The Alien's Equal (Drixonian Warrior #7) - Ella Maven Page 0,48

howled in pain as one caught the edge of my eye. From behind me, I heard Nero roar followed by a meaty smack and the sound of armor hitting the floor in a clanking heap.

The Uldani reached for me again, and I spun on my back to slam my boots right into his face. He shrieked as the skin split along his high cheekbone, spraying me with his stinking blood. I reached for the bag again and managed to get my fingers wrapped around the straps right as the Uldani gripped my leg and tugged. I went sliding across the floor toward him, and he grinned at me as I kicked out again, slamming the thick soles into his face, his shoulder, anywhere I could reach. He didn’t wear armor like the Kulks.

My shoulder screamed as I sought to keep my balance and prevent the Uldani from ripping off my leg. I fumbled in the bag; my one eye already closed from the Uldani claw slashes. If that fucker scarred me, I was going to be pissed.

My hand closed around the comm just as the Uldani lifted a fist and slammed it into my stomach. All the breath left my body, and I swore I heard a rib crunch. I gasped as he crawled up my body. He lifted a meaty fist, this time aiming for my face.

I thought this was it, that he was going to beat me to a lifeless pulp when suddenly, his body was gone. I heard a thud and a crack as something large hit the opposite wall. Through the smoke, Nero’s face appeared. He was coated in blood, and I couldn’t tell which was his and which was his enemies’.

“My mate,” he gasped, surely seeing the wreck of my face.

I thrust the comm in his face. “Daz. Signal.”

He didn’t even look at it as his fingers brushed along the slashes in my face. I winced, and he yanked his hand back. “Justine—”

“Nero, focus!” I didn’t miss the irony of our reversed roles. “Send Daz the signal!”

He came out of his stunned state to grab the comm from my hand. He tapped on the screen twice and then shoved it into his pack before strapping it to his back and hauling me to his feet. “We gotta go.”

Limping, he led us through the destroyed pod still filled with smoke. Bodies lay in a pile at the door, we had to climb over them to reach the outside. We collapsed on the small railing outside, gasping in fresh air as the pod swayed and shuddered.

The only way off this pod was by a small craft located underneath. We just had to make it there and out of the city. Sounded easy, but then nothing about this mission had been easy. The skin of my face felt tight, I could only see out of one eye, and my left arm hung at an awkward angle because of what I assumed was a dislocated shoulder. Nero didn’t look any better. He was covered in blood and dragged his left leg behind him like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

Nero, unaware of my injuries, grabbed my shoulder to pull me along the railing. I cried out in pain, and he whirled around, eyes wild. “What’s wrong?”

“I think my shoulder is dislocated.” I gripped it and fought the waves of nausea threatening to empty my stomach. “I landed on it when my chair toppled over.”

His jaw clenched, he placed one hand on my biceps and the other on my shoulder. “I can pop it back in. Are you ready?”

No, no way in hell was I ready. This was going to hurt like a sonofabitch. But I didn’t have a choice, so I nodded.

He didn’t give me another warning. With a vicious yank, he wrenched my arm. White-hot agony streaked through my collarbone and down to the tips of my fingers. A sickening pop reached my ears and I gasped through the pain.

Nero’s face swam into my vision. “Justine? Justine?”

I blinked until he was less blurry. While my shoulder still felt like it was on fire, I could at least bend my fingers. “Yeah.” I mumbled, holding onto him so I didn’t topple over. “I’m here. I’m alive.”

He clasped me to his chest and cradled the back of my head. He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Yeah, we both are. Now let’s get the fleck off this pod.”

A shrieking roar rose from behind us, and I whipped my head back toward