by Zoey Draven
“Yes,” Valerie whispered. “In my shoulder.”
Tavak cursed, the sound low and guttural. Dravka’s nostrils flared.
“All this time…” he murmured, shaking his head. “This is why?”
“You’ll never have peace, now that the engagement is over,” Valerie continued softly. “I have no power over her anymore, which means I can’t protect you. And once she finds you gone…”
She didn’t even want to think about Madame Allegria’s rage. Her rage once she found out that her engagement to Gabriel Larchmont was over. Her rage once she found out that Celine Larchmont had a Blue Light drive full of information that could have her imprisoned, that would bring her life and wealth crumbling down, burying her…
Dravka’s jaw set. Maybe now he finally understood why—
“I told you,” Dravka murmured, “that if you don’t get on that vessel, I won’t either. And I meant it.”
Her breath hitched in disbelief. Her brows furrowed. “Dravka—”
“So I’m going to ask you something,” Dravka continued, cutting off her words.
Valerie frowned, her eyes going to Tavak and Ravu in confusion. “What?”
“Will you be brave for me, mellkia?” Dravka asked, his eyes pained. “For us?”
“What?” she whispered, staring at Dravka.
“You love me, Val,” he continued. “And I love you. Deeply. Always. I want us to start a new life. Together. On Dumera. Like we always talked about, pax?”
Her heartbeat tripled.
“Yes, I remember,” she said, her eyes going glassy again.
“You want that?”
She swallowed, her throat tight. Her voice was ragged when she said, “More than anything.”
She began to cry, fat tears dripping down her cheeks, her breaths coming quick.
His nostrils flared again and his back straightened. He came to her, wiping the tears away. Gently, he said, “Then tell me one thing, mellkia…”
“Yes?”
“Where is it in your shoulder exactly?”
Ravu cursed this time. Blood started to rush in Valerie’s ears.
“And will you be brave for us?” Dravka went on, his own voice dropping, his tone strained. “This will hurt you, even with a sedative. And I wish to the demavs that I could take the pain for you, but I can’t. I do, however, have very steady hands.”
He…
He wanted to cut the tracker out of her?
Valerie’s eyes darted back and forth between his own. Trying to think. Trying to read him.
That was when she felt it.
Hope.
Fucking hope.
For the first time…
That…they might actually have a chance at this. That she might actually get to be with Dravka, to live beside him, for the rest of their lives.
Valerie had looked into the surgery that would remove the tracker once. Not that she’d ever be able to afford it, given that Madame Allegria had never paid her a single credit…but she’d still looked. She’d still hoped that maybe one day, she would be rid of it. She’d hoped that one day she’d leave and never worry again about her aunt finding her.
Back then, she knew it was foolish. She had no credits. Even then, she had nowhere to go, not that she’d ever leave Dravka behind.
She froze with understanding.
So why had she expected him to leave her behind?
“Dravka,” she whispered, realizing that she’d asked him an impossible and selfish thing.
Well, now she had somewhere to go. She had a vessel, fueled and ready. She had credits.
She had Dravka.
And the price to have all of it?
Some pain, fleeting and temporary.
He would never leave her behind.
That left only one option…a risk they would have to take.
“Do it,” she whispered, nodding, reaching forward to take his hand. “If you think you can, then get it out of me. Make sure she never finds us again.”
Relief—and dark determination—flashed over his face.
In the next moment, he was kissing her, a desperate, wild thing that made her want to smile and laugh.
For their future?
She could handle anything.
“You have to do it quickly,” Tavak cut in, making the both of them pull away from their kiss. The other male looked pensive, focused. “If the tracker sends its transmission for too long, she might be able to determine our course.”
Valerie sobered, her fingers digging into Dravka’s shoulders.
“We also can’t afford to wait here,” Ravu argued, exchanging a look with his brother. “We should leave Everton now. Get the tracker out within an hour of our flight. That should be fast enough.”
Valerie blew out a breath. Her gaze returned to Dravka’s.
He gave her a small nod.
“Are you ready?” he rasped.
“Yes,” she said, her voice firm, though her hands shook. It wasn’t from the fear of pain, however. It was the excitement and possibility, and the adrenaline of finally leaving Everton. With him.
Nothing else mattered.
She wanted to scream her happiness, her relief, up to the sky and let it echo around Everton.
But they didn’t have time for that.
“My brave female,” Dravka murmured down to her, clasping her hand in his own. “I’ll take care of this. I’ll take care of you. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
And because she believed him, trusted him more than anyone…Valerie had never heard sweeter words in her entire life.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Once they got on board the vessel, they were greeted by expensive, clean, modern furnishings. There was a row of seating for takeoff and landing, ten in total and none that would seat a Keriv’i male comfortably. Beyond the seating area was a large open space, complete with a small bar—the bottles of sloshing liquor magnetically secured—the largest Nu device that Dravka had ever seen mounted on the wall, and plush white couches that made an ‘L’ shape around the room.
They hadn’t been in the vessel for more than a couple minutes before Ben, the pilot, returned and informed them they were ready to launch and to strap in. Valerie had squeezed his hand—her cheeks flushed, her eyes glittering—and they’d taken a seat next to each other while Tavak and Ravu strapped in on the opposite row.
