.
Without a flicker of doubt, I jump on one of the boards, powering it up as quickly as possible. Turning, I can just make out Fr’ya’s braid when the High Commander steers the board into the jungle. Determined, I follow. When I burst through the foliage and land on he road, I see I am gaining distance. I fire a couple of warning shots with the commander looking over his shoulder. Fr’ya uses that momentum to step on his foot and elbow him in the gut. He groans and doubles over. He loses his grip on her, and my heart stops when I figure out what my clever, stupid mate is doing; she falls on the board and rolls off, straight onto the road.
Hitting the brakes like a madman, I stop just in front of her. I try to hit the High Commander, but he uses the chaos and quickly speeds on. Fr’ya groans, and I jump on the ground.
“Fr’Ya!” I cradle her in my arms, and she latches on to me. “I have you, you are safe.”
“I know,” she whispers and leans deeper into my embrace. I give myself one deep breath and one heartbeat to allow myself to cling to her, and then I reluctantly let go.
“We should go.”
“Yes!” Her eyes spit fire. “Let’s go kill that motherfucker.”
I look back as I start up the hover board, but there is not a single hint of movement behind us. Maybe… maybe luck is on our side.
CHAPTER 26
Freya
Standing in front of T’Rak, he does everything he can to hold me as close as possible. His tail is wound tightly around my waist, and he cages me in his arms, where they hold onto the steering part of this magical hovering board we’re on.
The wind blows through my hair, and I lean back against his chest. I can almost imagine we are not on a strange, hostile planet chasing T’Rak’s nemesis if I close my eyes. Unfortunately, we are and I’m trying to help T’Rak by looking out for signs of the other hoverboard. T’Rak spots the abandoned vehicle before I do, though, and he slowly reduces speed and stops the board.
“Stay here,” he commands.
“No way, Jose,” I say, and he glares at me.
“I am coming with you, big guy, no more leaving Freya alone. Period.”
With a grumble, he jumps down, gun at the ready. Helooks around before he helps me down and hands me back my gun.
We don’t speak as I follow him towards the edge of the road. The foliage is thick here, but we can see where the High Commander went.
“We continue on foot,” T’Rak says, and I wordlessly follow. Keeping my gun ready and my eyes and ears open.
We walk for a while until we reach a small stream. The water is clear, and I look at T’Rak. With a curt nod, he gives me the okay to drink, and we both take a couple of healthy sips before he fills the water bottle.
“I need to see where his trail went,” T’Rak says. “Can you stay here?”
I smile at him. “You know, if you ask nicely, I am much more willing to listen.”
He grunts and scouts the other side of the stream. It takes him a while, but when he comes back, he sits down next to me.
“I cannot find a clear trail. We have two options; they both move north, so I suggest we just pick one.”
I throw a rock in the water. “Well, I’m no help here. I’m not a nature girl. I never even went camping before yesterday. You should just pick, and I will follow.”
He broods for a couple of minutes before he stands and offers me a hand to help me rise. “We pick that one,” he points to a small track across the water on the right.
We walk in silence, T’Rak is hyper-focused on any sort of tracks, and I give him his space. I feel guilty; if it weren’t for me at the bar, he probably would have killed the High Commander. I curse myself for letting him catch me; if only I were a little bit quicker. Maybe I should have let him take me further, because my escape also cost T’Rak time.
My thoughts are going round and round, and I am so lostin them I don’t even notice T’Rak stopping, and I bump into him.
