He is completely distorted with the multitude of blades around him.
My breaths are still coming hard as my heart thumps against my chest.
“Are you sure it’s okay for him to be in there?”
Fer’ro bristles beside me. His suit actually moves.
“No,” he says.
Not the answer I expect and my eyes widen. “What do you mean? Why is this so dangerous?”
Fer’ro’s gaze flick to me. “I have to go back, Adee’ra. One or both of my brethren in that room will not be safe.”
I blink at him. I don’t understand why they’re being so ominous.
What could be so dangerous about something that should, essentially, be a baby?
“You stay here. This room is secure. You will be safe. And…when that thing comes out…do not let anyone who has been in that room inside.” He pauses. “Even if we beg.”
I glance at Sam but she is now as terrified as I am.
I manage to nod at Fer’ro and he pauses again as he looks down at me.
At that moment, I want to hang on to him because I feel something is about to happen that I won’t like.
I open my mouth to say as much when he pulls his gaze from mine and turns.
Ga’Var follows him out the door and as I watch them leave, the ba’clan pulse against my arm.
It’s a warm feeling, as if they are trying to comfort me and I brush my other hand against them.
“Adira?” Sam calls my name and I move over to where she is standing, arms crossed, in front of the barrier.
Fer’ro and Ga’Var are back in the room and their focus is on the medic.
I wish I could understand what they are saying because they’re obviously discussing something critical.
That’s when Fer’ro’s blades suddenly rise all around him. So does Ga’Var’s and I know enough now to understand that means they feel threatened or are about to attack.
The medic brings his blade down, slicing through Mina’s skin and blood fills the table.
I’m frozen as I watch.
It’s too much blood.
They can’t let her bleed out.
There is a sick pulsing in her stomach and I hold my breath.
“What are they waiting for? Why don’t they take it out and kill it?!”
I can’t take the suspense. It feels like I’m about to go into cardiac arrest when something moves fast, so fast I almost don’t see it.
It falls to the floor and I have a moment where I see gray.
The Gryken.
It’s huge!
There’s a moment where I see its blurry form before chaos explodes in the room.
The medic is wheeling Mina away to another room whose door was an invisible rectangle in the wall, while Fer’ro and the others…
Someone smashes into the barrier right in front of me and I jump.
“Fer’ro!”
His back is to me while San’ten is to his front, his teeth bared, his blades all extended.
I don’t understand what’s happening.
And where is that fucking thing? The Gryken.
Somewhere in the back, Ga’Var is tearing the room apart. I think he’s trying to find it, while Fer’ro is desperately trying to hold San’ten off, even though San’ten looks like he’s about to rip his throat out.
Every slash San’ten aims his way, Fer’ro dodges but without aiming an attack on his own.
He’s playing defense, but San’ten looks crazed.
His claws extend and he swipes at Fer’ro, drawing blood.
A scream leaves my throat as that blood splashes against the barrier, painting it a deep, dark red.
I can’t see anything, but it’s not because of the thick blood slowly dripping down the wall in front of me.
I can’t hear Sam’s deep intake of breath as she stares transfixed. I can’t see Ga’Var ripping the room apart in the background.
I can’t even see San’ten as he aims another strike.
All I can see is Fer’ro.
I watch as the scene plays in slow motion before me.
He dodges another attack as San’ten aims for his throat.
The sharp blade misses by an inch and pierces the wall in front of us.
Fer’ro.
Against my arm, the ba’clan pulse in a rhythm that beats with my heart.
Fer’ro!
He manages to throw San’ten across the room and the dark-eyed male collides with the wall.
San’ten falls to the ground but he’s not down yet, for he’s rising again.
I’m staring at them, wondering what the hell is happening, why San’ten is trying to kill Fer’ro, when something comes sailing through the air, right at me.
I jerk backward instinctively but whatever it is doesn’t reach me.
Instead, it lands on the barrier right in front of me and all I see are sharp teeth sticking into the barrier itself as huge dark eyes meet mine.
I’m staring into the eyes of the enemy and God knows, it’s terrifying.
The Gryken screeches at me.
Even with the barrier there, the sound dampened, I can still hear it.
Its six limbs are extended and it catches itself as it slips to the floor to stand on them.
“Holy fuck…” Sam whispers.
Its rows of teeth clamp down and open again.
Its face is wicked.
All I can see is pure evil.
I want to look away, but…I can’t.
There’s a dark blur in the background as San’ten rises once more and rushes toward Fer’ro.
I only have a moment to scream his name before Fer’ro moves in the opposite direction, away from the male charging at him.
He moves so fast, it’s hard for my eyes to keep track.
Smooth. Efficient. He flips in the air, going airborne as he dodges San’ten.
At the same time, one of the blades on his arms extends as he descends.
The Gryken screeches again, just before Fer’ro’s blade pierces through its skull.
The body goes limp and dark blood splashes against the barrier, mixing with the blood already there.
My heart is in my throat now.
What the hell just happened?
Fer’ro is staring at me through the barrier, those lava eyes of his engulfing me. And then he…collapses to his knees.
I don’t know what gets into me.
I just have the sudden urge to get to him.
My arm pulses, as if his ba’clan are telling me something, and then I’m darting from the room.
“Adira?”
I can’t even pay attention to Sam. I just have to go.
I press my good hand against the side wall where I assume the door is but nothing happens.
Something tells me to try the other, the one with the ba’clan, and I do.
The door materializes and disappears. In the next second, I’m running through the opening, heading back to the med bay.
As soon as I enter the med bay I stop in my tracks.
The whole room is destroyed and San’ten is standing before me.
But his blades are retracted now and he’s standing, staring at Fer’ro.
“What have you done?!” My scream hits him and he turns to look at me.
I should be afraid.
I know I should be. Instead, I’m running into the room, my feet taking me toward the one thing that’s calling me.
This strange alien male who in on his knees facing the barrier.
Fer’ro’s blades are still out and the Gryken is still pierced on the end of one of them.
“Fer’ro?”
I crouch before him, but his gaze is unfocused.
“What have you done to him?!”
At my words, San’ten takes a step closer.
“Stay away! Don’t you come any closer!”
My hands hover over Fer’ro’s face.
He isn’t responding at all.