Chapter 30
Thirty
Autumn led Armienti back to the cave. He winced and shivered with each trembling step. As he clutched his broken wrist, dread and shame overtook her. She couldn’t believe she’d hurt him.
Why had their abilities vanished without a trace?
She guided him over to the fire. Tiny embers crackled and blazed from earlier that morning. She blew on them, causing the flame to reignite. Flames spread through the ashes and orange glowed across the ceiling as the fire warmed their bodies.
“I’m going to set the bone, but first, I need something to stabilize your arm,” she raced outside to where the giant alien fish lay, searching for supplies. Armienti remained inside the cave in silence.
Blood pulsed through her ears. Sure, she was pre-med at one point and had two semesters under her belt at Rockland Community College, but this was real life. How she wished she had been able to resume her studies.
Was she ready for this? She shook her head. Toughen up, Autumn, she scolded herself . She had to be strong, although she was terrified. Armienti needed her help.
She knelt and snapped two rib bones from the fish’s enormous chest cavity. Calcium and minerals disintegrated in her gloves as she held the pieces in her palm. She raced back into the cave and fell to her knees beside Armienti as he sat on the floor. Sweat beaded against his brow.
She placed the bones on the ground. Her fingers shook. “Brace yourself, this is really going to hurt.” She could only imagine the agony he was in.
She removed her teal glove and rolled the fabric up before placing it between his teeth.
“You can bite down on this if the pain becomes too much.”
Deep in her gut she had a feeling it would be. They had no anesthesia and nothing to numb the sensation.
Armienti’s golden hair swayed over his well-built shoulders. He closed his clear blue eyes. The cave grew as silent as death.
She continued. “Okay, on the count of three I’m going to shift the pieces together. One, two, three.”
As she reached the end of her countdown, she straightened his wrist with a CRACK . Armienti bit down hard on the fabric in his mouth and groaned in agony. She took the severed bone and connected the pieces. Fortunately, it hadn’t splintered. With her other hand she placed the fish bone supports on either side and held them steady.
Crap, her heart accelerated. She needed to hold the makeshift splint in place. Her eyes fell upon his crimson cape she’d been using as a blanket on the coldest of nights. She ripped off a few pieces and tied them in tight bows along the splint. She used a larger piece of fabric to create a sling for his arm.
Armienti sat on the floor and exhaled. The roll fell from his mouth.
“Thank you. I bet this is what it feels like to be human,” he released a weak chuckle. His face began to resume its normal blue hue.
“Yeah, something like that. We’re fragile creatures, remember?” She rolled her eyes. She was so tired of everyone giving their unwarranted opinions about humans.
She went to the entrance of the cave and grabbed a handful of snow. Flurries and sleet began to pour from the sky. Big surprise. The storms on this planet were never-ending.
When she returned, she blotted the snow against the corner of his cape, melting the ice and snow by the fire. She cleaned the blood from his face and off his uniform, then washed her hands.
“Okay, I’m going to prepare dinner for us,” she announced.
When she went to stand up, he caught her by the arm with his uninjured hand. “Thank you, Autumn. Really. You didn’t have to help me after everything I put us through, but you did anyway. I’m so stupid and you have such a kind heart. How can you be so kind?”
“I—” she stuttered as he stared into her eyes intently.
“You’re such a good person, I don’t even deserve to be in your presence,” his voice jumped as he spoke, and his lips quivered. He ran his fingers along her frozen cheek. Her body trembled from his touch.
He leaned in close, so close she could feel his heartbeat against her own. Rays of light from the crackling fire danced against the dark ceiling of the cave. The warmth of his breath caressed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She shook as he tilted her head to the side with his good hand and pressed his cold lips and desperate tongue against hers, sliding it into her mouth. He ran his fingers through her hair, catching them between her curls, then moved lower, kissing down the length of her throat.
She pulled away suddenly, jumping to her feet. He watched her in silence. His mouth moved as if he wanted to speak.
“I—I have to make dinner,” she stuttered.
“Forgive me,” he said.
Dante’s fingers trembled within the confines of his gloves. He’d searched twenty more planets in Universe 18 for a total of twenty-one, but he was unsuccessful in locating Autumn.
This couldn’t be happening.
The clock was ticking, and his wife was suffocating on some remote world with each passing day. He couldn’t find her, no matter how hard he tried. Every breath could be her last.
He was useless. Shame shattered him to the core. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t seem to find her, and he couldn’t move fast enough. He’d had no food, no sleep, and he hadn’t been able to rest for the last seven suns and moons. Every time he tried to close his eyes, he had nightmares of her smiling face disintegrating into ash.
The Grand Supreme had reached out to him several times, and each time he ignored his calls. Dante couldn’t deal with him under the circumstances but wondered if he summoned him for a mission or if Valdez had spilled the truth about what he’d done? At this rate, he didn’t want to find out.
Maeve —he couldn’t deal with the pain of loss for a second time. It was too much to bear. Failure was not an option.
