Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
LILY
“Were deep in the ship now,” I mutter, then notice that Zan is standing stiffly, gripping on to me just slightly too tight.
“Your wing,” I murmur, shifting slightly and unwrapping my legs from him as I slide to the ground.
It’s hot on my bare feet, almost painfully so, but I’m more focused on the fact that Zan is holding his wing strangely, listing to the side slightly.
“Oh god, you made it worse, didn’t you?” I say, rushing around him to examine the injured appendage.
Sure enough, the outermost bone is now at a strange angle, and the original hole from the godawful sandworms is now fissured, cracks in the delicate webbing radiating out toward the bone.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I tell him.
“I did what I did to save you,” he says gruffly.
“But you hurt yourself,” I say. “You hurt yourself worse.”
“I know, and I have failed you.”
“What the heck are you talking about?” I say, completely exasperated, throwing my hands in the air. “You have failed me? You literally just said it yourself. You saved me. Somehow, we managed to make it here in one piece.”
I’m gesticulating wildly, and movement behind Zan catches my eye, but I’m too focused on the male in front of me to pay it any heed.
“You really hurt yourself, Zan. What are we going to do? Certainly Ken can’t make us continue when you’re in this shape.”
“I will do what I have to do to protect you, Lily,” Zan says solemnly.
“Dude, I can protect myself.”
It’s not true, not really, but I don’t want him to hurt himself anymore or make him feel worse about the fact that he was hurt, which he obviously is berating himself for.
“Zan, I need you to seriously focus,” I tell him, channeling my most serious business pitch voice. “You cannot keep putting yourself in danger for me, okay? We are a team. We do this together. And it’s okay if you have to rely on me, all right?”
I take another look around, drinking in the horrible sight in front of me.
“Welcome to the floor is lava, Alien Edition,” Ken’s voice booms, echoing around the chamber, and the crowd of people and aliens and strange holographic spectators ripple as they burst into raucous cheers.
I don’t like this at all.
“You do know the floor isn’t actually lava in that game, Ken, right?”
“Humans make a game with lava?” Zan says, mystified.
“No, we absolutely do not,” I tell him. “We absolutely do not,” I repeat, screaming at Ken.
“Oh my god, Lily, are you guys okay? Your partner’s hurt.”
Poppy’s voice surprises me, and I realize the movement I tracked behind Zan earlier was in fact my best friend and her Draegon partner, a huge red beast who’s staring at her with utter adoration, like she’s hung the moon.
She’s holding on to his hand, and it’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, which makes this even worse, because those two clearly care for each other, and I don’t know what the fuck Ken is planning, but it does not look good.
“Are you guys OK?” I ask her, holding her shoulders and checking her over.
She’s still wearing the adorable little lingerie slip she had on the night we were abducted. Well, maybe abducted isn’t the right word, since we technically signed up for this shit show, but her adorable little marabou high heels that she’d paired with it look like they’ve seen some hard times.
The fluffy poof of the marabou is now wilted and covered in mud, and one high heel is completely snapped off.
“Why are you still wearing those?” I say to her, mystified.
Poppy stares at me, looking absolutely devastated. “They complete the outfit,” she offers up, as if that’s any kind of an answer.
“You’re barefoot,” she notes. “And where are your pajamas?”
“You don’t like my new outfit?” I tell her, attempting for humor and falling very, very short.
In fact, I sound like I’m despairing.
“Zan is hurt,” I tell her.
“I know, I can see that. We could tell the minute you guys dropped in through the opening. I don’t know what’s happening here, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I ever got us into this mess.”
Poppy’s bawling now, her face turning deep, bright red, tears streaming.
The red Draegon behind her pulls her in close by her hand, nearly blocking her from my view with his wings.
“Do not blame her for what has happened,” he says fiercely.
“I literally didn’t,” I tell him, completely exasperated. “Can we all just focus? My partner’s hurt. Poppy is in no way, shape, or form mentally ready for whatever horrible thing Ken has planned here, and I hate to break up this conversation—”
“Hello,” Ken’s voice booms, and his hologram form flickers in front of us.
I sigh, reaching out for Zan’s hand, and he takes it, squeezing it before raising it to his mouth and giving it a gentle kiss.
It’s shocking to me how much better that simple movement, that simple gesture makes me feel.
