Fated Mate Conquered - Luna Voss Page 0,66

I go on full alert. My hand finds the weapon in my belt, and I sense that next to me, Rojan and Milana are having the same reaction. Metturion stiffens, his own hand moving toward his waist.

And that’s when the doors to the kitchen on either side of the restaurant burst open, and Gordulla soldiers begin to file into the room holding automatic plasma rifles.

“Get down!” I shout, not waiting for them to open fire. My sawed-off shotgun roars in my hand as I empty both barrels into the mass of armed opponents.

But my shot doesn’t reach its target. Something catches it in the air, along with the hail of plasma fire being directed toward us. It’s as though there’s some kind of invisible wall blocking us from our would-be assassins.

And then I see Kora. Her face is fierce with concentration, her eyes narrowed, the same intensity behind her gaze that I remember from when we were throwing rocks. She’s clearly using everything she has to keep us protected.

“Out of here, now!” I scream, waving our men out of the restaurant onto the street. “Quickly, through the door!”

I run up to Metturion to protect him as he escapes. “What you want to do with him?” I shout, pointing to Rizban.

The underboss raises his pistol and shoots Rizban between the eyes. “Come on,” he grunts before the body even hits the floor. “We need to leave.”

The rest of our soldiers are out of the building now. Kora is still straining, her shoulders beginning to shake. I see Metturion through the door, and then pick up Kora by her waist and carry her outside with me. The moment we’re out of the restaurant, she slumps, and the front windows of the building shatter as they’re hit by a rain of plasma fire.

Sirens wail in the distance as we sprint through city streets in the direction of the spaceport. I carry Kora over my shoulder, knowing she probably doesn’t have a lot of energy left. Blasts singe the street behind us as we run.

“Go!” shouts Rojan. “I’ll hold them off!”

He spins around and opens fire on the restaurant, pinning down our attackers as they try to exit the front door. Milana joins him, and together they create a consistent barrage of covering fire.

We reach the spaceport.

“Name?” asks the attendant lazily, somehow not noticing the circumstances of our arrival. “I’ll have your ship for you in just a moment.”

“You’ll have it now,” I growl, brandishing my weapon. “We’re in a fucking hurry.”

His eyes widen and he starts tapping buttons on the console in front of him. “Through the gate,” he squeaks. “On the right.”

Rojan and Milana join us as we rush through the gate in the direction of our ship. Behind us, I hear the attendant calling the authorities. It doesn’t matter. We’ll be out of here soon.

“They’re right behind us,” Milana pants. “We need to go. They must have bribed the local police, because they’re not going after them.”

On cue, an Imperial security officer rushes toward us, coming from the other side of the spaceport. “Stop!” he yells, reaching for his gun. Geddion drops him with a plasma bolt before he gets close.

I drop Kora off on board the ship. She barely seems like she has the energy to move, but I can tell she isn’t hurt. Reloading my weapon, I rush out to the front to stand guard until everyone else is on board.

Plasma blasts splash into our hull as we take off, a crowd of Gordulla soldiers forming below us. As we rocket up into the atmosphere, we’re hailed by a UPE security ship ordering us to stop. We pay it no heed. Our ship is capable of launching into hyperspace before they can catch us. Finally, we break through the atmosphere and into open space.

“Engaging the hyperdrive,” announces the pilot. I breathe out a sigh of relief as we take off and the stars around us bleed into glowing lines.

Kora is sitting up on her bed when I go to find her. I climb up next to her without a word and scoop her onto my lap, holding her as tightly as I can. She melts against me, her breathing heavy, and I kiss her forehead.

“You were amazing,” I breathe. “Absolutely amazing. We would never have escaped if not for you.”

“I’ve never used my power like that before,” she says, her voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t know if I would be able to hold it…”

“But you did,” I say, planting