“Is this really happening?” Valerie whispered to him, stroking her thumb over his hand.
“Pax,” he murmured to her, but his mind was elsewhere. “Let me feel where the tracker is. Show me.”
She brought his hand to the back of her shoulder and pressed his fingertips into the hard bone. She wiggled his grip, flinching slightly when he felt a little groove there.
His nostrils flared again. He might not ever see Madame Allegria ever again but it didn’t stop him from wishing he could…if only to seek the vengeance he needed. She’d had her niece implanted with a tracker. He’d heard of this kind of surgery before.
And feeling where it was placed now? He worried he wouldn’t be able to get it out. It felt like it was in the bone.
Dravka took his hand away.
What if he couldn’t get it out? he wondered.
Would Madame Allegria hunt them across the universe?
Yes, he knew. She undoubtedly would. She was spiteful and controlling. She wouldn’t take kindly to the knowledge that they’d all snuck out from under her nose, that they’d planned to betray her by giving all her secrets to Celine Larchmont.
She would want revenge for that alone.
And Dravka knew that the first being she would take out that anger on…was Valerie. Not them.
“Hey,” Valerie whispered, reaching up to turn his face towards her. “You have that look on your face.”
Dravka’s shoulders loosened slightly just seeing her, scenting her close, feeling her warmth against him.
“What look?” he grunted, reaching up to brush his thumb across her lips. He’d
never get over how soft they were, how they felt against his own.
Unable to resist, he leaned forward to kiss her and Valerie sighed into him.
“Like you’re a million light-years away,” she whispered.
Which was odd because Dravka had never felt more centered than when he was with her.
He felt his ears pop, felt pressure descend in the cabin. He looked up, confused, frowning when he felt an artificial gravity weighing down his bones, heavy and unnatural. He hadn’t felt that since he’d journeyed to Everton. But surely they weren’t already in—
His hearts tripled in pace when he looked out the long, rectangular window at the back of the lounge space. Inky blackness, sprinkled with bright flecks of stars.
“Wow,” Valerie murmured. “This is an expensive vessel. I didn’t even feel the take off.”
An expensive vessel, paid for by a very wealthy family.
His lips pressed together, thinking about the rust bucket he’d journeyed to Everton on. He’d remembered thinking he’d burn up on takeoff, that the protective heat panels would fly right off, or that the whole vessel would combust under the pressure.
Across from them, Tavak and Ravu seemed to be remembering the same thing, judging by the looks on their faces.
“We’re off Everton,” Valerie said quietly, a soft, disbelieving awe in her voice.
Dravka didn’t have time to dwell on that fact. As soon as the gravity had kicked in, they’d been free to unbuckle and free to roam.
Free to cut out a tracker in his female’s shoulder. Free to dig into her flesh, cause her pain, and make her hurt.
Vauk.
But he would do this. He needed to.
“Dravka,” Tavak said, already unbuckling from his seat and standing, swaying a bit with the heaviness of the gravity. “Vauk, I haven’t missed that.”
Keriv’i didn’t do well during space travel. It wasn’t pleasant. It never had been, no matter how expensive and smooth the vessel was. Valerie seemed fine, however. Then again, she’d grown up with artificial gravity her entire life, in one form or another. She’d never felt anything different.
“Med kit,” Tavak said, rummaging through the bag he’d brought with him and pulling it out. “I used two of the sedatives on the male but there are two left in here. Along with a healing laser.”
Valerie unbuckled from her seat, blowing out a determined breath.
“Where should we do this?”
Dravka gestured to the white couch in the lounge and he pulled out a large tunic from his own bag before laying it down there. Despite everything, Celine Larchmont was helping them. The least they could do was try not to get blood all over her private vessel. Especially considering he’d beaten her son into a bloody pulp—though rightfully deserved.
Focus, he ordered himself.
Valerie lay down flat on her stomach and Dravka kneeled at her side, flipping open the med kit that Tavak had—thankfully—brought. His eyes strayed to the door that separated them from the pilot. Closed. And hopefully it would remain that way.
Valerie was wearing a thin-strapped dress, given the warm weather on Everton. He slipped the strap off her left shoulder, catching glimpses of her scarred back when he did. His nostrils flared but…that was when he was reminded.
He’d tended to his Valerie before. He’d helped her then. He would help her now.
As if reading his thoughts, Valerie reached out for his hand and squeezed, giving him an extra jolt of confidence.
“I’ll be okay,” she whispered to him.
He nodded.
He sensed Ravu and Tavak lingering behind him, but staying far enough away that it wouldn’t be a distraction.
“Need anything?” Tavak asked.
“Veki,” he said, fishing out a scalpel wrapped in sanitation film from the med kit. “Just stay close.”
There were no numbing agents, however, though he took out a sedative injection, breaking the seal. When he held it up to Valerie, she pressed her lips and nodded. It wouldn’t be enough to take away the pain, but it might be enough to knock her out for a brief while.
