Kraving Dravka by Zoey Draven

Chapter Thirty-Five

The pain in Dravka’s side was only a brief nuisance as they sprinted through Nimida.

Because nothing could compare to the relief he’d felt when he’d seen his female, unharmed, standing in that room with her aunt.

After he’d strode from the washroom earlier, intending to convince his stubborn little female to mate one last time before they journeyed to Nzonito, instead he’d found their room empty.

He’d dressed quickly, only for Tavak to knock on his door, a frown on his face.

“Valerie was acting strange,” the male had told him. “She went down the stairs.”

“Kruvu?” Dravka had rasped.

“She said to meet her outside in fifteen minutes. That she had to go to the shops. But she was…different. She looked nervous.”

Dravka had frowned, immediately sensing that something wasn’t right. That was when he’d looked at the table, noticing that something he’d laid out there was gone. The sedative injection. Everything else was untouched and she’d even had the satchel of their clothes packed up and ready.

He’d snagged the bag and immediately left the room, going in search of his mate. They’d met up with Ravu at the end of the hallway and quickly jogged down the stairs.

On the second landing, however, they’d heard voices coming through a nearby door and when they’d looked down the corridor, they saw a human male wearing the Everton colors, a uniform of navy blue and green.

Fear had gone through Dravka at that moment. It didn’t take him long to piece together what had happened. Tavak and Ravu seemed to come to the same conclusion because they rushed the guard together, dispatching him quickly before breaking into the room he stood in front of.

Everything had happened so fast.

Focus, Dravka ordered himself, feeling Valerie’s hand clenched into his own as they raced through Nimida, Tavak and Ravu right behind them. That was then. This was now…and right now they needed to catch that vessel before it left Nimida.

His side burned, the flesh sensitive and sizzling…but Dravka had had worse. It would heal. It was the least of his worries. His top priority was getting his female off that colony and onto a safer one, one far away from her.

The transport depot was bustling and crowded.

“Over here!” Tavak bellowed, dodging a Luxirian with chipped black horns, who growled at him when he clipped his shoulder. “This way!”

Dravka pulled Valerie through the crowd, weaving quickly, teeth gritting, unused to crowds of beings. Up ahead, in one of the docking bays, there was a larger vessel. Judging by the sound, the engines were on and roaring. The whole depot seemed to shake with them.

They quickened their pace.

Almost there…

If only they could escape this place, they would be free.

There was no line. Everyone must have been on board already. He could see the doors coming into view and he felt Valerie’s hand squeeze in his own, could hear her ragged breaths.

The doors were closing.

“Vauk!” Dravka exclaimed.

But then Tavak was racing ahead, sprinting faster than they were able to. He reached the doors, holding them until a Killup attendant appeared with an annoyed expression, motioning for him to step back, her voice raised. Tavak shook his head, his chest heaving, digging in his satchel to procure their boarding passes.

The attendant’s lips were pursed in a scowl the moment Ravu, Dravka, and Valerie reached the doors.

“Fine, go, go,” the attendant grunted, snatching the passes from Tavak’s hand when she saw the group of them come running up. “Next time, don’t be late! Or you forfeit your seats!”

“Thank you,” Valerie gasped out. “Thank you!”

The Killup frowned but said nothing, waving them on board impatiently, murmuring something into her Coms device attached to her vest. Tavak and Ravu went up the ramp. Dravka and Valerie followed closely behind them…just as the doors to the vessel closed, sealing them inside.

“We made it,” Dravka breathed, his shoulders sagging, leaning against the wall. “Thank the demavs.”

A laugh bubbled from Valerie’s throat, hysterical but relieved. Even Tavak and Ravu couldn’t contain their small grins. All of them seemed in disbelief of their good luck.

Dravka pulled Valerie towards him, silencing her laugh with a desperate kiss, one that made her gasp.

“You’re in trouble,” he growled into her mouth. “But we’ll talk about it later.”

When he pulled back, her expression had sobered, but there was still bright relief in her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t let her find you and—”

“When are you going to understand that we’re in this together?” he asked. “That you don’t have to do everything on your own anymore?”

