Death Adder (Naga Brides Book 4) by Naomi Lucas

Author:Naomi Lucas [Lucas, Naomi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

THE LONG PATH BACK TO ORDINARY

Celeste

We strap Zhallaix on the door with some long grasses that Krellix ties around him after he gingerly, carefully, stuffs Zhallaix’s insides back into his stomach. Kyle walks away and retches while I stare and pray.

Krellix takes the lead, hauling Zhallaix behind him while I carry Zhallaix’s lower tail over my shoulders. His middle drags, but it’s the best we can do. Kyle takes watch since he’s the only one who still has a gun. Ashton joins me at my side and takes Zhallaix’s tail from me when it becomes too much, passing it between us.

We stop several times at Krellix’s behest, and several times more at ours. Three exhausted, hurt humans, who are barely getting by on fumes are not great travel companions. Especially not in the dark, in the wilderness, and in the cold. My men are hurt and so am I, and I need to make sure we all get home safely despite this detour.

I reassure them that this is temporary, that we’ll head back to the ship once we rally and rest. For the time being, they’re okay with this, clearly too tired to argue with me.

When we come to a stream, we stop and make a temporary camp. Krellix drags Zhallaix’s body into the water, submerging his entire form. He orders us to get in the water too and for us to remove as much blood and dirt from our bodies as possible.

He does not want evidence of our passage. Neither do we.

Otherwise, we push through the night to wherever Krellix leads us, placing our lives in his hands. When the land slopes upward and the trees begin to thin, I see the mountains through the forest canopy.

I collapse at some point because I wake to sunlight. Groaning, I turn over. I’m lying on a soft patch of grass and there’s a different stream beside me.

I twist to look around and cough violently, curling back onto my side, aching and shivering. When my head stops spinning from lightheadedness, I push up into a sitting position, wishing for painkillers and a blanket

My eyes find Kyle first and then Ashton, both of which are passed out nearby. Beyond them is a short ledge. The forest spans out below and I can see across the entire valley. I blink, rub my eyes, and turn away.

Behind me is the stream. Beyond that, there is a dilapidated structure that looks more like a rotten pile of wood and metal beams than the building it once was. The mountain’s slope steepens behind it.

Lying beside the stream on the other side is Zhallaix’s still form.

Krellix is nowhere.

Wading through the water to Zhallaix, I feel for his pulse and practically wither with relief when I find it again. I collapse onto the ground beside him to stare up at the sky, all the while keeping my fingers on his pulse, being soothed by it.

We’re alive.

Pulling off my tattered shirt, pants, and boots, I strip down to my underwear

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