Page 45 of Shielded Heart 1
“Drakkal and the others. They’re outside.”
When they reached the next landing, he glanced back at her.
Frantic pink splotches stood out on her cheeks, contrasting the heightened paleness of her skin. He had little notion of terran endurance and limitations; all he could do was hope she could push onward.
“Almost out, Samantha. This will be over soon,” he said as gently as he could.
She nodded. “If we stop…I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep going.”
Arcanthus continued down, tightening his tail around her middle a little more. She wouldn’t feel it through her armor, and he wanted to ensure he could keep her upright if she tripped or stumbled.
After what felt like both an eternity and a fleeting handful of moments, they finally reached the ground floor.
Arcanthus guided Samantha under the stairs; it was the only spot that provided cover from above and a little protection from the door leading into the main corridor. He looked down at the indicator on the inside of his right wrist. The shield wouldn’t last longer than a few more seconds.
“Tell me one of the exits is clear,” he said. “I don’t have time to pull up city plans and puzzle out an alternate route.”
“Still hot out here,” Drakkal replied.
“They were reinforced,” growled Koroq. “Back is no good.”
“I suppose theyreallywant me dead,” Arcanthus said.
Drakkal snorted. “Don’t they know there’s a waiting list?”
The shield’s power indicator flickered off. Shouts sounded from high above. Arcanthus’s heart raced almost as quickly as his mind; they needed a way out, and they needed onefast. His own skin being on the line should’ve been enough to push him to a solution, but his concern was solely for Samantha. For his mate. If he couldn’t get her out of here, if he failed, the bestshe could hope for was a quick death.
Unacceptable.
Arcanthus turned his head toward her, and she met his gaze. He moved his right hand to her face and cupped her cheek. “We need to fight our way out, Samantha. Same as before—stayright behind me.”
She closed her eyes, pressed her cheek into his palm, and nodded. The determination and resolve that hardened her features at that moment pierced Arcanthus to his core; he was nearly overcome with pride, and the fires of arousal sparked deep inside him. Hecravedher. He’d been patient, but this little terran was testing his restraint, and his bestial side was rampaging in the back of his mind with want for her.
He desired Samantha more than ever before.
Thrusting those thoughts aside, he forced himself back to the situation at hand. Heavy footsteps sounded from partway up the stairwell; at least two of the three members of the elevator crew were descending. According to Drakkal, more enemies were attempting to enter the building. Were they still outside, or had they succeeded? He had to assume his foes were in communication with each other, that they knew where he was.
Overthinking this again.
Arcanthus clenched his jaw, returned his hand to the foregrip of his auto-blaster, and strode toward the door. He turned the blaster upward as they passed into the open space, but the elevator crew chose not to peek down. He used his tail to guide Sam against the wall beside the door before pressing the button to open it.
The door slid open silently. Arc leaned through the opening slightly, checking the corridor to the left of the doorway before swinging to check the other direction.
A huge, orange fist sped toward his face.
Arcanthus instinctively tipped his chin down. The fist struck his horns with a dull, meatythwap. The immense force behind the blow blasted through his neck and along his spine, clacking his teeth together, but he planted his feet and stood firm; tretin blood granted Arc’s people naturally tough bones, but he’d reinforced his skeletal and muscular systems withcybernetics years ago to account for the strain caused by the enhanced strength of his prosthetic limbs.
He looked up to see a hulking, orange-skinned onigox standing before him.
Arcanthus swung his auto-blaster around. The onigox caught the weapon with the hands of his lower arms before Arc could take aim. Growling, Arcanthus poured more strength into the struggle. Despite his size and prowess, the onigox couldn’t overpower the sedhi; the barrel of the blaster, trembling with the combatants’ exertion, crept toward the orange brute.
At least until the onigox swung his upper arms simultaneously, catching Arc’s head between his massive fists.
The sound of the blows was thunderous in Arcanthus’s ears, and white flashed across his vision. He staggered backward. The onigox capitalized upon Arcanthus’s brief disorientation by tearing the auto-blaster away and tossing it to the floor.
“Alk!”
Samantha’s voice broke through the ringing in Arcanthus’s ears. He shook his head sharply and glanced at her; plasma bolts rained from the stairs above, hitting the floor around her feet. She screamed.
