Page 69 of Saved By the Alien Hybrid
“Tall, like absurdly tall. Gray skin, white hair. Huge blue eyes. A massive tail, like a crocodile or something. And he hadhorns like that.” Sophia pointed at Rentir’s head. “Black, just like that, but a different shape.”
“Thalen,” Rentir confirmed. “Where did she see him?”
Sophia listened to Cordelia, then looked sheepishly up. “I… I hit him over the head,” she said. “He was already hurt, and there was this weird black blood all over his face. I was scared, and I… panicked.”
Rentir’s stomach sank. “Can she take us to him?”
Sophia nodded reluctantly.
CHAPTER 30
Sophia leaned heavilyon Cordelia as she directed them back into the forest, retracing her steps toward the place she’d left Thalen, the leader of the revolution, for dead.
“What did you hit him with?” Cordelia asked.
“…A big stick,” Sophia muttered. “Look, I didn’t know who he was! I was lost on an alien planet, and he looked like something out of a horror movie.”
They got turned around twice before Sophia recognized a huge, rotting log, reorienting them. Just a few yards beyond, they found Thalen lying face down in the bracken.
He looked like a broken doll—or maybe an action figure was more apt. Rentir rushed to his side, kneeling and prodding him over. Thalen was similar to Rentir in his alien aspects, but he was nearly twice as broad and a head taller. His breathing was labored and wet in a way that sounded agonizing.
“Jesus, Soph.”
Sophia bowed her head sheepishly, hugging her elbows. “I really thought he was going to hurt me,” she said softly, shifting from foot to foot. “I didn’t know they were on our side.”
“It’s okay,” Cordelia murmured, wrapping an arm around Sophia’s bare shoulders. “No one blames you.”
“He needs medical treatment,” Rentir said in frustration, picking over Thalen in search of further injuries. “He’ll die if he stays out here.”
“Oh, God,” Sophia said, pressing a hand over her mouth as blood bubbled from Thalen’s lips.
“Tell the female it was not her doing,” Rentir said, his gaze flicking to Cordelia. “He was badly injured long before she struck him—she would not have been able to land the blow otherwise. It is his other injuries that I fear he will succumb to.”
Cordelia relayed as much to Sophia, who didn’t look comforted at all by the sentiment. She moved to kneel beside Thalen, her doe eyes sweeping over him guiltily as she gnawed at the cuticle of her thumb.
She didn’t look much better than Thalen, covered head to toe in dirt and scratches as she was. She was naturally willowy, but over the last few days, she’d grown gaunt. The shadows under her cheekbones and in the hollows of her eyes were too deep. Her light brown skin was tinged red over her nose and her shoulders by a sunburn. It was nothing the medpod couldn’t heal, but the sight of her suffering still twisted a knife in Cordelia’s gut.
“Who were those other aliens?” Sophia asked, breaking Cordelia’s morose reverie.
“The guys at the lake?”
Sophia nodded.
“They’re the Aurillon. Rentir and Thalen here are hybrids, purpose bred by the auretians for labor. They’re in the middle of a revolution.”
“So, they’re slavers?” Sophia asked numbly.
“Yeah, pretty much. Eugenicists, too.”
Sophia winced. “What do you think they were going to do to me?”
“I have no idea, but we’re going to find out. They have Thea, and I’m not going to stop until we’ve got her back.”
“Thea? They gotThea?” Sophia echoed, her eyes widening.
Cordelia could see the cogs turning in her head, knew exactly what she was thinking—if they could get the drop on Thea, none of them stood a chance. Sophia’s attention drifted to Rentir. Gratitude blossomed on her face.
“Maybe I could bring the hoverbike,” Rentir muttered, looming over Thalen. “If I could find some way to secure him…” He looked between Cordelia and Sophia. “But I can’t leave you two here. You’re too vulnerable.” He cursed, mussing his hair in frustration.
