The Alien's Equal (Drixonian Warrior #7) - Ella Maven Page 0,58
still. No breeze blew through its leaves, and that sent a chill down my spine. I ran forward, ignoring Shep’s shouts from behind me. I kept sprinting toward the group of emerging Drixonians.
A figure shoved between Daz and Sax, and then Nero was racing toward me. I leapt as we drew close and he caught me in mid-air. My legs circled his waist as my arms wound around his neck. “You’re okay.”
“I promised I’d be okay,” he whispered in my ear.
“You’re doing really well on this promise thing.”
His body went stiff for a moment before he gently placed me back on the ground. He didn’t acknowledge what I’d said, which bothered me, but now wasn’t the time to get into a lengthy discussion.
“You shouldn’t have run forward,” he chided.
“Yeah, probably not, but I wanted to see you. How did everything go? Is Gram okay? What happened to all the Uldani?”
His hand slipped from the top of my head down to my upper back as he urged me forward toward the tree line, where Shep and Hap waited. “I’ll tell you soon, okay? I’m tired and hungry.”
His admission, said with a strained smile, surprised me. It was one of the few times I’d heard any of the Drix admit any sort of weakness or human-like needs. But of course, he was tired and hungry. Now that he mentioned it, I was starving too. When had I eaten last? I couldn’t even remember…
“Yeah,” I nodded, falling in step next to him. “I am too.”
“Let’s eat, mate,” he murmured into my hair. “Then I’m ready to return home.”
I glanced behind me at Alazar and hoped I would get a chance to see Gram again.
On the way home, Nero and I rode in the Kaluma’s returo. Fortunately, the bronze aliens hadn’t lost any of their warriors, and they were in good spirits. Bosa laughed with his crew as they told stories of the invasion while I dozed. Nero and I had eaten, and while Nero sat with his eyes closed as I lay beside him, I knew he wasn’t asleep.
Shep and Hap rode with us as well, since Shep spent a substantial portion of the ride working on Nero’s leg. There was muscle damage which had mostly been repaired by the medis, but the outer scales of his leg were badly mangled and burned. Nero hadn’t cared what it looked like—neither had I—and the good news was he would regain almost full use of his leg.
My arm was a little swollen, but not nearly as sore as I expected it to be. The claw marks in my face were gone, and Shep told me that my fast healing was largely due to my loks. I hadn’t realized the mating bond afforded me that ability, but I thought it was badass. I immediately thought of my pregnant friends, and I was happy they’d have some enhanced healing on their side when they had to give birth to some horned babies.
By the time we drove down the tree-lined path leading to the gates of the Night Kings clavas, I was slightly rejuvenated from my cat nap and eager to see my friends. It had only been a few days, but I missed them something fierce. I wanted to touch Frankie’s belly and hug Naomi. I wanted to pet Luna and check on Mozart with Bazel. I wanted my family back. And okay, a large part of me wanted to show off my loks, even though I knew there was going to be a lot of I told you so’s.
The gates were already open, as the warriors, faster on their bikes, had already reached the clavas. There, waiting at the entrance, I caught sight of lots of hair blowing in the wind and a big fluffy welf. As soon as the Kaluma opened the returo, I was out of the ramp, running toward my friends. We met in a massive tackle hug, which was kind of our thing, although we had to be more careful now with all the protruding bellies.
I felt surrounded by love, which only escalated when Miranda noticed my loks. “You went and found yourself a cora-eternal?” she screeched.
Tears in my eyes, I shook my head.
“No?” she held up my wrists. “Then what are these?”
I felt Nero’s heat at my back. “I didn’t have to leave to find him. He’d been right here the whole time.”
Frankie snorted while Miranda shot me a suffering look. “That was the corniest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”