“Come on!” Ladon’s voice roars over the commotion.
The dust cloud is rolling over, obscuring my vision, but I see him. The mining group is running down the dune towards the City. The Invaders have separated and are grouping up off to the far side, but they’re not paying attention to my guys. It makes no sense except…
I see it.
It thrusts up, reaching so high into the sky it looks taller than the dome itself. I fall back onto my ass and crabwalk backwards. Cold fear grips my guts. I’ve seen zemlja before but never one this big. It’s not big. It’s massive.
This monster is bigger than the skyscraper buildings behind me, and it is tearing its way through the Invaders.
The Zmaj are all carrying two humans each and racing for the airlock, taking advantage of the moment.
“Yeah!” Illadon yells, suddenly appearing next to me.
“What?!” I scream, leaping to my feet.
“Do you see that!” Illadon asks, pointing and jumping up and down.
“Why… how… what are you doing here?”
“Helping,” he says, running to the airlock.
I run after him, but he reaches it first, punching in the code to open it. The first Zmaj crowd in as many as they can. I don’t have time to properly reprimand my son, right now I have to save them.
“Move,” I bark, pushing him to one side.
I know the code, what is it? I rack my brain trying to remember… it’s… damn it. Oh!
I punch the override code in, and both sides of the airlock open, letting the entire group rush in without having to wait for it to cycle through.
Once they’re all in, I shut the doors, then stare out at the Invaders. Their massive ship is moving into place over the zemlja. It’s not going to be able to stand up to a blast from that thing.
“No!” I scream, rooting for the monster.
It twists, and then burrows into the ground fast. Just like that, it’s over. The Invaders are in a total disarray. I turn to the survivors and Ladon pushes his way free. He sweeps me up in one arm and his lips smash to mine.
“Gross!” Illadon exclaims.
“What are you doing here?” Ladon asks, cutting our kiss short.
“I came to help,” Illadon says. “I made sure everyone was safe in the tunnels, and then I came to fight.”
“Son, you are very brave,” Ladon says kneeling before him. “But this is an important lesson for you to learn.”
“Yeah?” Illadon asks.
“A warrior must obey orders,” Ladon says softly.
He’s not angry, if anything he’s beaming with pride, but he doesn’t let that stop him from being a father. A damn good father that I am so relieved is here with us.
“Yes, daddy,” Illadon says, head bowed.
His horns are getting bigger, I note. Inane things you notice after the rush of the adrenaline is gone.
“You understand?” Ladon asks. “The first and most important rule, son.”
“Yes, daddy,” Illadon says, kicking at the street.
“Good,” Ladon says, pulling Illadon into an embrace. He lifts him up and shifts him to his hip, then holds his arm open towards me.
I step into his waiting arm, press my head to his chest, and I break down.
12
Anna
“It’s been five days,” I say, staring at the small portions of food on my plate.
This is the only meal I’ll have for the day, and I feel guilty eating even this much. As if I’m a thief or something. I don’t belong here. None of us do. The small group of survivors from the mining settlement have kept to ourselves, mostly.
It’s not like the people of the City haven’t been welcoming. If they hadn’t come out to save us, we wouldn’t be here. Not a one of them has said a cross word. But there are the looks. Momentary, passing, but all of us have caught them. We don’t belong here.
“Five days in hell is still five days in hell,” Isla mutters.
My stomach grumbles, so I eat the small portion of food. It’s not like I really want it anyway. I’m nauseated, and my head hurts so badly I wish it would explode and get it over with.
“When are they going to do something?” Aurora asks.
We all know who she’s talking about. The Invaders stopped bombing after the zemlja attacked. Since then, they haven’t done anything except sit outside and wait. Implacably. Pitilessly. And why not? They’ve got all the time in the world, but we don’t.
Rosalind put the City on strict rationing immediately, but no one is stupid enough to think that’s going to be enough. There isn’t enough food stored inside the dome to feed us all. Any way you go, you end up at the same dead-end road. The Invaders apparently know it too, so they’re waiting us out.
The door to the dining area opens and I jump. Khabri and two of the Order Zmaj walk in. He carries himself like he’s in charge. Arrogant, in control, used to the universe and everyone around him bending to his will without question.
His eyes land on me and I drop my gaze quickly. The heat in my belly soothes the nausea, which I appreciate, but I’m not going to stare at him for relief. Though, the more I look at him, the more I like it.
He’s got a good face. Imperious. His nose is strong, and so is his jaw, but his high brow is what really gets me. I love a man with a high forehead. Not a receding-hairline brow, but those that have that tallness to it. It makes him look intelligent. Which he is, or seems to be, if not for the insistence he and I are fated to be together.
“Fate, schmate,” I mutter.
Sophia is sitting next to me, and she doesn’t miss it. “He likes you.”
“You think?” I ask. “What gave it away? When he told me we were going to make beautiful babies together?” Sophia’s cheeks flush bright red, and she looks away. I didn’t mean to embarrass her, so I place a hand on her leg and squeeze. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she shrugs. “We’re all on edge.”
“On edge to say the least,” Harper chimes in. “You ever think about it?”
“About what?” I ask.
She drops her voice to a whisper and says, “You know,” darting her eyes toward Khabri.
“No!” I lie.
Nope, those nighttime fantasies aren’t me thinking about it. That’s my subconscious running away with itself. Nothing to do with me… except for the warmth stoking in my belly, and the way my throat is all dry and scratchy.
The way he looked at me outside the City. Facing certain death and still his only thought was of saving me. No concern for his own life. Everything shifted in that moment. I saw him in a way I’d never imagined.
Yet, he’s a Zmaj. Alien. Different. Can I let myself feel this way about him? What will my friends think? It’s confusing, but my body absolutely responds when he’s around.
Obviously, other girls have fallen in love with Zmaj. That’s what started the rift among us humans, but I never believed it. At least, I never really believed it. I was scared. I snort, was scared? I’m still scared. A knife’s edge away from terrified.
Which begs the question, would I feel this way about him if I weren’t? He can talk about fate all he wants, but I don’t believe in it. Maybe he should hook up with Morgana—she’s the spiritualist of our group.