Page 15 of Theirs to Crave

“We go to new world.” Salat’s voice snapped with tension, underlaid with a hissing growl. Ilya whimpered and buried xyr head against Yin’s chest.

Cass’s eyes were wide pools of dread in her pale face. Ria muttered a steady stream of colorful curses, bouncing on her toes and stretching like she was about to step into the ring. Shane’s body was tight with tension as braced himself against the back wall. He blew out a long breath, smacked both palms against the metal hard enough that mine stung in sympathy, and sank down, grim faced, his arm wrapped around the food nozzle.

I copied him, and the others moved to do the same. Mariano slid in beside me and bared his teeth in a smile.

“Please ensure your seats and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions as we prepare for arrival. We are expecting some turbulence on descent.” His bright, playful voice shook with ferocity. “Thank you for flying Abduction Air. We know youhave choices when you fly—oh wait, no, you don’t. As always, if you see your pilots on the way out—” Mariano’s face darkened, his jaw flexing. “Fuck them up.”

“You heard the man,” I said, bracing myself. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride. Hold on tight.”

“See y’all on the other side,” Ria promised.

“Word choice, Ria, jeez,” Cass muttered.

Yin lifted xyr head. “Be strong. We are together.”

“Together.” The word came from nine throats: some human, some not, all family.

The withered thing in my heart that was hope unfurled a single frond. Then the ship lurched and I slammed face first into the wall. Of course. My bruises had finally healed.

Landing was just as awful as liftoff, it turned out. Although, having an anchor point so we weren’t bouncing around on the electric walls was a distinct improvement. Bless the Quoosalk for that suggestion.

I was feeling a bit smug at how well we were doing, so inevitably that’s when everything went to shit.

The lights flickered and died, plunging us into darkness so complete I couldn’t even see Mariano beside me. My ears popped in rapid succession as it felt like we fell ten stories, the rushing, lifting sensation in my gut making me grit my teeth. I’d always hated it. Mariano had been wild about roller coasters when we were younger. I’d gone to the fair with him—but only for elotes and flirting.

“¿Es neta?”

I snapped back to the present at Mariano’s disbelieving cry in the silence.

Silence?

The constant, aggravating, thrumming sound of the ship’s engine...was gone. I held my breath, praying for it to return, but if God was listening, he didn’t answer my prayers. My head grew dizzy and I fought back the urge to throw up, swallowing in an effort to push down the organs that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in my throat. Woozily, I wondered if gods were galaxy specific. Maybe we weren’t in his sector anymore.

The ship shuddered. A harsh metallic wail battered my ears and I braced myself for impact, feeling Mariano curl around me. My temple cracked against the pipe, but I ignored the new pain as the engine roared to sputtering life. We crashed into the floor—I hadn’t realized we’d been hovering just above it—and the sick sensation of falling died on impact.

A few seconds later, the lights flickered on—a dim amber rather than the relentless bright white they’d been before.

For a moment, I hoped.

Then the engines died again—taking the lights with them—and this time they didn’t come back.

The ship shook and groaned around us; every sound magnified by the darkness. I felt desperately heavy, as if someone had strapped bricks to every part of my body. I couldn’t draw in enough air to scream. The pressure weighed me down until I sank to the floor, collapsing on my back. I dragged in a shallow breath. That was a bit better.

“Lay down,” I squeezed out, fighting to be heard over the shrieking of the ship peeling apart around us. “The pressure isless.” I didn’t say,not that it matters, because we’re fucking crashing, but I thought it.

Groans were the only replies I got. There was a thud next to me, then Mariano’s hand found mine, gripping it tightly. His voice rasped from the darkness.

“Esto no es el fin, Estrella.”

The metal screeching became a roar, saving me from replying. I squeezed his hand and let myself sob—the thundering was so loud not even I could hear my cries.

The impact came without warning. We flew through the air, slamming violently against the walls. Thankfully, they weren’t electrified anymore, but that didn’t keep the air from being filled with screams as we caromed across the surface of this new planet.

I crashed into the ceiling flat on my back, my chest heaving as I tried to draw in a breath from lungs that felt like they’d collapsed. The metal beside my head tore, peeling away like a cat food can, and I rolled, blinking at the dusky light that seemed painfully bright to my wide, shocked eyes.

An eternity of pain later, the ship rocked to a halt. The quiet was shocking. Around me, people moaned, and metal hissed and clanged—but my battered ears heard it all as if through a wad of cotton. I smelled smoke, hot metal, burned plastic, and something else...rain?

A terrible, ululating scream tore through my fuzzy contemplations.

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