The Alien's Equal (Drixonian Warrior #7) - Ella Maven Page 0,64

Justine called.

She padded toward me wearing only a large shirt. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Gram’s here.”

“Here?” Her eyebrows rose and then she dashed off. She returned a second later wearing pants and her hair piled on her head in a tie while I was still getting into my boots. I didn’t bother telling her stay in our hut. She wouldn’t have listened anyway, and I promised I’d never ground her.

When we left my hut, we jogged our way to the front gate, which were open. Standing just inside was Gram and two Uldani. They wore weapons, but all were sheathed, and stood at ease speaking with Daz and Sax. When Gram caught sight of me, he nodded, but his smile spread when he saw Justine.

“Ah, it’s good to see you.” He waved with his three-fingered hand.

Justine beamed at him. “Hey there. No offense, but I didn’t expect to see you again for a long time.”

He opened his mouth but a shout from behind us cut him off. “Gram!”

I turned to find Hap running at full speed across the clavas, Shep trailing him at a much slower pace with his cane.

Gram’s expression flickered with confusion, then recognition as his eyes went wide. With a whispered voice, he said, “Hap?”

The young warrior skidded to a halt in front of the Uldani with a beaming grin and clasped him around the neck. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Gram blinked at him like he was unable to believe his eyes. “I wondered many times what happened to you.”

“What’s going on?” I whispered to Justine. “How do they know each other?”

“Hap was taken in by Gram’s parents as their son’s companion, whatever that meant,” she said. “Hap told me Gram was the only Uldani who treated him well. They were friends, until Gram’s father was convicted of a crime and Gram ran away.”

The two were speaking quietly until Daz cleared his throat, interrupting the reunion. “Gram is welcome to stay and you two may spend more time together, but I’d like to know the reason for his visit.” He raised a nubbed brow at the Uldani. “I take it you aren’t here just to say hello?”

Gram shook his head. “No, I have news. I have a team working on going through the notes left behind by many of the elite responsible for military operations.” He cleared his throat as he gestured to an Uldani behind him, who withdrew a small tablet and handed it to Gram. He tapped on the screen a few times. “We uncovered the location of some things that belong to you.” He handed the tablet to Daz and then clasped his hands together, his chin lifted.

Daz looked carefully at Gram’s face as he took the tablet, probably searching for any sort of deception. As much as we wished to trust Gram, taking an Uldani for their word would take some time. Finally, he glanced down at the tablet. His entire body locked. Sax, looking over his shoulder, swayed on his feet.

I stepped to their side and eyed the screen. Pictured were five Drixonian cruisers and two massive warships, all sitting in a massive underground bunker. My cora pounded in my ears, and my body locked.

Daz swallowed, and he fumbled with the tablet as he inhaled sharply. For one of the first times in my life, I saw a vulnerability in my drexel when he looked at Gram with a plea in his eyes. “Is this real?” Sax gripped his brother’s shoulder and waited for Gram’s answer.

“We sent scouts to check. It’s all there in an underground cavern under a section of the plains on the eastern half of the continent. You probably rode over them hundreds of times.”

Daz went a little pale as his eyes dropped once again to the tablets. His fingers stroked over the warship’s cockpit. Piloting one is what he’d been trained to do since he could walk. I was certain he never thought he’d see one again.

I hadn’t thought I would either. When Xavy returned with news our only cruiser now rested on the bottom of the freshas, I’d mourned for many rotations. I gazed at the picture, my eye roaming the vessels which seemed to be intact. The aircraft could be damaged, or we wouldn’t have enough fuel—many things could still go wrong that could prevent us from going home. But this was a glimmer of hope. Plus, I was the best tech the Drixonians had ever seen. Now with Justine at