Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay

16

Dumfounded, Onnika watched Aidan tear out of the pub.

She thought they’d been getting along well. He was enjoying her banter, though he would never have admitted it, and she was enjoying teasing him. The more she did, the closer she got to pulling a grin from him, and he had a wicked sexy grin.

Didn’t compare to his kiss, though.

Thwarted desire still rippled through her body. She had wanted more. She’d been about to take it, too, but then she had offered a bit of unguarded truth, and he’d only seen a lie. She’d all but forgotten about the disguise provided by her holo-cuffs until the moment he’d reached out to finger her ear. His fingers would have felt only air. How could she have been so careless?

Didn’t matter now. He’d revealed what he really thought of her—she was still floored by how deeply the knowledge hurt. He was determined to hate her, and that bothered her more than it should. For the first time, she had no course of action. She wanted to run after him, but she loathed seeing that betrayed look in his eyes. Why should she care?

“You want something, miss?” the bartender asked. He was a handsome fellow with a decent build, long brownish hair, and a fine layer of stubble around his chin.

She shook her head, still out of credits. Normally she would flirt to see if she could get a free drink out of him, but she just wasn’t in the mood.

Then a vaguely familiar voice called out to her. “If I’d just kissed a pretty young lady like yourself, I wouldn’t be so mad about it. Hell, I’d be jumpin’ for joy.”

It was the gray-haired man with the dusty cap she and Caryn had helped back on Armina. He sat at a nearby booth.

He smiled at her in recognition. “Hey, it is you. I saw the white hair, but I wasn’t sure at first.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, walking to his table.

“I’m a hopper,” he said proudly.

“A what?”

“A race hopper. I’m following along with the race. You really helped me out at Armina, by the way. I had put my last credit into my ship to get the bugger working before the event. I was so zealous, I didn’t put enough thought into all the supplies I’d be needing.”

“Oh. Well, you’re welcome. I wish I could help again, but I’m out of credits myself.”

“That’s all right. I can pay you back now. With interest.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved some chips, sliding them over to her. “I’m doing odd jobs at every stop to get by.”

Every now and then, someone truly shocked her. Not bothering to hide her surprise, she accepted his offering. “Wow. Thanks. I never expected to be repaid.”

“It ain’t nothin’. I don’t much like owin’ people.” He took a generous sip of his ale before continuing. “Even though I’m not running the actual race like you, my goal is to make it to the end all the same. I was surprised to see you and your little friend’s faces show up on the roster. Had I known you were contestants, I might have stayed for a chat before the race started.”

“Our…faces?”

“Mm, every few hours the stats of each contestant get displayed for fans all across the universe. Not a lot of information on you two, though. Just names and faces. I’ve been checking in on your progress periodically because, well, I’m sort of a fan now. I see you won a voucher so far. Congratulations.”

A heavy ball of dread dropped into her stomach. If this stranger had seen that she’d entered the race, Tag and his minions most definitely would have, too. And since she thought she’d glimpsed him twice already, she had to assume they were all here, searching the crowd for her and Caryn. And Caryn didn’t know…

Slipping her hand into the hidden pocket of her dress, she checked that the knife she’d swiped from Zeek earlier, when he’d leaned too close, was still there. When she’d taken it, she’d experienced a twinge of guilt, but now she was glad to have it. She and Caryn were on their own again and in just as much danger.

Suddenly, alarms blasted.

The two viewscreens behind the bar went black. Then a message popped up: WARNING. LEVEL TEN SANDSTORM APPROACHING. FIND COVER OR RETURN TO YOUR SHIPS AT ONCE.

Not even thinking, Aidan raced for the pub where he’d left Onnika. The brief he’d received about Nazzu had mentioned the possibility of deadly sandstorms that seemingly cropped up from nowhere. A level ten was so fierce, apparently it could drive a blade of grass into steel. If caught in one, it could choke the air from a person in minutes and bury them in sand just as fast.

This tent city was about to be leveled.

The sound of wind whipping the thin canvas walls shot panic through the crowd. Everyone rushed in all directions, some aiming for the exits, others seeking their loved ones. Aidan had to shove his way past bodies to get to the pub’s entrance.

The relief at seeing her stagger out was immeasurable. Someone brushed past her and called back a warning. “Get to safety, miss.”

Stark-eyed, Onnika searched the crowd. Her gaze locked with Aidan’s. He couldn’t read all the emotions that swept her features. She appeared almost in shock.

Another person hurried past, knocking her forward. Aidan rushed to catch her before she fell. “We’re going back to the ship,” he told her.

She shook her head. “I have to find Caryn!”

“These storms are deadly. We have to go, now.” He spotted a set of workers by an information booth rolling out a cart full of emergency breathing units. Frightened pedestrians rushed the cart, grappling for the life-saving devices.

Aidan took Onnika’s hand and then elbowed his way through the masses, managing to snag the last breathing unit. “Here, put this on.”

She wasn’t paying attention, still scanning for her sister. The huge tent visibly swayed. Sections of canvas tore open by some unseen projectile and snapped violently in the wind.

“Onnika, put this on!”

“I have to find Caryn,” she repeated, her eyes flashing silver in the light.

