“Yes. The ship was attacked before you could reach Lasara, and you were stranded in space. We have been racing to reach you ever since we achieved communication with you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what drug you’ve all been smoking, but—”
“When last we spoke, you had just over two hours of oxygen remaining in your suit and knew it would take us three weeks to reach you.” He looked at his communications officer. “Janek, replay our last communication with her from the moment she asked if we could record a message for her until the end of the message she dictated for Seth.”
As soon as he mentioned Seth’s name, her gaze shot to his. A moment later, her bright amber eyes widened when she heard her own voice ask over the speakers, “Could you by any chance record a message from me to send Seth if I don’t make it?”
Shock and confusion darkened her pallid features. Her frown deepened as her gaze darted around the bridge.
Every man present remained silent and still.
As the message she dictated for Seth began to play, she focused on the large window. Gradually she withdrew her weapon. Her fist tightened on Dagon’s shirt, then fell away. Limping forward, she stared—transfixed—at the stars beyond the clear crystal. Her right hand gripped each station she passed, leaving small bloody handprints in her wake. Her left hand, still clutching the blaster, dropped to her side.
Several of his men sent worried looks his way, but Dagon only saw them on the periphery of his vision. His eyes never left Eliana.
When she stood only a few strides from the window, she stopped.
Her message to Seth ended.
The ensuing silence stretched until he could bear it no more. “Eliana?”
Without turning around, she murmured, “Do you guys, by any chance, curse or use foul language when you’re upset or angry?”
“Hell yes, we do,” they all chorused.
A choked sound left her. A laugh? A sob perhaps?
The blaster fell from her fingers, hitting the floor with a clatter.
Slowly she turned to face them, her movements awkward as she kept her weight off her right leg. Moisture glistened in the luminescent amber eyes that met his. “Dagon?”
“Yes, Eliana.”
A smile lit her pale features. “You found me.”
“I vowed I would.”
A single tear trailed down her cheek. Curling both hands into fists, she thrust them up into the air, tilted her head back, and yelled, “Woo-hoo! Ouch!” Bending forward, she lowered her arms and gripped her bloody side. “I should not have done that,” she said on a laugh even as she grimaced.
Dagon took a hesitant step toward her, concerned about the severity of her wounds.
Still smiling, she motioned him forward. “It’s okay. I remember you now. I won’t shoot you. Sorry about that.”
He closed the distance between them in a few strong strides.
“And,” she continued as he stopped before her, “I owe you a hug.” Sliding both arms around his waist, she pressed her face to his chest and gave him a surprisingly strong squeeze.
Stunned, he tentatively wrapped his arms around her and tried to hug her back without causing her more pain. She was so much shorter than he that Dagon had to duck down a bit to rest his chin atop her head.
“You found me,” she murmured, squeezing him even tighter.
“I said I would.”
“I can’t believe I made it.”
“I can’t either.” And he worried she might still perish of her wounds if they did not swiftly render medical aid. He patted her back. “We should return you to the infirmary and see to your wounds.”
“Oh crap,” she muttered, all levity leaving her voice. Drawing away a step, she gripped the front of his shirt to help maintain her balance. “Is the infirmary the room I woke up in?”
“Yes. I don’t know why Adaos released you, but…”
Unease flitted across her features. “Adaos is the man who was standing over me when I woke up?”
“Yes. He’s our chief medical officer.”
Biting her lip, she released him and backed away another step, then another. She cast the men around her a quick, anxious look before staring up at Dagon once more.
He frowned. “What is it?”
“When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was. I forgot that memory loss could be a side effect of slipping into stasis. So I thought I was back on Earth and that mercenaries had nabbed me and were torturing me.”
“Yes. That’s what you said when you aimed your blaster at me.”
She winced. “Yeah. Sorry about that. The thing is… I… um… might have hurt Adaos.”
Dagon stared at her. She could barely stand up and was as weak as a newborn braemon. How much damage could she have inflicted?
He touched his earpiece. “Adaos?”
Eliana sent the crew another apprehensive glance when no response came.
“Adaos?” he called again.
She sent him a penitent look. “He isn’t going to answer. I’m really sorry. I thought he was a mercenary and—”
Alarm rose. “Did you shoot him with the blaster?” Without his armor—
“No!” she blurted. “I didn’t shoot him. I just… rendered him unconscious.”
“How?”
She hesitated. “Did the Lasarans, in any of your communications with them, maybe mention that I’m different from most Earth women?”
“No. Different in what way?”
“That’s… kind of a long story. Could I tell you later, after we—”
“Commander Dagon.” Maarev’s voice emerged from the bridge’s speakers.
“Yes, Maarev?” He was glad his friend had regained consciousness so quickly.
“I found Adaos on the floor of the infirmary. He’s alive but unresponsive.”
Eliana winced and whispered, “So, so sorry.”
Dagon shook his head, torn between concern and amusement. How the drek had she managed to knock a man Adaos’s size out when she was so weak?
One of the crew members—Galen, he suspected—stifled a laugh.
Dagon kept his gaze on Eliana. “Can you revive him?”
“No,” Maarev said.
“Yes,” Eliana responded. “Or rather, I can tell you how to revive him. And he might be a little loopy for a while after he comes to.”
“Loopy?”
“Out of it. As though he’s drunk.” Her brow furrowed. “Do you have that word? Drunk? Inebriated? Or maybe high?”
His lips twitched. What had she done to the medic? “Yes, we do.”
Her expression cleared. “Oh. Good. Again, I’m really sorry. I thought he was my enemy.”
Dagon smiled. “Let’s go see to you both.” Bending, he scooped her into his arms.
She cried out.
He froze. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to cause you pain.”
Nodding, she pressed her lips together until the worst of it passed. “It’s okay. It would’ve hurt just as much if I’d tried to make it back to the infirmary on my own two feet. Thanks for carrying me. I appreciate it.”
Dagon didn’t know how she had managed to stand as long as she had. She was alarmingly light. No burden at all to carry. And he could feel the press of every rib against the arm supporting her back.