Chapter Twenty Four
My heart pounds against my ribs as I watch the house get more and more full of large men. I press into the corner, trying to make myself small. Thinking about what we plan to do twists my insides into knots.
Logically, I know I shouldn’t be here. I’m not like them—I don’t have powers or alien blood. But I have to go.
I have to find Ray.
Shayla’s voice cuts through the buzzing in my head. “Summer’s coming too.”
Relief and determination floodthroughme in a dizzying rush, and I glance over at Summer, who gives me a wink. Her eyesare filledwith understanding.
Steeling myself, I step away from the wall and join the group, faking confidence as Shayla crosses her arms and levels her gaze at the others. “We need Summer. She knows the last guy we haven’t located from the labs. They’ve been communicating and when he sees Summer, he’ll know we’re the rescue team. We need to keep the rest of the prisoners calm and assure them we’re on their side so they don’t run off like last time with Ivan, Gavin, and Steven.”
I meet her eyes and nod. I’ll do anything they want if they let me come.
My mind flashes back to that chaotic rescue days ago. Ray and the three other men were brought to the yard of this house, dazed and practically unconscious. The Sinth had grabbed them when they found us, butall of themran into the woods beforeanything was explained. We don’t need a repeat of that fiasco.
The Sinth gave us all a second chance before. With their help, I’mpositivewe can do it again.
I straighten my back and lift my chin.
The air crackles with energy asmore Sinth aliens suddenly phase into the room.I gasp, still not used to the Sinth’s ability to appear and disappear at will. Their arrival is silent, but a smaller body steps toward me.
“Summer! I’m so glad you’re here,” Jamie’s face lights up when she sees me, and I rush forward to embrace her.
Over her shoulder, I meet the gaze of the Sinth male. His eyes glow an electric blue, and he inclines his head in greeting.
Jamie pulls back and takes the Sinth’s hand. “This is Purlogh. He helped us escape before.”
Purlogh’s voice rumbles. “We’ve been planning to rescue your males again.The Sinth Sovereignty was contacted by Payak and Desinbutthey hadn’tbeen givenfinal approval yet.”
“That was before we knew they were moving them,” Jamie adds.
“I would have moved already—” Purlogh mutters before Jamie cuts him off.
“But now we’re better prepared.” Jamie’s eyes shine with fierce resolve as she grips my hands. “We’ll get them out, Summer. I know we will.”
I nod, squeezing her hands in return. “Thank you.”
Purlogh turns his piercing eyes to me. “You care for the altered man.” It’s not a question.
“I do,” I reply without hesitation. “Ray is... unique.” Just saying his name makes my heart ache with longing.
Purlogh is silent for a moment as if weighing my words. “Don’t worry. We’ve been planning for this and have a plan in place.”
A mix of hope and fear courses through me. Can we really get Ray back and everyone else out?
So much could go wrong.
“Do you have somewhere for the prisoners to stay?” I shift my weight from foot to foot, not meaning to question their plan. “I mean… that was one of the issues Ray and I discussed with us getting them out—”
“You were going to help him?” Purlogh sounds so incredulous, I’m offended. And his booming question has all eyes turning to me.
“Of course.” I straighten my spine, meeting the eyes around me one by one. “We only spent a few days there, so I can’t imagine being there for fucking ever.”
Another loud voice cuts through the room. “Prepare yourselves. We leave soon.”
As everyone springs into action, Jamie pulls me into one more quick, tight hug. “That’s Payak. The head Sinth Guardian for the Sinth on base,” she whispers.
I have so many questions but now isn’t the time. Relaxing as Jamie releases me, my nerves jingle with anticipation as I’m introduced to the others one by one. All their names go right in one ear and out the other. It’s too much as I watch groups form not only in the lower family room where I am but also in the dining room and kitchen. There appear to be almost as many women here as men.
“Ready?” Shayla pops up next to me, her eyes burning with determination.
“Definitely.” The sooner we get in, the sooner we can get out.
Jamie grips my hand, grounding me. “It’s time.”
I take a deep breath and nod.
Across the room, I see one of the other rescued men pull Mae close, his eyes narrow with worry. He brushes a strand of hair from her face and presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. A silent promise to keep her safe.
I kind of wonder why. It blew me away when I found out her stepfather was one of the scaled aliens they call the Taxin. How did that ever happen?
But my heart aches, missing the feel of Ray’s arms around me. Our time together was far too short.
I cling to the memory of his voice, and his smile. The way his eyes lit up when he looked at me.
Will I ever get the chance to see him again?
Worry creeps up my spine, cold and paralyzing. What if the rescue attempt fails? What if Ray is gone… killed and lost to the cruelty of his alien captors?
