Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
Please be okay, Rekosh. Please, please be okay.
With her breaths like shards of glass in her sore throat, Ahmya threw herself onto her hands and knees before the wall of branches and thorns.
She knew she was being followed, knew that there was no way she could outrun a vrix. It was only a matter of time before they caught her. But all she needed was a little more time. Enough to allow Rekosh to get free, to get help.
She wouldn’t find that time while she was trapped in this camp. For Rekosh, she had to go as far as she could, had to last as long as she could.
Ahmya crawled into the narrow gap beneath the wall. Branches and thorns scratched her skin from all sides and snagged her hair and dress, but she had to move forward. Always forward, endlessly forward…until she couldn’t.
And she wasn’t about to let some sticks stop her.
If Rekosh survived, then her sacrifice would be worth it. She needed him to live. The thought of him being killed…
No. My mate will live.
She had to believe he would .
Ahmya wriggled and maneuvered through the maze of branches, breaking off sticks to clear her path. A cry emerged through her gritted teeth as a thorn caught on her dress and dug into the skin of her back, but she didn’t stop. She clawed at the ground and dove forward. The thorn cut along her spine, pulling her dress taut before the silk came free with a rip.
As soon as her torso emerged from beneath the wall, she shoved herself up onto her feet and ran.
Behind her, a female vrix growled a curse. Branches snapped, cracked, and rattled.
With her arms pumping at her sides, and her boots pounding the ground, Ahmya glanced over her shoulder. Her blood went cold. She could just make out Ogahnkai’s huge, dark figure through the gaps in the wall. The female vrix was tearing a path directly through the branches.
Ahmya’s eyes darted around, seeking a place to hide. The trees were too thick and lacked branches low enough for her to climb, and the undergrowth would leave her too exposed.
She halted abruptly, her oversized boots nearly tripping her, as she caught sight of something partially hidden behind the leaves of a fern-like bush.
A fallen, hollowed-out tree.
There was no time for caution. No time to worry about what might’ve lurked inside. Without hesitation, Ahmya raced to the log and ducked inside it.
Her palms and knees scraped over the rough, damp wood, and she turned, carefully scooting back from the opening.
Thanks to the foliage, her view of the jungle was extremely limited, turning the world around her into a vast unknown.
She struggled to control her breathing, but her heart was racing so fast, so strong, that she couldn’t seem to take in enough air. Any louder, and her heartbeat would be echoing along this small natural tunnel.
Sounds drifted to her from outside, oddly muted by the surrounding wood, which made them seem otherworldly. Shouting, wood cracking and splintering, growls and grunts, and drifting amongst it all like a feather caught on the wind, the whisper of flames.
After brushing off her palm on her dress, Ahmya clasped it over the puncture wound on her forearm.
She had no idea what was going on out there. It sounded like chaos, which was the best she could have hoped for, but was it enough? Had Rekosh been able to?—
A faint tremor coursed through the log.
Ahmya froze.
Another tremor followed, then another, and another, each stronger than the last. And each was accompanied by new sounds—the thump of heavy legs coming down on the ground and the clanking of gold adornments.
Oh God…
Movement near the log’s opening made her breath hitch. Huge, thick vrix legs came into view, along with a dangling length of silk. Ahmya could just make out the tiny hairs on those legs, all standing up.
“I cannot see you, little worm,” Ogahnkai said in vrix, her voice vibrating through the log, “but I smell you.”
The female lowered herself slowly, menacingly, her body blocking out the opening. With a growl, she thrust a massive arm into the log.
Ahmya covered her mouth, muffling a terrified cry, and kicked her legs to push herself back as the shadowy limb swept around the space within the hollow, seeking blindly. That big, clawed hand slammed into the floor and roof, tearing chunks free and making bits of debris rain onto Ahmya.
Though she was beyond Ogahnkai’s reach, everything with Ahmya screamed that this was much, much too close. That she needed to flee, to run and run and run until her legs gave out, and then she needed to crawl. She needed to do everything she could to put as much distance as possible between herself and this monster.
Ogahnkai’s claws raked the log’s inner walls, splintering the wood with a cracking so loud that the sound threatened to swallow Ahmya up. Beams of light punched through the ceiling as the log fractured against the vrix’s onslaught.
Ogahnkai snarled and abruptly withdrew her arm.
Ahmya’s ragged breaths burned in her chest; she felt no relief, found no respite from her fear. The female vrix shifted away from the opening, and her heavy steps moved around to the side of the log before falling silent.
Eyes darting from side to side, Ahmya strained to hear any sign of what the female was doing. Dread, icy cold and weighty, pooled in her belly.
Ogahnkai roared. The top of the log exploded inward not two feet from Ahmya, spraying her with wood chips and splinters. One of the vrix’s legs hammered down on the bottom of the log, making the whole thing shake.
Ahmya screamed and scrambled back, the toe of her boot actually touching the vrix’s limb.
A second leg burst through the top of the log, this one much closer. Ahmya fell back, catching herself on her elbows as the leg came down between her thighs, which had been spread only by sheer luck.
