Chapter 9
"What are you doing here?" Derrial tossed the angry words toward us as we ran down the white stark hall.
"I was worried, and--" The rest of my words were stolen by the alarm bell that boomed overhead. An explosion of voices and footfalls suddenly engulfed the building that was silent moments earlier.
Corran's hand squeezed tighter as he hauled me with speed into the rear storage room I'd entered from, and we flew to the exit. The unconscious guard was no longer there.
My head was a cyclone of emotions, of terror, or remorse. I never should have left the ship. Should have just stayed there.
Running across the open field, the four of us never stopped. I breathed hard, pushing on pure adrenaline.
The sirens blared from the building behind us, they rang through the air.
Panic tightened around my chest. We were going to get caught. And this time they'd kill us, no sympathy whatsoever. I couldn't stop trembling. I didn’t want to die, couldn’t let my dad die after we’d just found him.
The black ship came into view amid the trees as we darted into the forest and didn't stop until we all scrambled onto the ship.
Derrial shut the door, and I heaved for breath. I sprinted into the back room to check on my dad, who still slept unaware of what had just happened. Thank goodness he was okay.
Back in the main area of the ship, Thane lunged into the driver's seat getting us lifted off the ground. Derrial marched back and forth, while Corran headed into the back room where my dad slept.
I glanced outside to the throbbing lights from approaching authorities already flying toward the building. My pulse spiked, and panic squeezed my chest. We rose higher and turned away before flying in the opposite direction.
Unmoving, we all stood in silence, and I prayed no one followed us, that Corran's invisibility cloak device actually made us virtually undetectable.
When no one followed, I collapsed down on a seat against the wall of the ship, my mind whirring.
I looked up at Derrial who now stared out through the front window, and he looked different.
Tall, full of strength, and breathing hard. His face was no longer gaunt. Same with Thane and Corran's. They looked healthy and full of energy like they’d fed.
"You found a cure to the blood connection?" I asked, my fingers interlaced in my lap.
No one responded, and Derrial kept his back to me. Corran answered, "My science team had actually created an antidote, but I just had to combine the ingredients to activate it. It's in our system now, giving us a temporary boost of energy. For the bond between us to stick however, we need a blood exchange."
I nodded. "Okay, let's do it now."
Corran was shaking his head. "It's not that simple. We needed another ingredient for you to take before the exchange, but I couldn't find it in the lab. I was sure it was somewhere in that building, but then we got caught before we could look further."
Zeni had been going to kill my Vepar, and I loathed her for trying to ruin everything. That wouldn’t be a problem any longer, and I pushed away the guilt. She would have murdered the men if I didn’t stop her.
Derrial turned to face me, shadows darkening under his eyes, lips tight. He was furious. "You disobeyed me."
I bristled at his words, stiffening in my seat. "You were gone for two hours, and I was terrified something happened to you. Sorry for worrying."
He closed the distance between us in three long strides, his hand lashing out, grabbing my chin. Pushing my head back, he stared down at me. "You could have died. Jeopardized our mission."
I bit down hard on my lower lip and spat out the words. "I saved you. Zeni could have shot again and struck you in the heart if I didn't stop her, but you're welcome."
His grip tightened on my chin, and he stared down at me, fury burning behind those green eyes.
He released me and whipped around, walking away.
I didn't know what to expect but holding onto any kind of composure and schooling my emotions was impossible in that moment.
"That's not the point," he snapped. "It's that I can't trust you. You drugged us then stole one of our ships and endangered yourself. Then I asked you to stay in the ship, so we all knew where you are at all times. So, we didn't compromise the mission and worry that you'd run off again. But you didn’t listen."
"Run off? I went to save my dad before." I pointed to the room in the back. "If I didn't go, he wouldn't be here, he would be who knows where."