Chapter 4
Four
As Autumn stretched and woke, her cheek rested against the frigid dusty stone. When her vision cleared, she glanced around. The cavern was cool and dark. The only sound she heard was her own breath, leaving her mouth in crisp white puffs.
Was she dead? She pinched her cheeks. They were warm and soft beneath her fingertips. If she was dead, her skin would be cold and hard.
She rose to a shaking stand and inhaled, taking in the brisk mountain air. Her ribs no longer ached, and her spine resumed a natural direction.
She recalled Armienti’s betrayal and the fight with Valdez who was hunting them for sport like animals. She scrambled around the cave. Armienti was nowhere to be found.
Holy crap. He abandoned her on a strange planet.
“Armienti? Armienti?” She searched for him.
She sprinted to the entrance and surveyed her surroundings. In every direction, all she could see was glittering snow and ice. The storm had let up and the sun blazed in the sky which shimmered the rich cloudless hue of emerald.
Her stomach grumbled and twisted. She hadn’t eaten a real meal since the day she was captured from Surge.
Armienti crept back into the cave stealthily. He held the pelt of a small animal in his black-gloved fist. “I’m glad you’re awake. You look well if I might say so. I brought breakfast for us. There isn’t much, but I was able to hunt this creature down.”
She took a deep shuddering breath before her vision shifted to blood-red.
“You,” she lunged and knocked him in the jaw with the ball of her fist. She sent him clear across the cave, slamming into the wall. His teeth cut together.
Armienti stumbled into the rocks, dropping his kill. Pebbles sprayed from the wall, misting through the air.
“What were you thinking?” she hissed, smashing her fist against his face, again and again. His blue skin shifted beneath the weight of her blows.
On the fifth swing, he caught her fist in his palm and held it taut. “Now, is this any way to thank me for saving your life? I believe it’s been three times now. Haven’t you wondered why you’re not dead?”
“Saving my life?” Her lips curled in a snarl. “It’s your fault we’re here to begin with. I should’ve been on my way back home to Earth. It’s your fault I’ll never see Dante or my family again.”
“I have my reasons for what I did,” he folded his arms. “You would never understand.”
“I don’t care what your reasons are. I’m sure they’re selfish just like you,” Autumn said. “We have to get out of here. There has to be some way we can contact home for reinforcements. Or maybe we can try to overtake Valdez’s ship,” she contemplated aloud.
Armienti peeked outside into the snow-filled valley. “If you leave, Valdez will most certainly kill you. She’s still hunting us as we speak. Her ship isn’t too far off. Our best bet is to stick together and stay hidden for the time being.”
Autumn thought long and hard for a moment about his suggestion. Her forehead pulsated. She realized he was correct. It would be suicide to leave the cave under the current conditions.
She nodded. “Agreed.”
She secretly wanted to punch him in the face again. It took every ounce of energy she had in her body to unball her fists. She relaxed them at her sides. There would be time for payback later.
Suddenly, the entire floor of the cave vibrated. Her stomach leapt to her throat. Valdez and her soldiers were searching for them on foot.
Autumn hugged herself and then buried her face in her hands to prevent herself from screaming. Tears streamed down her cheeks from the fear rattling her to the core.
Armienti stood near Autumn, solemn and terrified. More than anything, he wanted to comfort her. What he did was not only reckless but irresponsible. and selfish most of all. On the exterior, he kept a neutral stance. They were in the most trouble he’d ever been in his life. Because of him, they were in danger. His former superior hunted them like frightened rats. They had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. They were stranded on an unidentified ice world with no food, no water, and no warmth.
Escaping her wrath wouldn’t be an easy feat. He knew better than anyone that once Valdez caught a whiff of their scent, she would see their demise through to the end. Up close and personal, slowly and painfully.
Her greatest pleasure in the world was torturing and murdering others.
It was only a matter of time until she discovered them. Although the odds were stacked against him, he was still convinced he made the right call. He wanted more than anything to claim his birthright and the girl who haunted his dreams every night.