Every planet he had visited spelled death and destruction, whether intentional or not. Smoke poured from the ice city of Nilak. He cracked his knuckles, then crossed his arms as yet another soldier bowed and brought him unwelcome news. He couldn’t stand being disappointed anymore.
Exhaustion from searching consumed him, his vision became unfocused and blurred at the corners. His legs wobbled with weakness as he turned on his heel and headed back to his destroyer. Snowflakes fluttered from the sky. White puffs of breath escaped from his mouth.
He didn’t have time to dwell on his failure. Only seven days remained until Autumn’s death. Only seven days until she suffocated on an uninhabitable world. No, he refused to let that happen.
As he entered his ship, he was greeted by Mr. Hiss. He trotted up to him, fluffy striped tail swaying through the air. Hopefulness filled his oversized cerulean eyes.
“Meow.”
Dante couldn’t bear to look at him either. He was a failure and all Mr. Hiss wanted was his mother.
Mr. Hiss followed him over to his seat, paws padding against the metallic floor the only break in the silence. After he strapped himself in, the ling jumped on his lap and nuzzled his snout against his ribs.
“Meow.”
Dante scratched behind Autumn’s pet’s ear, unable to keep his head up. They had to get going. Twenty-nine more planets beckoned to be explored.
Kyo lounged against the wall, arms crossed. Shadows played through the strands of his moonglow mohawk. Dark tattoos swirled along his neck.
“You look exhausted, sir—I mean, sire,” Kyo corrected himself.
Dante’s eyes snapped to him. “Please, just stop. I don’t need this right now.”
“I was only trying to say that if you need help, I can offer my assistance.”
His mouth twisted to the side. “Please, how could you possibly offer your assistance to someone like me? You’re too?—”
“Weak? Too much of a hybrid?” Kyo spat back at him. His eyes narrowed to razor-thin slits. Kyo’s reaction was well deserved after the suffering he’d put him through.
“No, sorry,” he shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. What I meant to say was, you’re too inexperienced on a mission like this one.”
Kyo drew closer and Mr. Hiss studied his movements. He smiled beneath his hot-pink snout. His tail curled in Dante’s lap.
Kyo cleared his throat. “While that may be true, as I’ve only been trained in the food delivery service industry, I’m no stranger to losing someone and going above and beyond to help my family.”
“I see,” Dante checked the time on his sleek black communicator. Where on Earth was the pilot? He was taking too long, and they needed to get going. What was he doing, sightseeing?
“What I mean to say is that, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”
He stared at him at a complete and utter loss for words. Nobody besides Autumn and Maeve had ever cared what he thought and how he felt before. He had to admit he didn’t quite know how to handle this offer. Kyo had to have an angle.
“Thank you, I think,” Dante finally muttered at Kyo’s thoughtful gesture. He struggled with what to make of his offer, especially after how poorly he’d treated him in the recent past—publicly kicking his ass, then sending him to Planet Joule for high treason. “But I don’t need anyone.” Besides Autumn, he left unsaid.
Dante’s thoughts raced. He couldn’t wait another second. They were officially five minutes behind schedule. His fists trembled with fury. The pilot would have to find his own way home. He couldn’t afford to waste another second lingering on this fruitless planet.
He exhaled. “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
He unbuckled his harness and held Mr. Hiss in the crook of his arm, then sauntered over to the control seat.
“If you want, I can fly while you sleep. You look like living hell,” Kyo offered.
Dante turned around. They’d be late for sure. “Come again?”
“Iris and I—I mean Princess Leyla,” Kyo corrected himself, “used to sneak out in your destroyers late at night. We would fly around the city and sometimes we orbited Surge and made love?—”
“Enough.” Dante’s jaw lowered at this horrifying tidbit of information. His ears burned from the words that’d left Kyo’s mouth. He wished he could unhear the admission of what he and his sister were really up to in their spare time.
His eyes gravitated toward the control console. The bright colors, flickering lights, and levers all seemed to meld together into one. His sleep debt was far too great to continue this way.
He blinked hard and yawned, covering his mouth with his black-gloved hand. “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t just hear that.”
He continued. “Why are you helping me after the way I treated you? Also, it’s common knowledge around the city that you hate me, and you hate my family.”
“You’ve been through a lot, and you look like you could use someone to talk to. And you released me from the cells when you didn’t have to.”
Dante’s head lowered before he raised it again. He didn’t have time for this, he was ready to collapse from exhaustion.
“I think I’ll take you up on your offer. The job is yours.” He gestured toward the control seat, changing the subject. “And like I said before, I don’t need anyone.”
Dante turned around and ambled back to the passenger seat. He buckled his harness. Mr. Hiss rolled over and slumbered in his arms. He rested his cheek on the ball of his fist and closed his eyes.
“Great, I promise you won’t be disappointed, and I’ll do my best to help you find your empress,” were the last words Dante heard before he drifted into the cool, quiet darkness. Secretly he was flattered by Kyo’s kind gesture. But Autumn’s face and those eyes continued to haunt him through his subconscious.