“I will crush you,” Ogahnkai growled, tearing her legs out and ripping away more wood in the process. “I will break your soft, disgusting body for our queen!”
As fast as she could, Ahmya retreated, barely aware of the cuts and scrapes she was collecting on her hands, elbows, and legs. Ogahnkai stomped on the log again and again. Each time, Ahmya’s heart leapt into her throat, and her insides twisted into a tighter and tighter knot. Each time, more of the log collapsed.
She turned onto her belly and lifted her head. The other opening was only a few feet away, partially blocked by dirt and debris.
Hope flared in her chest despite her knowing how foolish it was. Even if she made it out, she wasn’t fast enough to escape. But she’d never been one to give up, and she wasn’t about to start. Not even now.
With the deafening noise of Ogahnkai destroying the log enveloping her, Ahmya dove forward, burying her fingers in the dirt. She frantically raked handfuls of it away from the opening. The log shook violently with the relentless assault, which only seemed to grow more furious with each strike.
Ahmya dragged herself forward. The opening was tight, but the ground was thankfully soft. The instant her legs were clear, she shoved herself onto her feet and began running before she was even fully upright.
Face forward, move as fast as you ? —
Something heavy struck her leg, knocking it out from beneath her. She fell hard on her side, tumbled, and came to rest on her back. A pained groan rose from her throat.
Ogahnkai loomed over Ahmya, impossibly large and imposing. Her shoulders rose and fell with her heaving breaths, and the lower segments of her forelegs glistened with blood from numerous cuts and splinters on her dark hide.
Ahmya flattened her hands on the ground to push herself up. Her right hand came down on a rough stone jutting from the dirt.
“For the queen!” Ogahnkai snarled.
All the terror Ahmya had felt in her whole life, especially since coming out of cryosleep to find herself in this alien world, should’ve washed over her at that moment. Those dark, frigid waters should’ve risen over her head and devoured her. Because…this was it, wasn’t it?
But all she could think about was Rekosh. All she could hope for was that he was all right…that he would be all right .
Ahmya pried the stone from the ground and threw it. With a dull thunk , it struck Ogahnkai’s face. The vrix’s head snapped aside, and she staggered back half a step, slapping a hand over her eyes and growling.
Though Ahmya knew those powerful legs would lash out with blind but lethal fury, she struggled to get back onto her feet and keep going. If Ogahnkai remained occupied, it was one fewer fanatical vrix actively trying to harm Rekosh.
The female vrix reared back, raising both forelegs high. She roared, but the sound was drowned out by another roar, far louder, far harsher, far more primal. A roar that both sent a chill into Ahmya’s bones and sparked heat in her belly.
However bestial it had sounded, Ahmya knew her mate when she heard him.
Before either female could so much as look toward the source of that roar, before those massive legs could come down on Ahmya, a blur of black and red crashed into Ogahnkai.
With only two legs on the ground, the female vrix fell aside heavily. Rekosh landed atop her.
Ahmya’s heart pounded as she watched the frenzied struggle. Ogahnkai had an immense advantage in size, weight, and strength, but Rekosh fought like the embodiment of wildness and rage. He attacked faster than Ahmya’s eyes could comprehend, using every limb to inflict damage. Claws, fangs, and an obsidian-headed axe shredded Ogahnkai’s hide. She grabbed at him over and over, but she might as well have been grasping at smoke.
And Rekosh snarled repeatedly—not just meaningless, savage sounds, but words.
“Mine. Mine . She is mine!”
He shoved Ogahnkai’s cheek into the dirt, raised the axe high, and brought it down on her neck. One of her hands finally caught him, claws sinking into his side.
Ahmya’s heart skipped a beat .
Unfazed, Rekosh brought the axe down again and again and again, punctuating each brutal blow with a growled mine .
Wet, choked sounds burst from Ogahnkai, and her struggles weakened until, finally, she fell still and silent. Between the blood and dirt clinging to the fabric, little white remained on her silk wrappings.
Rekosh grasped the female’s wrist and pulled her claws free from his side with a grunt. When he released his hold, Ogahnkai’s arm fell away limply. He shoved himself up and stepped back from the body.
Ahmya got to her feet. Her legs were suddenly so weak and unsteady that she couldn’t be sure how long they’d support her weight. All the aches and pains the adrenaline had held at bay were starting to make themselves known.
But she forgot all that when he turned to face her. Her chest tightened as she beheld her mate. Blood oozed from countless cuts and puncture wounds on his black hide, which was already darkening further with bruises in several places.
“Oh, Rekosh,” she breathed as tears stung her eyes.
He closed the distance between them in an instant and wrapped all four arms around Ahmya, lifting her off her feet to clutch her against his chest. He rasped, “ Kir’ani vi’keishi .”
She clung to him, to his warmth, to his solidness, and for a few moments nothing existed but him. Tears ran down her cheeks as she buried her face against his neck. His teak and amber scent flooded her senses, and she didn’t care that it was tainted by the tangs of blood and smoke. Because Rekosh was here, holding her. He was alive.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you…”