It settles something deep inside me regarding him.
Because no matter what happens right now, I am not going to let him hurt himself further.
I can do this.
“I can do this,” I repeat out loud, and I stare at the red Draegon holding Poppy menacingly. “You better take good fucking care of her just like I’m going to take care of my Draegon.”
I poke Zan in the chest then realize I’m being super weird. And possessive. Probably thanks to the heat, which I do not have time for right now.
Ken is still talking, introducing the challenge to the strange audience around us, and I realize I need to listen.
Because not listening? Yeah. That could get us killed.
“In summation,” Ken continues, and a ripple of absolute fear and horror shreds through my body, I know I’m not gonna like what’s about to happen.
I don’t think I’ll like anything Ken did at this stage. Zan tucks me in closer to his body, and I lean against him.
“Our two couples will be competing in this obstacle course, and the first one to win will be transported immediately to their reward. Lest we forget, the reward package is a parcel of arable land on Sueva, the galaxy’s foremost peaceful and safe planet.
Once on the colony, they will have appropriate housing, and they will also be provided with a gift basket thanks to our sponsors. ”
A holographic version of a gift basket appears, and the strange juxtaposition of a gift basket with the fact that my mate is currently injured to the point of being permanently disabled makes me want to throw up.
Ken pulls out a long pink blanket robe-type thing covered in cutesy little graphics.
“Next, a comms tablet, complete with a themed grip for your reading pleasure,” Ken announces to the crowd, that is cheering and whispering about the items as if they’re gold.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I mutter. “He has sponsors now? In the lava murder pit? What is this world coming to?”
Ken continues to pull out things, and I definitively decide to ignore him and whoever decided to sponsor this absolute death arena shitshow, and try to take in the obstacles.
“And slippers, something our female contestants seem to be strangely fond of!” Ken booms.
“You do like your slippers,” Zan tells me, clearly thrilled with this particular item.
I stare at him like he’s lost his mind before shaking my head and focusing on the task at hand.
Survival.
“All right, Zan, you’re going to have to rely on me for this one. I am not leaving you behind.”
“You will do what you must so that you survive,” Zan says.
“No, I am not doing as I must so that I survive. I will do as I must so that we both survive,” I argue with him, gesturing between us.
He gives me a long look then smiles, showing fang. A little ripple of excitement goes through me, because he’s looking much more like the arrogant asshole I know and like than the scared, hurt Draegon I desperately want to protect. And will protect, god damn him.
“What are you trying to say, my Lily?” he says, too casually.
“I’m saying you’re mine to take care of, Zan, so do what you will with that information. Be a dick about it, I don’t care, but I’m not leaving here without you.” I cross my arms over my chest and hit him with my best lava-murder-pit-stare.
His little smirk turns into a full-fledged smile, and he wraps his arms around me, holding me tight before pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“You’re still covered in sand.”
“Oh yeah, well at least I didn’t let a sandworm use me for a chew toy,” I tell him.
“At the sound of the gun” Ken looks to the silent crowd. “The race will begin. On your mark. Get ready.”
The gun fires, a crack of noise that stuns me, so close it’s nearly deafening.
Oh shit, it’s happening.
The last time I did an obstacle race was at some horrible corporate retreat maybe six or seven years ago, when I had to do a three-legged race with a guy from accounting who I personally wanted to stab in the eyeball every time he sent a “per my last request” e-mail to me.
Needless to say, I sabotaged us.
Now, though… now the last thing I want to do is sabotage anyone. Especially not Zan and not Poppy and her Draegon dude.
I want us to all get out of here alive, and the quicker the better, gift basket be damned.
I feel sick to my stomach, and I realize that seconds are ticking by as Poppy clings to the back of her partner, who’s already tearing through the course at record speed.
Before I can register the fact that I need to move, my feet are already moving.
My ears are ringing, and I have no idea how we’re supposed to navigate this course, nor do I really understand where the course is even going. It’s all buzzing too much.
Zan, meanwhile, is full steam ahead, tugging me along his good side, holding his poor wing at such an awkward angle that it hurts to look at.
“Lily, I need you to pull it together,” he says quietly, or as quietly as he can over the roar of the crowd and the hissing and popping of the lava around us.
I’m sweating profusely, and can’t imagine the kind of pain Zan must be in right now.