“I’m sure she’s with Lear and the others. They’ll take her back to the ship.”

“I have to make sure she’s okay. Please.” She ripped her hand from his grasp and raced through an oncoming wave of bodies. Aidan hurried behind her, nearly losing sight of her more than once. He yelled her name as she cried out for Caryn.

“We cannot delay,” he warned.

Just then, they both heard a lithe voice calling for Onnika. They both froze, gazes darting for its owner. Caryn and Lear stumbled out of the crowd, both wearing breathing units. Onnika and Caryn ran to embrace each other.

“Great,” Aidan hollered above the uproar. “We found her. Now put this on and let’s go.” He handed the breathing unit to Onnika.

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine if we hurry.”

Finally she slipped the device over her mouth, and they joined the mass exodus. With the exits bottlenecked by a sea of bodies shoving and trampling their way through, panic-stricken people began crawling underneath or tearing holes in the canvas walls to get out. Once more Aidan gripped Onnika’s hand so that they wouldn’t be separated. He saw that Lear did the same with Caryn.

All around, the large tent poles groaned ominously. The structure wouldn’t withstand the wind for long. It was nothing more than a huge sail, billowing with the wind’s frightening power.

He spotted an open path toward one of the improvised escape routes. “This way!”

Just as they shot through the canvas into a cloud of choking sand, a volley of snapping sounds went off behind them. The huge tent toppled inward. How many would be trapped under that heavy tarp? He could do nothing to help them.

Wind whipped his skin and sand blasted his face. His lungs burned from breathing it in as they raced in the direction of the Dragoon.

The place looked nothing like it had when they’d arrived. The fierce storm had already torn away many of the smaller tents that had surrounded the big top.

He couldn’t even transform into his dragon form to help speed their progress. The wind was too strong and would catch his wings with the same devastating force that had toppled the tent. As they trudged through the sandstorm, he noticed his boots sinking into the sand deeper and deeper with each step.

The wind was building a dune right on top of them!

He shared a knowing look with Lear, and the two of them ramped up their pace. The girls struggled to keep up, managing only because they were being half-dragged by the two larger males.

Aidan labored furiously to breathe through the thick layer of grime that coated his flaming lungs. He coughed and hacked, but it was no use, he only took in more grit until he felt suffocated by it. He began to grow lightheaded.

Fearing he wouldn’t make it, he considered passing Onnika over to Lear, but then Dragoon emerged like a blessed phoenix from the wall of sand.

The others were standing just inside the open bay doors, waving them forward up the ramp, all of them wearing breathing units. Aidan was grateful for that.

The moment he crossed the threshold, he collapsed, sucking in what air he could manage, but that deadly sand still swirled around him. Someone covered his mouth with a breathing unit full of pure oxygen, and he sucked in great heaps of air. Finally, he heard doors lock into place. The wind died, and the sound of the raging storm was muted.

The burning in his lungs lessened somewhat, and he took inventory. Ignoring the stinging grit in his eyes, he opened his eyes to survey the group. Everyone was here. They hadn’t lost a soul. And no one appeared to be seriously wounded.

He nearly passed out from relief.

He would have chalked it up to luck, but his crew was great at rallying in a crisis.

He pulled the mask away from his face and rasped, “Everyone okay?”

In quiet mumbles, each of his crew declared they were fine. Zeek patted his torso and checked his pockets. “Damn. I lost my favorite blade.”

Of course that was his concern, Aidan thought sardonically. “Zeek, Ash, get to the control room. We still can’t leave the atmosphere till our time’s up, but get us above the storm.”

The two hurried away to the sounds of the ship’s outer hull being battered.

“Onnika, how about you? You okay?” He was surprised to realize the depth of his concern.

She was kneeling in front of him, and he realized it was her mask he now wore. “I’m fine. How are you? Do you need anything?”

“Water,” he wheezed.

Priya rushed to comply. “I’ll get it.”

As Onnika brushed some of the sand from his face with the hem of her dress, Aidan noticed a small cut on her cheek. He couldn’t say when that had happened. Her hair was a wild nest of sand-caked locks, and her skin was layered in a fine dust but for the section around her nose and mouth where the mask had been.

None of it diminished her allure. He must have been delirious from lack of oxygen, because he found himself reaching up to rub his thumb along her cheek while resisting the wild urge to pull her into his embrace.

She cocked her head. “How could you still want me when you think so little of me?”

He retracted his hand. Sucking up the last of the oxygen in his unit, he tossed it aside. “What makes you think I still want you?”

He thought she might tease him over the unguarded admission that he had at one point, in fact, wanted her, but she only frowned down at him. “You came back for me.”

“Well, I’m not a total dick.”

“You gave me the only breathing unit.”

“Again, not a total dick.”

She stood, gazing down at him with a disturbing lack of emotion. “You have my gratitude for getting us to safety. We’ll be off your ship at the next stop.”

With that, she glanced at Caryn, who nodded as though the two had just exchanged an entire conversation in that one fleeting look. Caryn politely thanked Lear before they both strode away.

But before she left, Onnika shot Aidan a last devastated look and said, “I’m not as terrible as you’d like to believe.”

Lear stepped forward to take Onnika’s place, standing over him. “What the shit did you do?”