Maybe humans’ hearts were located somewhere else on their bodies. Qrak, he didn’t even know if she had hearts or maybe she only had one heart behind her chest?
This was getting complicated.
Gulping, he removed his hand from the mound on her chest, glancing at her face again and thanking Polvrak she hadn’t been awake to see the qrakking blunder he just did.
Possibly, his best bet would be to check if she was breathing.
Moving his face close to hers, Kyris stiffened again. He’d never put his face this close to hers before. He could smell her skin and she smelled…so good. Too good.
It was a scent that made him pause as something arose within him…something so consuming it made him stop for a moment.
Should he dare go closer?
What if she awoke and found him centimeters away from her face?
She’d probably deposit one of her tiny fists square into his jaw and he’d deserve it.
If he wasn’t so distressed by her non-response, he would have smiled at that thought.
Well, her fist in his face was worth the risk, wasn’t it?
He needed to know if she was alive. So far, there was no indication that she was.
He knew nothing about humans but she wasn’t moving and he’d felt no heartbeats.
He would just have to do it.
As he moved his face close to her nose, a soft brush of air blew across his skin and a rush of relief followed immediately. She was breathing. Breathing so softly, it was hardly even noticeable, but breathing nonetheless.
The bang she’d gotten on her head had probably knocked her out cold. He’d have to tend to it and hope there were no lasting effects.
How did she manage to bang her head anyway?
Glancing down at her seat restraints, the answer greeted him.
Her restraints hadn’t been fastened correctly.
No doubt, the harsh landing had propelled her into the roof of the pod and back down into her seat.
If it had given him such a jolt that his shoulder was injured, she must have hit her head pretty badly.
Even though he knew nothing about human anatomy, he knew the wound on her head had drawn blood and head wounds, regardless of the species, were never good.
Reaching for the escape pack stashed within her pod, he grabbed the first aid kit and set to work.
Adding cleaning solution to some gauze, Kyris’ fingers brushed over her skin lightly.
Dark hair…dark eyes…
She still looked peacefully asleep and, for a few moments, he didn’t realize he was staring.
Dark hair…dark eyes…
Her features were...exceptionally beautiful. Captivating even.
Dark against light.
The contrast of her dark hair against her skin was striking.
It had been the second thing he’d noticed after her gaze had locked on him; the first being that look in her eyes that had awakened something inside him.
Back on his home planet, dark hair was something no one had. It just didn’t run in the gene pool.
She was...beautiful.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, a quiver ran through his furled wings as he set to work on her wound.
As he added various solutions to the injury, she still did not awaken, and that was worrying.
By the time he was finished, he gave the wound a critical eye. It looked okay for now, just a bit red. He hoped it would be enough.
But the fact that she was still unresponsive…
Qrak.
Releasing a sigh, he leaned against the controls of the pod, brows furrowed as he watched her.
All he had to do was wait.
She would wake up.
She had to.
4
Time was moving ridiculously slowly.
He was a few steps from the pod, pacing up and down so much he’d made deep tracks in the sand. Every few glances at the vessel told him the situation hadn’t changed.
He couldn’t count the number of times he’d checked whether she was still breathing.
But apart from her slow constant breaths, there was nothing else to tell him that she was alive.
As the minutes ticked by, his worry grew, enveloping him until his pacing became frantic.
This wasn’t good.
When Xul had given the order to split up in the escape pods and protect a human, he had taken her away with him. Something about one of his brothers looking after her had made that strange emotion he’d been feeling surge.
But now that he had her, maybe it hadn’t been the best idea.
She was possibly in critical condition and he had no clue what to do.
If it had been Kyro, he’d have known what to do. Kyro was a walking encyclopedia and he’d spent time researching humans after they’d realized they would have to rescue the women as part of the mission.
All that knowledge would have been helpful right about now.
Cracking the bones in his spine along where his wings connected, he cast a glance at the pod once more.
Maybe he should force her awake by shaking her?
Would that even work?
Cracking his backbones again, he strode toward the pod. He would shake her awake, even if it meant scaring the hell out of her.
But as he moved closer, he heard it.
It was faint, but his ears caught it anyway.
A soft feminine sound that caused him to pause in his tracks.
Eyes wide, he froze for a second, casting expectant eyes in her direction.
Her brows were furrowed and a burst of relief hit him like a strong wave.
She was waking up.
He was at the pod in a second and, as he climbed in, the fact the pod was meant for only one occupant was painfully obvious.
“Human? Song?”
A tentative touch to her cheek and expectant eyes on her face, Kyris felt his hearts thump in his chest with the growing intensity within him.
Song emitted another groan—an almost torturous feminine sound—and her eyes fluttered open slowly.
It took a moment for her to focus on his face before her eyes darted around them, panic evident in the dark irises.
“Wh-where am I?” Her voice was so soft, so timid, it was almost as if she was whispering.
“We’ve landed.” He knew she could understand him. Thankfully, the Isclits had implanted translators on all the humans they’d abducted. That
