The mere thought was enough to make a rumble form in my chest. No one would take him from me. No one.
“What are we going to do?” he asked, drawing me from my vicious thoughts.
I didn’t know what we could do. It wasn’t that shocking that this planet had inhabitants. If the people here were space-faring, it would benefit us greatly. “What did they look like exactly?”
As Bartholomew described the alien, I tried to wrack my brain. They weren’t familiar to me, but there were many different species out there. From the description, though, I assumed this species was not space-faring. If they had been, they would have sensed an unauthorized ship breaching their atmosphere and come searching for the culprit.
“It wasn’t only the alien,” he said.
My tail tightened around him as I practically barked, “What?”
“The cliff above us is covered in massive nests. I didn’t see any animals or aliens, but whatever lives in them is humungous.”
I loosened my hold, afraid of hurting him, and tried to breathe. So many potential threats in a very short time.
Once again, Bartholomew asked, “What do we do?”
“For now,” I said, “we’ll stay inside.” When I was better, I would venture outside to make sure Bartholomew was safe where we were.
“The shuttle is almost completely buried by rocks,” he said. “Is that going to be a problem for the drakcol that’s coming for you?”
“The sensors should be able to find the ship, but I have to work on getting the…” How did I say emergency beacon in English? Seth, Caleb, and Edith had clearly been neglecting my vocabulary. “Finding sensor,” I settled on, “working once I can sit up.”
“The what?”
“The thing for them to find us because of the crash,” I tried to explain.
“Do you mean a distress signal?”
“Maybe.”
“In cases of emergency, ships put off distress signals so people can find them. At least in my world. And by ships, I mean ones that float on water. Though planes have black boxes that aren’t actually black. I’m fairly certain they are bright orange so rescuers can find them in the debris.”
I swallowed, tail squeezing his leg. Stars, I loved hearing him talk so much at one time. How did I get him to do it again? “That’s the word.”
“Distress signal, which is two words.”
“Distress signal,” I repeated several times until Bartholomew nodded.
“What about the xoi? Will they see the signal?”
I dragged the tip of my tail over the back of his calf. The simple touch was oddly calming. I wished I was touching his bare skin, though. My tail was incredibly sensitive, and I couldn’t help but wonder how his soft skin would feel against my scales.
“Serlotminden,” he said, touching my cheek.
I pressed into the touch, nuzzling him. I worked his palm up to my forehead, spreading my scent on him.
Bartholomew bent over me; his forehead crinkled in the cute way that it did. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” I replied. “You have a lovely name.”
“Most think it’s long or old fashioned.”
“It’s perfect.”
Warmth rushed to his cheeks, and a grin spread over my lips. Blushing. I, not anyone else, had made Bartholomew pink up in the most attractive manner. I felt victorious, as if I’d won a race.
“It’s actually Bartholomew Reginald Lucian Cavendish-Wallingford.”
