“Pet,” he said to me without looking back. “Please stay low and hidden.”
Then he burst forward at the onslaught of Vepars.
Behind me, Corran had fought and knocked to the ground a man with a single punch, while two others lunged onto his back.
I cried out and trembled insanely. But instinct punched me in the gut, and I scanned the hallway, finding only a metal table on wheels for a weapon. I ran and grabbed the damn table and shoved it toward one of the demons, driving it right into the hip of a man about to pile on top of Corran as well.
He groaned with shock and stumbled over his own feet, hitting the ground hard.
Corran kicked a man in front of him, while I grabbed the arm of the woman clinging to his back like a monkey, her mouth gaping open, readying to bite him. Drool seeped from her mouth and I gagged, but I wrenched her backward.
“Get off him,” I cried.
Corran whipped around, his expression startled, but he flashed me a grin. “Thanks.” A fast kiss on my lips, and he threw himself back against the three encroaching Vepar. If I wasn’t so terrified, I might swoon.
Someone slapped a hand to my shoulder.
I flinched around, my heart racing, and shoved the hand off me.
A young man with stubby white horns and a square head snarled, lips peeled over sharp canines. His shirt had been half torn and hung off low on one shoulder. His flesh was dotted in bite marks.
My feet slipped backward.
My stomach clenched.
Hands raised; grubby fingers reached for me as he rushed forward.
I screamed, backing away.
Corran whirled toward me in an instant, grabbed the attacker by the throat, and hurled him into a wall.
I stared in awe, in complete and utter amazement at his strength.
More of the infected or whatever they were, staggered down the hallway, and I looked left and right, unsure where to go, where it’d be safe.
I reached for a nearby door, pushing on the handle, but it was locked. I snapped around, my heart in my throat. No other doors to try, so I slid down near the metal table, my back to the wall, and tucked my knees against my chest. I tried to curl myself tight, too scared to move. A scream bubbled on my throat. After everything, I didn’t want us to die here. Not like this.
The fights grew vicious, and I remained low, watching every blow... every bite and punch. I lost concept of time, but when I saw Derrial fall, I couldn’t help but run to him. I didn’t even register what was going on around me. All I could see was Derrial lying on the ground motionless, blood seeping from his body.
I sank to my knees beside him. My hands immediately went to his chest in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. Not that that ever worked... even in the movies. But I still had to try.
"It's okay, it's okay," I said desperately. Derrial opened his eyes and took a deep, rattling breath. Even with my nonexistent medical knowledge, I knew that rattling wasn't a good thing.
I looked around desperately for Corran. Surely, he would have his device with him to help heal these injuries. He was in the middle of a fight with two rabid Vepar however, and it didn't look like he was winning. Looking around next for Thane, his situation was even more dire. He was on his knees, bloody slashes all over his body as he tried to fend off at least five of the crazed Vepar who were attacking him from all angles.
Looking down at a dying Derrial, I realized we weren't going to make it.
Derrial slid his trembling hand to mine and took it in a weak grasp. "I'm so sorry, Ella," he wheezed out.
I didn't know what he was saying sorry for, was it for kidnapping me in the first place or transporting humans to Veon for years… Did it really matter? At that moment, honestly, I didn't care.
Maybe that made me a terrible person that I could forgive all of that but seeing the being that I'd fallen irreversibly in love with dying in my arms...that made forgiveness a lot more possible.
"I'm so sorry for all of it,” he repeated, his eyes glistening. "At least now you will be free."
This wasn't happening. This wasn't real life. After everything we'd been through, this was really the end.
I heard a pained grunt and my eyes flashed over to Thane. Piles of Vepar surrounded him, but he was on his hands and knees on the floor, covered in blood. My eyes flashed over to Corran, still expecting somehow that one of them was going to be able to save the day. Corran was passed out on the ground, the two Vepar he had been battling on the ground alongside him.