Free Colliding Worlds Trilogy 03 - Explosion by Berinn Rae Page A

of
tion
before.”
    He came down on a knee and checked her ankle for injuries. “Well, I’m not sure what a
freh-ghee
or a
tee-on
is, but I assure you there’s little to worry about around here.”
    She pursed her lips.
    “Okay, there’s rattle snakes to watch out for, but there’s not many this far north. Cougars and bears, but they tend to avoid attention. Rednecks are probably the biggest risk around these parts, and they’re more territorial than anything.”
    She watched him for a moment before lowering her eyes. He followed her gaze and realized he was still rubbing her ankle. He yanked back and stood. Feeling guilty for acting like a jackass, he held out a hand. “Can you walk?” he asked gruffly.
    She frowned a bit, but accepted his hand. The distant rumble of thunder had them both looking to the sunny sky. Jax turned just as the sun was blotted out by a giant metallic shard. It was moving slow, still ten or twenty thousand feet in the air but descending. The ground vibrated under the deep thrum. He stared up as the massive ship crossed the sky. He stood in awe, still holding Talla’s hand. Once the sun peeked out as it continued its path to the north, he came back to his senses. If he had to take a guess, it was on a direct approach to the Etzee.
    He pulled Talla brusquely to her feet.
    “The
Striga’s
arrived,” she said, the pleasure in her voice unmistakable.
    Jax’s body thrummed with tension. Even though he knew the
Striga
was Talla’s best chance at protection, he dreaded returning to the eye of the storm. To reach the core ship, that eye would be a cluster fuck instead of calm. He didn’t let go of her hand. “We don’t have to go back,” he blurted out.
    “If we don’t, then we’ll always be on the run.”
    “We can hide.”
    “Then we’ll always be hiding.”
    Damn it.
He grabbed her shoulder. “You know how many troops stand between us and the ship? We could die if we try.”
    Sadness filled her eyes. “We all die,” she said softly, then met his gaze. “This way, if we can get to the
Striga
, we at least have a chance to make a difference in others’ lives.”
    She raised a hand to his face, and he found himself rubbing his cheek against her calloused yet soft palm. Then he shook his head and pulled away. “Let’s find a way back,” he said, angrily turning and setting a quick pace.
    The cleanup crew wouldn’t be far behind them and countless more troops awaited where they intended to go. He’d exaggerated earlier. When he said they
could
die, he’d meant to say they
would
die.

Chapter Nine
    Nearly three years had passed since Talla had seen the
Striga
. The core ship was the pride of the Draeken fleet, the newest and grandest of all core ships. Its cold metallic beauty breathed hope into her lungs for the first time in far too long. She watched it pass over until the trees cut it off from her view, and she had to leave it behind. Still, she continued to gaze up to the sky reminiscently as they walked, a smile now in her heart.
    The core ships had saved what was left of her people from certain death. While each massive military ship could house tens of thousands, only a couple thousand Draeken survived to make it to each of the four ships the night of their evacuation from Sephia. There’d been twelve core ships ready to depart that night. Four escaped. Only nine thousand six hundred fifty-one Draeken remained of the once superior race. That was three years ago. How many remained to carry on their proud blood today?
    Sucking in a breath of tepid woodsy air, Talla watched the man several feet ahead of her, who was busy keeping them at a hard pace. While Talla stayed in good shape, the heat and dehydration wore her down. Her muscles felt weak. Low-slung branches snagged her wings and fought against her for every inch gained.
    Jax, on the other hand, didn’t show the slightest sign of weakness. Well, other than the sweat glistening across his skin. His dark T-shirt clung