Scattered Ashes by Megg Jensen

Author:Megg Jensen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 80 Pages, Inc

* * *

Morning sun kissed Rell’s cheek, followed by the cruel fingernails of sand scraping across her face. Rell sat up, startled, and looked at her companions. The dragzhi above them had gone, and the boys’ arms were no longer swollen or purple.

"Torsten?" She rested a hand on his chest. Still breathing. She tapped him. "Wake up."

Rell held her breath as she watched his eyelids flutter, then open fully. He gazed up at her. Then a spark of recognition ignited in his eyes.

"Rell? How?"

She smiled, then shook Rutger's arm. "Wake up. You, too. You can’t sleep all day."

Rutger stirred. "I don't want to, Malia. Not again. I'm exhausted."

Rell's hand flew to her mouth as she held in a snicker. Torsten smiled and pushed himself up on his elbows. "Oh Rutger," he said in a high-pitched voice.

"Not now," Rutger mumbled. "You're an animal!"

Torsten burst into laughter as Rutger rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Torsten?" Rutger sprang to sitting. "Rell? What are you doing here? Are we all dead?"

"Not this time," Rell said. "You're lucky I found you two."

"Those cute little bear things..." Rutger's voice trailed off as he took in the scene with wide eyes. "You're the one who killed them?"

"No, they were already dead when I got here." Rell focused on Torsten, careful not to acknowledge the silver dragzhi who had slid back into its pack. "You guys must have fought them off, then collapsed."

"I don't remember that." Torsten rested a hand on Rell's cheek. "You just happened to stumble upon us?"

"That's amazing. We must be the luckiest guys on Phoenix." Rutger lifted a hand to his brow, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Yeah." Torsten rubbed his thumb on Rell's cheek. "Are you okay? How did you escape from Isobel? And what happened to your clothes? Why are you wearing a piece of the torn tent?"

Rell bit her cracked lip, drawing blood. "Isobel is dead. I mean, who you thought was Isobel. It was that doll."

"The doll? A doll did that to you?" Rutger asked.

"It's not actually a doll. It just looks like one. Apparently we've never been alone on Phoenix." Rell rubbed her hands together nervously. "It’s part of a species called the tark."

"What did they want with you?" Torsten asked.

"It had something to do with my dragzhi side," Rell admitted. She hadn't spoken of it since the liquid dragzhi took residence inside her. It never allowed her. For some reason, it wasn't stopping her today. "They wanted to kill me, I think. I don't know. I got away from them, and then I found you. As for my clothes… it’s complicated. The tent scraps work fine for now."

She realized how ridiculous it all sounded. Rutger took every word she said at face value, but Torsten's piercing gaze told her he wouldn't let the simple explanation slide. His silence also said he wouldn't press in front of Rutger.

Eventually, Rell would tell Torsten everything, if the dragzhi let her. She wanted nothing more than to confide in him. Torsten was

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.