“If we are going to die, I want you to know it. I don’t want to die alone.” I met his gaze. “I’m Bartholomew Reginald.”
“Serlotminden.”
The ship shrieked as we spiraled to a no doubt fiery death.
Chapter 5
We crash landed and are stranded.
Cold air surrounded me, sending a shiver down my spine. I hated the cold—drakcol were meant for warm weather. I forced my eyes open with a loud groan to assess the damage. Attempting to land while under attack with failing stabilizers and shields was probably not my smartest plan, but what else was I supposed to do?
The front screen of my shuttle was shattered; snow and rocks covered the console and the open section. We’d crashed hard, but I was alive. I hadn’t expected that.
I tried to stand, but my stomach spasmed, making my vision waver and whiting out my thoughts. My hand went to my gut and met wet warmth. A piece of metal was sticking out of me,and green blood oozed around the shaft, not fast enough to worry me, but it needed to be taken care of. And soon.
Alive, but injured.
“Barth…” I trailed off. What was his name? He was nowhere in my line of sight. Where was he? Was he alright? A whine ripped out of my lips when I tried to turn. I had to find him. The small human was mine to protect. I’d taken him, and in all honor, I couldn’t abandon him. Gritting my teeth, I shifted enough to see the entire cockpit.
The human was crumpled on his side, not moving.
“No.” I tried to drag myself to his still form.Please be alive. “No, please no.” Fiery agony lanced my stomach from my pathetic attempts to crawl in his direction. “Human. Bartholomew. Please. No. Open your eyes. Don’t leave me alone here. Please.”
He took a jagged breath, then coughed several times in quick succession before rolling toward me. His lenses were gone, and his brown eyes were unfocused. My position and the darkness didn’t allow me to see much—only the emergency lights were on—but he didn’t appear harmed.
I stretched a hand toward him. “Are you alright? Are you well? Fine?” Which was the right word? I couldn’t remember. Why didn’t I remember?
“No,” he said, sounding perfectly fine. “We crashed.”
I coughed, pain shredding my stomach as my abdominal muscles clenched. “We did,” I forced out, shivering.
Bartholomew appeared above me, and I stared at him. His skin was darker than Seth’s by a shade or two, but still so pinky-white, and his hair was black, though it was so short that it was barely visible. His thin lips were pulled into a frown and his long nose was perfectly straight, though swollen. Why was it swollen, and why did he have blood covering his lips?
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No. I got stabbed. My ship tried to murder me,” I teased to make him laugh. I was fairly certain I’d pulled the joke off. I was very good at English.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, then yanked away. “Fuck.”
“That is quite sudden, and I’m too injured,” I said, shivering.
“You’re not funny,” he said blandly, pressing his pointer finger to his nostrils.
“Seth and Caleb think I am.”
“Good for them.” He disappeared across the cockpit, patting the debris.
“Careful.” He could cut himself on pieces of jagged metal or shards from the screen, and I didn’t like the idea of him being hurt more than he already was. I needed to check the cut on his arm, as well as find out why there was blood on his lips. Any injury could get infected.
Ignoring me, he asked, “Are they how you know English?”
“Seth and Caleb taught me, as well as Edith, but she’s not human. My youngest brother mated Seth first, then my other younger brother mated Caleb.”
“Hmm,” he said. “So they’re why I’m here.”
“How?”
“Some xoi abducted us because humans are a commodity.”
