Holding my arm against my chest, I push myself up so I’m sitting.
“Bela!” Treto bellows when I don’t answer right away.
“I’m here.” I turn to where Igid is trying to keep him down. “I’m okay.”
Rolling to his hand and knees, Treto starts crawling over to me. I have to hold back a smile when Igid rolls her eyes and shakes her head, knowing full well stopping him is useless.
“Bela, you’re hurt?” he asks when he sees me holding my arm.
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a bruise,” I start to say, but when his fingers barely brush against my elbow, it’s all I can do not to scream, and my vision wobbles a little.
Shit, maybe itisbroken.
Treto looks stricken, and he helplessly searches me over, which is when I notice the goose egg protruding from his temple.
“Oh, babe. He really got you,” I whisper, reaching out with my good arm to brush my fingers over the dark bruise forming around his eye.
“I’m fine,” he insists, even as he winces at my light touch. “But you’re hurt.”
Yup. I am. In fact, the longer I sit here, the worse the pain is getting. “I’m okay,” I try to assure him.
Another roar, followed by more splintering and crashing, comes from where the three males are still fighting. Next to us, Igid grabs the blaster that must have been knocked from Volethos’ hand, and rushes into the melee.
“I’ve had about enough of you males,” Igid growls and discharges the blaster into the tangle of arms and legs, bringing all three of them to a stop.
Three sets of eyes look up at her before looking down at the smoking hole in the floor that narrowly missed all of them.
“Did she—” I turn a wide-eyed look at Treto. “Do you think she planned that?”
Treto shrugs, looking as surprised as the others.
“It’s a wonder how this entire galaxy hasn’t gone up in fire with the way all of you males act,” she continues to rant. “Thinking you’re in charge. That you’re stronger,betterthan everyone else.”
Volethos growls from where Rovos and Brox have managed to pin his back to the ground.
“And you’re the worst among them, Volethos,” she growls right back, pointing the blaster at his face. “You were once an honorable male. I looked up to you, but just like everyone else, just like everyone always does, you changed. You’ve turned into a monster.”
“Don’t act like you’re so innocent,” Volethos snaps back at her.
With a wild shriek, Igid fires the blaster again, this time followed by the smell of burnt fur and Volethos’ scream.
“Another word out of you, and next I’ll take what’s left of your mangy tail,” she snarls as Volethos continues to scream, clutching at where the blaster melted away the tip of one of his ears.
“Let’s get him to theShade,” Igid says, turning on her heel and walking over to where Treto and I are sitting. “We can lock him in one of the empty storage containers until we decide what to do with him.
There is much grunting and scuffling, but Rovos and Brox manage to get the snarling alien to his feet and through the airlock that leads to the ship.
“That’s a nasty bump,” Igid says, leaning over Treto, pinching his chin between her claw-tipped fingers and turning his head to the side to get a better look at him. “How’s it feel?”
“I’ll live,” Treto grunts. “Bela needs the med-bot. Her arm…” He looks at where I’m still cradling my arm to my chest, his expression worried.
Igid swings her attention to me, her eyes roaming over me. When she gets to my arm, she grimaces, and I fight the urge to look down. I can already feel the swelling that’s going on, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to see just how bad the damage is.
It takes both of them to steady me after Treto pulls me to my shaky feet, and every step seems to jar my throbbing elbow in fun, new ways until I’m nearly on the verge of tears by the time we reach the airlock. Treto is helping me over the threshold and into theShadewhen we hear shouting, followed by cursing, and then pounding footsteps coming our way.
Volethos managed to slip his jailers, and now he’s coming directly at us at a full run. His beady, yellow eyes are locked on me.
Treto’s fingers tighten around mine, and I realize what’s going to happen. Volethos is going to try to take me. The operative word beingtry,because I know Treto won’t let him succeed. Treto’s arm tightens around me, and I clench my teeth, because I can already tell this is going to hurt!