I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing back the dark thoughts. I can’t go there.
Jamie’s arm tightens around my shoulders, and I open my eyes to find her watching me. “We have to stay close together, okay?”
I nod as she continues explaining. “We’re not going to be‘in’the dimension when we first get there. In fact, I have a feeling that Fin and Purlogh won’t want us to step out of the gateway where the Taxin aliens can see us until they’ve got it pretty sewed up.”
“Exactly,” Purlogh confirms, softening his words with a kiss to her head while she rolls her eyes.
It’s hard not to smile as I nod. Groups are already disappearing as I’m pulled into Purlogh’s chest, obstructing my view. But flashes of light whirl around and above us as a weightless feeling settles over me. It’s almost like a vision flickers around us of a living room before a white, sterile-looking hall appears.
All is quiet except for the thundering of my pulse in my ears.
My heart leaps as I glance around. “Where did everyone go?”
A Sinth walks through a door on the right, passing through it and appearing like a ghost as he announces, “They’re gone.”
“All of them?” Purlogh responds, turning to the left and sticking only his head through the door. Fucking weird.
“Yes.”
Where are the guards? The doctors? This empty stillness feels like the calm before the storm.
Purlogh tilts his head, listening. “There are only a few ways they could get them out of here,” he murmurs. “Stay close.”
By close, he means plastered against him again as the color whirls around us briefly. As the lights stop and an even wider hall forms, I’m thankful he’s holding me so tight as we take in the chaos and scaled aliens all around us.
“They can’t see us yet, remember?” Jamie assures me from across Payak’s wide chest. Her voice is normal… conversational even.
We creep slowly down the hallway, senses straining for any sign of life. Purlogh’s steps are slow, and he glances down at us with grim understanding in his gaze. “Brace yourselves. Ray is up ahead.”
Jamie and I exchange a tense glance as the lights in the hallway begin to flicker ominously. The floor shudders beneath our feet and a distant rumbling echoes through the walls. It sounds like...an earthquake.
No, not just that. The doors lining the hallway start rattling in their frames, some even popping open to reveal empty rooms beyond. The entire research facility seems to be coming alive around us, shaken by some unseen force.
My heart hammers against my ribs. What the hell is going on? Is this some new alien weapon?
“Stay close,” Purlogh commands, his voice steady despite the growing chaos. Jamie presses against his other side, her breath coming out ragged as she tries to stand on her tip-toes for a better view like me.
The hallway slopes upward now, the shaking growing stronger with each step. It’s a struggle just to stay on my feet. Ahead of us, the hallway ends in a pair of metal doors and I can finally see over the heads of all the aliens. It’s so weird they can’t see us.
Purlogh doesn’t hesitate, striding forward and walking right through the crowd which kind of freaks me the fuck out. The bright light illuminating right in front of the doors is almost blinding. It takes a good minute for my eyes to adjust and realize in the center of it all stands Ray, glowing like a beacon.
My heart leaps. “Ray!”
I jerk from Purlogh’s grasp, breaking into a run and sprinting across the shaking floor toward Ray. He stands utterly still amidst the chaos, wearing silver clothing that”s shining bright while his head is tilted back as if listening to a sound only he can hear.
Around him, the alien doctors shout and scramble, trying to grab him andcontain him. But some invisible force is holding them back. Or maybe it’s the collapsed men aroundhim,littering the floor.
“Ray!” I cry again, my voice breaking. “I’m here!”
I pump my legs harder, dodging the crumpled alien bodies. The whole hall is trembling around us, but I barely notice, focused only on reaching Ray.
I stagger the last few steps, falling against his chest and ignoring the pulsing shock vibrating every hair on my body. Hard, lean muscle presses against me, and the heat of his skin soaks through the shiny medical clothes they’ve dressed him in.
I cling to him desperately, afraid this is all a dream I’ll wake from. “Ray!” Staring over my head, I tilt my neck back, studying his hard jaw and praying he’ll look down at me.
I can see the Sinth guys flashing in the corners of my eyes and taking down the scaled aliens. Every time they grab one, a cloud of gray ash surrounds them, covering us all with fine dust.
“Ray! Focus!” His body is stiff and vibrating against me, but I reach up, smacking him across the face. “Ray! We have to go!”
Slowly, his head lowersandwhen his eyes meet mine, they widen. But then his entire body crumples, and his massive weight crashes to the floor, taking me down with him.
Fuck!
Sucking in the air, I struggle to breathe under his weight as I study his face. With his eyes closed and his body limp, my worst nightmare is realized.
He”s dead.