I couldn’t relax until I knew you were okay.”
“What didn’t happen is the question.” I squirmed out of his arms and got to my feet. I briefly gave him a rundown of all that had occurred since we broke into the walls. When I got to the part where we took a dive off the pod, he went pale.
“Justine, you’re flecking with me.”
“I’m not. So much went wrong. But then so much went right. We shut down their systems and stayed alive.” I bit my lip. “Nero is hurt. Bad. I think he caught some laser fire to his leg, and it looks like Sax’s leg when he almost died. Remember?”
“Fleck,” he muttered. “And that flecker ran into the battle, didn’t he?”
“Of course,” I said. “But he does have a good reason. An Uldani named Gram helped us, and Nero has to—”
“What did you say?” Hap’s eyes narrowed on my face.
“An Uldani helped us—”
“What name did you say?”
I frowned at Hap’s stiff posture. “Gram. He’s the one who helped Sax and Val escape too. So, his name is probably familiar.”
He swallowed heavily before shaking his head. “No, no I never heard the name of the Uldani who helped them. I know a Gram. He…” Hap tore his fingers through his hair. “When I was brought here as a chit, the Uldani gave me to an elite family as a playmate and servant to their young male chit. When his father was convicted of a crime and sent to the mines, the male ran away. That was when Daz fought to take back possession of me.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“Gram was my friend. The only Uldani who ever treated me well.” He wrinkled his nose. “When he ran away … I never thought I’d see him again.”
“Well, he grew up to save the lives of two Drixonian warriors, two human females, and lead a resistance to overthrow the Uldani royals and take over Alazar. He’s a good man, Hap. Just like you.”
Hap shook his head with a laugh. “I can’t wait to see him again.” He threw his arm around my shoulders. “Introduce me to your friends.”
I made the introductions. “Mags had a hand in saving us too. Without her driving skills, I’d be pancake on the streets of Alazar.”
“Pancake?” Mags asked.
I slapped my two palms together and made a splat noise. Mags jerked at the sound. “I wasn’t sure I’d get there in time.”
“You did, and I can’t thank you enough for it.”
“My mate at the tree line across from the front gate is treating the wounded,” Hap said. “Would you like to follow me there?”
“Thanks, but we’re going to wait here until we get the signal from Gram,” she said.
He nodded. “Understood.” Shaking my shoulder, he smiled down at me. “Let’s go see Shep. He’s the one who spotted you over here.”
After saying goodbye to Mags and Yirpin, I hopped on Hap’s bike. Once he settled behind me, we sped through the trees until I spotted a dug-out trench just past the tree line, lit by torches. Shep’s head popped up and a relieved grin crossed his grizzled face. “Justine,” he breathed as I leapt off the bike and reached for him. He clasped me to his chest and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. He held my hands and rubbed his thumbs along the loks on the insides of my wrists with a warm smile. “I see you and Nero finally succumbed to Fatas’s plan.”
I lifted my chin. “I would have chosen him with or without Fatas.”
His smile grew and he patted my cheek. “That’s my girl.” He held up his wrists, where he bore wooden bracelets which matched the ones Hap wore to symbolize their mating. “I know a thing or two about choosing the right mate for me as well.”
Hap leaned in and nuzzled his neck. “I heard that. You really do like me. I knew it!”
“Go away,” Shep growled at him with mock annoyance.
I scanned the trench, where Rokas was bent working on a few wounded, none who had mortal injuries, although one was missing the lower part of one leg. His expression was stoic, so I assumed Shep or Rokas had given him some good stuff. His head turned to me and he gave me a soft smile. I knelt next to him and brushed his hair from his purple eyes, which were a little hazy. He had a purple armband on with a leaf on it, and if