Colliding Worlds Trilogy 03 - Explosion Read Online Free

Talla came to her feet and lunged into Laze’s strong arms. He held her in his safe embrace, one hand on her back, the other cradling her head. “
Sheescaten, ta deitan
,” he repeated in a soothing voice.
You are safe, sister.
And she knew his words were true, even if for only that moment.
    “It’s not going to matter after tomorrow!” the one soldier yelled.
    She knew, too, that her and Laze were doomed. A human was dead. She turned to Jax. He had the control now.
    Jax watched her but spoke to Laze. “Get out of here, Kohlm. Both of you.”
    The captain’s face was hard, set in uncompromising lines. She’d learned many times over that once that particular man set his mind to something, a mouse would have an easier time moving a boulder than sway his will.
    “We’ll talk at
early
breakfast,” Jax added before turning his attention back to the two soldiers.
    With a frown, she glanced at Laze, who looked just as confused. The Sephians took breakfast early, before the sun rose and hurt their sensitive eyes. Since the two races didn’t exactly get along, her people waited for the second, later breakfast. Perhaps it was Jax’s way of warning her that they’d be coming for them early tomorrow.
    Shrugging, she tugged on her brother’s shirt. “Let’s go,” she whispered. She knew Laze craved to kill those two humans as badly as she did. But he was also smart. And as long as they were confined to the Etzee, they were forced to put logic before emotion. With her brother’s arm around her, they walked past the soldiers.
    “You’re going to die,” one of her attackers taunted.
    “We all die sometime,” she said without looking back. Just kept on walking. Whatever Jax had planned, he was waiting for her to leave.
    Laze and she didn’t speak once during the ten-minute walk back to their small trailers. There was nothing to say. Their fate was already sealed. They had only to wait now.
    Killing a human was a death sentence for them both.

Chapter Three
    0500 hours, the following morning
    Talla discovered she and Laze weren’t the only Draeken in the food line for early breakfast.
    Laze nodded as she approached, and the two Draeken with him turned.
    The taller guardsman smiled. “Morning, Talla. You’re looking ravishing as usual.”
    Talla knew not to let Wync’s flattery go to her head. His interest had more to do with Draeken males outnumbering females by nearly twenty to one than anything. His eyes twinkled with humor, so very different from the black ice in the
fregees’
gawking stares last night. A shiver went across her skin before she forced a smile. “Good morning, Wync. What brings you and Qan out so early this morning?”
    They shot each other a quick look. Shy Qan stammered, then started to say something. Wync nudged him, and the shorter man clamped his mouth shut.
    “Just doing something for Roden,” Wync said.
    She frowned, glancing at Laze who shrugged in response. Laze and she were Roden’s primary guardsmen. If there was something going on, they always knew about it. Then again, after last night, she wasn’t going to complain. She wasn’t feeling at full mental speed yet this morning.
    The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Peering into the shadows, she found Captain Jax Jerrick leaning against a trailer. Even though the sun hadn’t risen, he was wearing sunglasses so it was impossible to see where his gaze fell, but she knew it was her he watched. He never approached her, always maintained a cool distance. To any passerby, he was just another soldier on break, his arms crossed over a muscled chest. Her heart sped up, and she inhaled the cool morning air to calm herself. Parts of her instantly heated when she saw the confident man in fatigues. But a warning followed in her mind.
What will happen to Laze and me?
    Reminding herself that Jax was a human first and foremost helped her maintain her composure. No human could be trusted. Two years ago, she was his prisoner. A year ago, she