Beth shifts next to me. “So what do we do?”
I sigh, annoyed at myself. I’ve had to wrestle with my temper my whole life, and I mentally curse my poor impulse control.
“I was a dumbass and showed them I could fight. Now they’re going to watch me closely. They know Zoey’s injured, and they’ve already discounted you as a thin weakling,” I say to Beth, rolling my eyes.
I went to high school with a ballet dancer, and she could give any firefighter a run for their money when it came to mental and physical toughness.
I wait as one of the Voildi comes close to our corner of the cave and then lower my voice to a whisper.
“We need to be realistic,” I say. “We’re outnumbered. By a lot. Chances are, we’re not all making it out of here together.”
A sob escapes Zoey’s throat, and for a moment I feel bad for my bluntness. But if we’re going to come up with a plan, we all need to get on the same page, and fast.
Beth grabs Zoey’s hand and stares at me. “We can’t split up,” she says.
I narrow my eyes at her. “We do whatever is best for all of us. If even one of us can get away, we can get help for the others.”
Beth glances away, and I drop it. For now. We huddle together as the temperature falls, not bothering to talk as the Voildi all go to sleep.
I watch for any opportunity to escape, but there must be twenty Voildi between us and the cave entrance, not to mention the sentries outside. I get a few hours of sleep as Beth takes over the watch, but by the time the Voildi start putting out their fire, I’m so tired I feel nauseous.
One of the Voildi steps forward, handing me a waterskin. I pass it to Zoey, and Beth gently encourages her to take a few sips before Zoey pushes it away and we share the rest amongst us.
A few moments later, a Voildi makes the mistake of coming too close, and Beth thrusts out one of her long, toned legs. The Voildi trips, and we all chortle as he face-plants.
“Whoops.” Beth grins as he bares his teeth at us. “My bad.”
The leader approaches, and I stare at him as he narrows his eyes at Beth.
“We may want you alive, but that doesn’t mean you need to be healthy,” he murmurs, and the threat is scarier for the controlled rage in his voice.
“It was an accident,” Beth says sweetly, and I hold back a grin. “I needed to stretch.”
He turns away and gestures to one of the other Voildi.
“Get up,” that Voildi says.
We help Zoey to her feet and follow him out of the cave. I inhale the fresh air, grateful that we managed to make it through another night on this terrifying planet. What I’d give to wake up in the firehouse right now. I’d love to discover that this was all just a bad dream.
Suck it up, Ivy. Get moving.
“I need the bathroom,” I announce, and the Voildi next to us obviously have no idea what I’m talking about. I sigh. “I need to piss.” I cross my legs and do the universal pee bounce until one of them snorts.
“Killis?” the Voildi calls, and the leader moves toward us. How nice to put a name to his face. They have a short discussion, and Killis finally shoots me a warning look, pointing to three Voildi, who lead me into the forest.
This is not good.
“I can’t go with you looking at me.” I scowl at them. Two of them turn away, but one shrugs, his eyes cold as he gestures for me to do my business. Once again, I curse my impulsiveness. I shrug and drop my pajamas, getting on with it under his watchful eye.
No opportunities to escape for me.
We head back to the group, and I shake my head at Beth. Her face falls, and I can practically read her mind. She’s realizing that since I’m too closely watched, she’s going to have to be the one to escape.
We walk for hours, surrounded by Voildi. Eventually, I shoot Beth a look.
“I can’t,” she mutters.
“You have to. You’re our only hope.”
I don’t want to be a bully, but I will if I need to. Zoey collapsed a few minutes ago, and she’s currently being carried by one of the Voildi, who doesn’t look pleased.
Beth frowns, her expression dejected. “I’m not really the hero type,” she mutters. “I’m more decorative.”
I grin at that. “Buck up, champ. You’re on.”
Beth sighs, sways, and drops down to her knees. One of the Voildi orders her to get up, his leg cocked threateningly. She gets back up to her feet, and I glower at the Voildi.
“Takes a big man to kick someone while they’re down,” I mutter.
Then Beth trips, hitting the ground, and one of the Voildi picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She glances at me, not pleased, but I can see the acceptance on her face. She needs to look weak if this is going to work. The Voildi are likely to see her thin body and assume she’s no threat at all, completely ignoring the toned muscles that speak of hours of training every day.
Idiots.
“I need to pee,” she says finally, and her face is white with fear as she meets my gaze one more time while the Voildi carrying her mutters something to his friends.
I nod at her. Right now, she’s our only hope.
Ivy
Killis is incoherent with rage when Beth doesn’t come back. It took a while for everyone to notice that the Voildi sent to guard Beth hadn’t returned with her, and a group of Voildi were dispatched to go back for them.
They’ve now returned with their friend slumped over one of the Voildi’s shoulders, the vicious
