Adrik (Titans #1)

Chapter 28

Adrik followed Tyrate’s directives, which led him away from the sound of his Titans clearing the ship. He didn’t care. He only cared about Ember.

The sound of zaps and pops as the ship suffered from the onslaught of attack filled his head. In his comms, Tyrate continued giving instructions and intel as best it could. As Adrik turned a corner in the corridor of the ship, the lights overhead went out, a round of alarms blared to life, and red reserve lights blinked dimly on.

Tyrate notified, “The Renx ship is failing.”

Smoke filled Adrik’s nose as fear for his men, and Ember ratcheted his stress to a level he’d never experienced.

Calmly, Tyrate informed, “Ember is ahead, Commander, just on the other side of the doors.”

Relief hit him so hard that his knees nearly buckled. Tightening his weapon to his shoulder, Adrik rushed forward and barked, “Unseal the doors.”

“Commander…”

His heart seized at Tyrate’s pause.

“Commander,” Tyrate began again. “Return to the Cressida. Ember is no longer retrievable.”

Adrik felt like the ship dropped out from beneath him. Tyrate’s revelation was so jarring that Adrik literally rocked on his feet.

Is she dead?

Swallowing hard, he fought to compose himself before raging aloud, “Is she dead?”

He didn’t want to hear the answer. He didn’t want to hear how he’d failed her. He couldn’t live with himself if he’d let her be taken and killed.

“Negative Commander. Ember lives, but…”

Enraged, Adrik didn’t even wait for Tyrate’s explanation as he bellowed, “Unseal the doors!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Two seconds later, the doors just mere feet from him opened jerkily as the dim red backup lights blinked in and out. Smoke poured from the room. Adrik was nearly blinded by the bright flames that grew in stature with the air that whooshed into the room. Weapon still held firm; Adrik scanned the room. He saw no enemy, but there, on the furthest side of the room, shielding herself with an upheld arm, was Ember. She was on her knees, body pressed tight into the wall to escape the lick of the flames that were too damn close to her. Blood marred her arm, and when she dropped her arm to whip her gaze around the room in what he assumed was a search for escape, he saw that her cheek had blood on it, too.

Eyes searching, Ember’s fear-filled gaze passed over Adrik before quickly jerking back to him and locking onto him. The second she looked at him, he tensed and forced the armor to retract from his face so she could see it was him. The sudden relief that filled her expression, the tears that flooded then breached her eyes had Adrik’s resolve hardening. In his comms, Tyrate began again, “Commander, there is no means to retrieve Ember. The most logical course is for you and the Titans to return to the Cressida.”

Not happening!

Tearing his eyes from Ember, Adrik scoured the room. He saw nothing to douse the flames, no doors near Ember for her to escape the inferno slowly engulfing the room. His body armor could withstand some heat, but not this. There was too much. The flames separating them were too immense, too intense. Eyes going back to Ember, Adrik’s heart twisted when he saw her expression crumble as she slowly shook her head in stark realization. She knew he couldn’t reach her. She knew this was the end. Her dark, grief-filled eyes held his a beat before she mouthed a mournful looking, “I’m sorry.”

Behind him, Kaze, Pitch, and Obaida nearly barreled into him as they rushed onto the scene.

“Gods!” Kaze hissed.

“Search the corridor,” Obaida barked.

But they all knew how these ships worked. Few things could destroy a vessel. Fire was one of the few because once the AI system of a ship was corrupted, damaged, or destroyed, there was no way to access the fire extinguishing systems. Like now. The ship rocked with an explosion somewhere that had Adrik stumbling before regaining his feet. They were running out of time, and if he didn’t get his Titans back to the Cressida and disengage their ship from the Renx vessel, they’d all be lost.

Behind him, his Titans were in a frenzy of activity as they forced open inoperable wall panels. Eyes locked on Ember, Adrik knew what he had to do. Tossing his weapon aside, he lifted his chin as his armor rippled back into place, covering him fully as he backed away. The expression on Ember’s face gutted him. She thought he was leaving her.

With a scream, Ember’s attention left him as she shot to her feet. The flames were now mere inches from her, and she screamed again and slapped at where the hem of her skirt ignited. Then her sleeve caught fire too and defeated, she lifted her gaze to Adrik and screamed, “Gooooooo!”

With a hard shake of his head, he crouched and called on all the power he could muster.

When Ember realized what he would do, she held up a hand, palm side out, and screamed, “Noooooo!”

Too late. Adrik was already moving. In several long strides, he was at the edge of the flames. Kaze lunged for him and missed. Thank the Gods. Then, Adrik was airborne.

He was across the flames in a blink, smashing bodily into the metal wall beside Ember. He bounced into the flames but quickly scurried toward the wall. Shaking off the jarring impact, his head snapped to the side with the movement. They had mere seconds before the flames would engulf them. Looking down at Ember, her eyes were engulfed in tear-soaked awe. He wanted to pull her to him, to crush her in the safety of his embrace, and tell her she was safe, but there was no time. The intensity of the heat was unbearable, and he snapped into action when he saw blisters rising on Ember’s delicate flesh. Grabbing her, he pulled her hard into him and ground out the command that Titans almost never used. “Wakan!”

Behind them, across the flames, Kaze and Obaida roared, “Adrik! No!”

With a flash and a ripple, Adrik’s armor receded and then enveloped Ember, where he held her crushed to him, leaving him fully exposed. The heat was excruciating. Adrik gnashed his teeth against the agony he realized Ember had just been exposed to. Adrenaline flooded his system, and he’d need every ounce of it. Spinning, he used all his might to throw Ember with a deep grunt. There were no features, no limbs visible from the coating of his armor around her. She looked like a small cocoon of black as she sailed across the flames. Breath caught, Adrik didn’t flinch as his flesh was seared. He was too engrossed in Ember. She was his only concern now, and he could only watch, praying she would reach the safety of his Titans.

Kaze caught her and stumbled backward with the impact while Obaida and Pitch lurched forward, expressions terrified as they locked on Adrik.

A sigh of relief exploded from Adrik’s lips as he fell back into the wall. It was done. Ember was safe. His men were safe. As for him, there was nowhere to go, no escape from the intense heat burning him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t matter. Only Ember mattered. He’d saved her, and he would die satisfied with that.

In a sudden roar, the flames intensified, and a flare went up, swallowing Adrik from his Titans’ sight.

“ Adrik !”