Something flashed in her eyes, her lips parting in realization.

“You’re right,” she said after a moment. Her gaze softened and she stood on her toes to press a soft kiss to his mouth. Dravka groaned. He could never be mad at her, though she’d endangered herself. “We’re in this together. I promise I won’t do anything like that again.”

He pressed a hard kiss to her forehead, his hearts still pumping at the thought that he could’ve lost her that day.

But she was in his arms now. They were leaving Nimida, leaving Madame Allegria in an unconscious heap on the floor of an inn, none the wiser as to their destination.

Or was it possible that…

“How did she find us?” he asked, frowning. “Did the tracker—”

“No, she bribed the pilot. Ben Vanner wasn’t very discreet after all,” Valerie said, shaking her head, knowing where his thoughts were headed. “And she found out we were staying at the inn because a shopkeeper had spotted us. She shouldn’t know that we are heading to Nzonito.”

Dravka nodded, his gaze going to Tavak and Ravu over her head.

“We’ll need to be cautious. I don’t want to take any chances,” he said. “Not with you.”

Once they reached Nzonito, they would take a quick flight out to another transport colony. From there, they would journey to Dumera. It would take longer but they would all feel better in knowing that they wouldn’t be followed.

Tavak and Ravu nodded, seeming to be in agreement.

“Hey!” came a voice, gravelly yet soft, from the top of the ramp. When they all turned, another Killup stood there, dressed in a grey uniform the same color as his skin. “We have to leave port soon. Find your seats and strap in.”

“Sorry, we’re coming,” Valerie called back.

* * *

The vessel was largerthan it appeared on the outside. On both sides of the vessel were a series of circular tables. Four seats surrounded each of them, two on both sides. There was a wide aisle between all of them and privacy screens were available for all the table clusters, a luxury he hadn’t expected. A bar with food and drinks was at the back of the vessel, a series of washrooms next to it.

It looked respectable and clean.

The vessel was filled with all kinds of beings traveling to the Second Quadrant. Like them, however, most were minding their own business, not even batting an eye when they saw three Keriv’is on board with a human female. Those that did stare felt Dravka’s glare right back until they looked away.

“Here’s ours,” Tavak said quietly, coming to a stop at an empty table cluster, sliding into the seat next to the window, Ravu sliding in beside him.

Dravka nudged Valerie to the seat opposite of Tavak, also closest to the window, and Dravka slid in next to her. He winced, his side aching, but he would bandage himself up once they took off.

Instead, he enabled their privacy shield, a thin, translucent film rising around their cluster. They could see outwards at the vessel cabin but no one would be able to see them inside.

Valerie let out a deep sigh after they all got strapped in. Dravka reached out his hand and took hers, comforted by her heat and scent, though hers was mingled with traces of Madame Allegria’s perfume.

“Is it over?” Ravu asked quietly.

Tavak made a grunting sound in the back of his throat and Dravka squeezed Valerie’s palm, rubbing his thumb over the back of her soft hand.

“I truly believe so,” Valerie said quietly.

Then they felt a vibration. The engines firing hotter. Though it was a larger vessel, it wasn’t as smooth as the private one they’d taken from Everton.

As they pulled away from the docking bay, as the transport depot of Nimida, with its bustling crowds, pulled away from view and they were met with a metal shaft that led out to space…they all seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The takeoff was bumpy. Dravka held onto his female’s hand tightly, a loud roaring booming in his ears when the engine catapulted them forward. Everything vibrated, even the teeth in his skull.

It didn’t take long for the vessel to even out and when he could actually hear again…he heard Valerie say, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Dravka looked out the window, placing his arm on the back of her seat, leaning towards her. The mysterious beauty of inky, star-riddled space greeted him. Nimida was rapidly shrinking behind them. Soon, it would be nothing more than a speck before it was erased entirely. Like it’d never been.

But his eyes went to her, feeling something settle deep in his chest at the sight of her. When she looked back at him, her green, glittering eyes went a little shy when she saw his gaze was only on her.

“Pax,” he murmured. “Vellka.”

Beautiful.