It took a second and then my skin started to burn. I let out a small scream and started to claw at my neck and hair, which then made the skin on my hands start to burn as well.
“It hurts,” I moaned, fear sticking to my ribs like tar.
Corran cursed and started to drag me inside. I suddenly heard Thane’s gun go off.
Bang. Bang.
Despite the pain, I looked back and was shocked to see one of the Vepar lying dead on the ground, Thane standing over him with a ferocious look on his face.
I wouldn't worry about any repercussions for Thane at that moment because the burning started to increase until I felt like I was being burned alive. Was I going to die?
“What’s happening to me?” I cried out as I stopped in my tracks, unable to move any longer due to the immense agony I was feeling. Corran picked me up in his arms, murmuring softly in my ear about how I was going to be alright, how they would never let anything hurt me again.
He hauled me into a room that looked like Corran’s secret basement lab. Or at least I think it did. The pain was making everything seem distorted.
Corran laid me face down on a table that was much softer than the other medical exam tables I’d encountered in my life. I sobbed as the burning continued to spread throughout my body. He picked up a knife and quickly slit the back of my dress open so that the fabric slid off of me.
I stiffened when Corran sprinkled something wet all over my skin. Immediately my pain faded, replaced by a cooling sensation. Corran continued with the liquid for a few more minutes before stopping. His footsteps quickened around me, drawers shutting and closing. I was so exhausted from the pain that I didn’t even bother to open my eyes to look where he was going.
A second later, his footsteps approached and he applied a soft gel all over the neck and shoulders under my dress. I moaned with how good the coolness felt.
Corran stiffened at the noise, then cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?” he asked hoarsely.
“Better,” I croaked, my voice faint from screaming so much. “What was that?”
“A creature most similar to the barnacles you have in your oceans. Except ours contain one of the most toxic poisons on the planet.”
“So I could have died?” I asked, starting to cry again at the memory of how much it had hurt.
He was silent for a moment. “I never would have let that happen,” he said, rubbing in some more of the gel. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," Corran whispered softly, gently continuing to stroke my skin. There was such remorse in his voice, the kind that I rarely got from them after everything they had done to me. It did something to my insides.
His gentle hand trailed down my skin almost sensually even though this wasn’t the place for any of that to happen.
Thane walked into the room, rage still written across his face. "How is she doing?" he asked, his hands trembling with adrenaline.
"I applied the antidote. She should be completely back to normal in a few more minutes," Corran explained. "Did you take care of him?"
Thane nodded, his cheek twitching as he tried to control himself. "Evidently we're going to have to remind everyone just who we are. I guess we’ve been gone a little too long."
Corran nodded. “If we're going to keep her safe, we’ll have to do that fast."
Once again I felt conflicting emotions. They were so protective of me. Yet they didn't respect anything in regards to my free agency. I didn't know how those two things worked together.
After a couple more minutes I did indeed feel back to normal, better than normal in fact. Corran helped me off the table and led me over to a cylinder clothes changer that was also in this room. I was immediately changed into a new dress, this one a crimson color. The cylinder even somehow took care of my dirty hair and skin, leaving my hair looking more shiny than it did after I went to a hair appointment. I was kind of bummed that they didn't introduce me to this technology earlier. It would've saved me a lot of time.
"How come you didn't use this at your house on earth?" I asked, thinking that if I had this at my disposal I would have never chosen to go without it.
Thane smirked. “There’s something to be said for the shower," he stated, giving me a wink. It took me a second, and then I was blushing furiously.
Thane’s communicator device must have sent him an alert, because his hand went to his ear. After listening for a moment, he looked at me regretfully. "I'm sorry, but we need to get the cuffs back on you and get you to the prison. You already drew enough attention just walking through the line. It will get even worse if they sense that we’re giving you special treatment.”
“You mean like killing someone who hurt me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Thane growled. “That’s expected in our society. That Vepar disrespected us by harming something that belonged to us. It would have looked stranger if I hadn’t done anything.”
I filed that away for later. The Vepar were obviously a very aggressive society, but I had already known that, hadn’t I?
Sighing, I obediently put my arms behind my back. I grimaced as the cold metal once again clicked around my wrists.