bout of nausea. His stomach churned, and his vision narrowed to a peep hole.
The small figure of Nadia curled under the blanket on her sleeping pallet became his only focus. He stared at her as he reached for the clothing rack on the right and ripped from it the first garment his fingers touched.
The voluminous skirt of the dark green dress puffed out, spreading on the floor when he tossed it in front of him. The material covered the clear glass, giving him a point of stability—small and unreliable, but stable enough for him to continue.
Quickly, he leaped onto the dress, then crouched down to move his vest from behind to ahead him. All while keeping his eyes glued to Nadia.
One more flip of the clothes on the floor, and he made it to her.
“Nadia.” He dropped to his knees by her pallet.
She appeared to be sleeping peacefully but didn’t wake up when he shook her shoulder.
“Please, don’t leave me, now.” It was a half-plea, half-threat as anger and desperation both took over.
He picked her up, blankets and all.
A screeching noise came from the right as the crashed ship leaned heavier against the glass capsule. The Dark Anomaly tightly gripped its newest acquisition, pulling it firmly into place.
There was no time to lose. He had to get out of here before the glass gave in completely.
Step after step, he moved back toward the exit, along the vest and the dress he had spread on the floor. The clothes only reached into the middle of the room, though. With Nadia in his arms, shifting them farther up the floor would take some extra time he might not have.
Drawing the thin air in through his nostrils, he closed his eyes and ran.
The sound of his boots hitting the uncovered glass filled him with panic. The sickening feeling made his blood pound in his ears. His chest tightened. His throat felt sore, each particle of oxygen seemed to scratch it from the inside on its way to his air-starved lungs.
Dashing through the exit and into the corridor, he placed Nadia on the floor then punched in the code to seal the doors behind him.
That was all he’d managed to do before a violent bout of nausea sent him crashing to his knees. His stomach twisted in agonizing knots then emptied itself onto the floor tiles between his knees.
Lesh whimpered, crawling to him.
He placed a hand on top of one of his heads, leaning back to catch his breath. His heart thundered in his chest, wildly beating against his ribs. He panted loudly, greedily sucking in lungfuls of air, again and again, until some clarity of thought returned.
Nadia.
He darted a worried look her way.
He’d been ready to kill for her. Now, he’d nearly died for her. There was no way back for him—this woman owned him. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Nadia...”
He crawled on all fours to her, afraid he’d get sick again if he tried to get up.
Her eyes remained closed.
He stroked the side of her face tenderly, just like she had touched him before.
Dying was one sure way to leave the Dark Anomaly.
“Stay with me, my sweet human woman.” He leaned his forehead to hers, breathing in the tendril of her irresistible scent he now loved more than feared.
A faint breath puffed against his lips—Nadia’s exhale.
“Breathe,” he pleaded in a whisper, afraid to hope. “I’ll get you out of here.”
Gathering whatever strength he could muster in his shaking legs, he rose to his feet, holding her in his arms.
With a sad whistle, Lesh crawled after him, too weak to get up yet.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “I’ll come back for you.”
Instead of going left, to the new place where he was planning to hide Nadia, he turned right in the direction of the captain’s room. Just like Nadia’s, it was a glass capsule. There might still be the danger of it being crushed next.
With his hands occupied, he slammed his boot into the captain’s door.
“Captain! Get up!”
The alarm must be apparent in his voice, as the door opened within seconds.
Sleepy and completely naked, Vrateus looked ready to jump into action, nevertheless.
“What is it, Wyck?” he asked, his voice clipped, his eyebrows pinched together in a frown.
“A ship crashed. Broke the glass in Nadia’s room. You may want to get the doors to it permanently sealed shut, now.”
Svetlana’s worried face appeared behind Vrateus’s bicep. She darted a confused gaze at Nadia in his arms.
“What...Who is this?” she moved around the captain while