“Do not be alarmed. We are friends.”
Song’s eyes widened as she looked around, gripping Kyris’ blade in her hands.
She couldn’t see whoever was speaking. Had some of the guards already exited the ship? Were they trying to deceive her?
But even as she gripped the sword and looked around, she was certain there were no gator-guards in the settlement.
As the door of the ship opened, the pressure in her head increased. If it was a headache, it was choosing a helluva time to make its appearance.
But as the ship opened, the large reptilian-like beasts were not what appeared.
Instead, she saw white hair. White hair blowing in the wind, and blue skin. She knew that person.
It was Yce. Kyris’ psionic brother. And beside him was…
Song gulped as she saw the red-headed woman grin at her and wave, gripping Yce’s hand in delight as she did so.
Surely she was dreaming.
Was she going into a state of shock that altered her reality?
She couldn’t be seeing Diana.
The last time she’d seen the woman had been when she’d been escaping from the Elysium while it’d been bombed. It felt like ages ago now. Diana had stayed behind…
But here she was…
Kyris’ blade fell from her hand to land in the soft sand and Song sunk to her knees. Tears flooded her eyes as she looked at the two at the entrance of the ship.
“We will come down to you!” Diana cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted down.
The deep, booming voice appeared once more and only then did she realize that the voice hadn’t been coming through her ears. She had “heard” it in her mind.
“Be at rest. We are here now,” he said.
It was Yce. He was talking to her in her mind.
As her tears fell, she watched as two more people joined Yce and Diana at the entrance to the ship and she choked on a sob.
Piper waved as she stood beside another of Kyris’ brothers, Crex. Song remembered the alien from when he’d fought on the slave ship. She couldn’t see it now, but she remembered he had strange fin-like things coming from his back. Frankly, even from so far away, she could feel his eyes lock on to her.
The four stood at the door of the ship, surveying the settlement as they conversed with each other.
Soon, a large round disk floated in front of them and she watched as all four stepped on the disk. As the disk lowered to the ground, the little Mukkians moved toward the center of the settlement, spears high in the air as some form of salute rose in a chorus.
The disk was hardly on the ground before Diana and Piper were rushing to her side.
“Song!”
“Oh my God, you’re alive!”
She didn’t know which one said which only because her eyes were now so clouded with tears that she couldn’t see.
She couldn’t believe it.
They were here.
This wasn’t a dream?
Her shoulders slumped as she finally allowed herself to relax.
Help was here. She wouldn’t have to fight.
Kyris would be okay.
As Piper gripped her shoulders, Diana crouched and used something to wipe away her tears.
“Song? Song!” Piper was shaking her. “Are you ok? Are you hurt? Where is Kyris?”
A next set of tears threatened to burst from her eyes but she held them back.
“Give her a minute. I can’t imagine how much this is right now,” Diana said.
Piper nodded but that didn’t remove the worry that was in her eyes.
Behind the two women, Kyris’ brothers had approached and they stood as if waiting, giving her time to compose herself.
“Can you still not sense him?” The one with the fins in his back turned to Yce, his brows furrowed.
“I can. He is here. But his tether is weak.” Yce’s white eyes focused on her and for a moment she was frozen in awe. The white irises seemed to glow and, once more, she felt that pulling in her mind.
But she still could not speak.
“He is injured,” Yce said, averting his gaze to the direction of the bed. “She believes he is close to dead.”
It was weird having someone read her thoughts but, at the time, she was still too shocked to care. At the time, it was welcome. She didn’t have the energy to explain everything in her head.
“You have to save him.” Her eyes pleaded with them and she hoped they could see the desperation in her gaze.
“Where is he?” Crex seemed to sniff the air before looking back at her and the coldness of his gaze almost made her shiver. But even though his eyes seemed to have no feeling, it was clear from the tension in the way he and Yce stood that they were on edge.
They were just as concerned about Kyris as she was.
Moving to the side, she motioned inside the room and the two men were moving immediately.
Piper pulled her into her arms. “Oh, Song. What have you been through? You’re shivering like a leaf.”
A shaky laugh left her then as she accepted the woman’s hug. Slightly teary eyes moved to Diana who she found was giving her a comforting smile.
“I’m okay now. You guys found us.”
“Well, we could have found you earlier but it seems Kyris was blocking Yce’s attempts to locate you.” Diana frowned slightly.
“Ah…yes.” Kyris had mentioned that. It was when he’d been too hard on himself about her getting hurt. “Long story.”
Crex appeared at the door then, and she watched as he and Yce carried Kyris’ limp body toward the hovering disk.
There was no sign of life, his body was so limp, and Song covered her mouth to prevent her sobs from becoming vocal.
Piper must have seen her reaction because she pulled her closer. “Come. Let’s get out of here.”
34
The inside of the ship was just as sleek as the outside, not what she would have expected the