“Everything will be all right,” he told her as he pressed the small needle tip into the back of her neck. A small hissing sound broke out as the liquid seeped into her. “I promise, mellkia.”
“I know,” Valerie whispered, giving him a soft smile, her eyelids immediately beginning to droop.
After another steadying breath, Dravka took up the scalpel again, waiting a few more moments for the sedative to kick in.
Then he started.
It didn’t take an hour.
But it was undoubtedly one of the longest spans of time in Dravka’s life…those ten minutes.
Ten minutes of his hearts pumping, of watching blood seep from his female, feeling her jerk and groan when the sedative couldn’t keep her under long enough.
He’d needed Tavak to soak up the blood with gauze. Humans bled. A lot. He hadn’t realized how much but their blood must be thin. And he’d only made a small incision, just large enough so he could reach the tracker.
He felt it with the tip of the blade. A grating metal sound, though he couldn’t see it. And he hated that he’d had to drag the blunt edge of the blade across her bone, so he could be sure about where the tracker lay.
At times, Dravka wanted to roar with his frustration, with the wrongness of this…causing her pain. But it was inevitable.
He kept his hands steady, however. They’d never been steadier. All those years of tinkering with things, all those years of making little trinkets for his sister and his father were paying off. They’d made him careful. They’d made him precise.
Keeping his voice low, sensing that Valerie had passed out again, he told Tavak and Ravu, “It’s fused to the bone.”
Which was what he’d been afraid of.
He was also afraid that they were running out of time. Not because of the transmissions the tracker was pinging back to Everton…but because he was worried Valerie would bleed too much. Soon, he would need to laser the incision closed after he disinfected it.
“Vauk,” Tavak cursed.
“Let me see,” Ravu said, pressing a hand onto his shoulder.
Dravka hesitated, keeping the tip of the blade steady inside Valerie’s shoulder, poised just over the tracker.
“She’s my friend too, Dravka,” Ravu said quietly. “I’ll try not to hurt her. But I need to feel if there is a vulnerable patch on the tracker. If there is, I can simply destroy it if I can slice through the chip. Destroy it so we don’t have to remove it. Not now at least. We just need to stop it from sending transmissions to her.”
He was right. And Ravu had no doubt seen and worked with these kinds of things—black market tech, trackers included—back on Jrika.
Though he was loathe to do so, Dravka growled and let Ravu take over, knowing that it was the best decision for Valerie, for them all. Ravu might not have as steady hands but he would know what to look for.
Dravka stayed at Valerie’s side, however, wiping a cool cloth from the med kit over her forehead when he saw her perspiring, though her eyes were closed. Her whole face was pale, leached of color, and it made him feel powerless.
“Everything will be all right, mellkia,” he murmured to her, smoothing his thumb across her cheek.
After this, he would give her everything she deserved, everything she ever wanted. Her freedom. A home. A garden. Children. Dravka would make her happy, just as she would make him happy.
That was the future they were looking forward to.
But she was so pale. So vauking pale. And her blood looked black against her flesh, soaking through her dress.
“Ravu,” Dravka growled.
“Give me a moment,” Ravu said, his teeth gritted. “I feel it. I just need to—”
Valerie flinched in her sleep, her eyes popping open briefly, a hiss escaping her lips.
“Vauk,” Ravu rasped.
Valerie’s eyes connected with his own. Though his
expression was no doubt thunderous with his worry and frustration, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and then felt her entire body slump once more.
His hearts froze but then picked up in speed when he felt her breaths. How much blood could humans lose before it was fatal?
Dravka had no intention of finding out.
“Ravu, we have to stop,” Dravka growled. “She’s—”
“I almost…have it,” Ravu grated, his eyes focused above Valerie, on the wall the couch backed up against. He held himself very still. “Almost.”
Dravka blew out a harsh breath, his hearts still thundering. He looked across towards Tavak, whose lips were pressed tight together.
Vauk, they didn’t have that much time anymore.
More blood pushed from Valerie’s wound, trailing down her side and hot against his fingers when he blotted at it.
“There,” Ravu rasped.
A sharp click came after his words.
In the next moment, he extracted the tip of the blade from her shoulder, gleaming red.
“You destroyed it?” Dravka asked, taking Ravu’s place when the male jumped back. Immediately, Tavak poured disinfectant over the wound as Dravka powered on the healing laser.
“Pax,” Ravu stated, his voice sounding strained. “I’m sure I got it.”
Sure?
Or unwaveringly certain?
It didn’t matter, Dravka realized. Not right then, as he started to laser the incision closed, a small tendril of smoke rising from the slim device. He knew what it felt like. Hot and burning against the flesh. It was a small mercy that Valerie was unconscious at that moment, though she hadn’t been when he’d had to laser the wounds on her back from her aunt’s whip.
My brave female, he thought, his admiration for her strength surging.
It didn’t take long for Dravka to laser the wound closed. Once they reached Nimida, the first thing he’d do would be to purchase a numbing agent for her and something to help with the pain.
He blew out a long breath, sitting back on his heels when it was finished. Quiet descended in the cabin, the pressure from the gravity bringing on a pounding headache.
Then he leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair away from Valerie’s face.