Fer’ro is to my right and I watch him with guarded eyes.

I don’t want him to know I am staring, but I can’t help it.

Now that it’s clear they don’t mean us any harm, I have even more questions.

“That thing…” Fer’ro stiffens at the sound of my voice as if his focus had been on me the whole time, even though he strangely hadn’t been looking my way. I gulp and continue. “That thing by the water. The alien…”

I lick my lips when his lava gaze meets mine. They’re aliens too. That probably wasn’t the right word to use. “That thing that was controlling the machine…”

They all stiffen now and I realize every single one of them is listening to me.

Gathering my courage, I push forward. “What is it? What does it want from us?”

Fer’ro’s mouth moves as he forces down the fish and the ridges along his cheek contract and expand with the movement.

His suit bristles as he swallows as if a bunch of sharp knives just went down his throat.

“They are called the Gryken,” he finally says and I am hushed. I wait for him to continue and after a few moments he finally does.

“They are from a world far away. One that was destroyed eons ago.”

I blink at him. “Their world is destroyed? Is that why they are here. They want to capture ours to make it their own?”

Fer’ro stares at me. He doesn’t blink. “No,” he says.

“What?” Sam speaks up. “What do you mean?”

“They are here to harvest and move on.”

I glance at Sam then, the dread of the past few months still too vivid in my mind.

“So there is hope right?” Sam asks. “When they take what they want then they’ll leave. Then we can start over. Rebuild.”

The burgundy-eyed alien steps forward and I notice the blades on his arms have risen a little. “There is no rebuilding once the Scrits land.”

His voice is so harsh, Sam jerks back. But the alien continues. “They destroy everything. Your world will be barren before the Gryken leave. They will destroy your planet as they have done Edooria.”

There is hissing from the others and my gaze flicks around the group.

They all seem bigger somehow. Agitated. And I realize it’s because the blades on all of them are risen slightly.

“Edooria?” I whisper.

Fer’ro finally pulls his gaze away from mine. “Our home.”

I glance at Sam.

These…Gryken destroyed their home? Even though they seem so much more capable of fighting than humankind is?

“That is why we came,” Fer’ro continues. “To warn your kind. But…we were too late.”

My eyes widen at this and I sit up a little bit straighter. “You came to warn us? So you are here to help.”

Fer’ro clicks and I assume that means “yes.”

“But…why?”

Don’t get me wrong. Humanity needs the help. But even though they’ve been kind to us, their motive is still unclear.

“Why come to warn us?”

Fer’ro doesn’t respond. The one with the burgundy eyes does.

“Because if Edooria had been warned, maybe we would have been able to save our species.”

We fall into silence after that.

Even though they don’t say it, it’s as if I can feel their anger writhing underneath their skin, so I don’t ask any more questions.

One by one, the aliens move off, back to the water to finish dismantling the machine.

Fer’ro goes too and every now and then I look up to see them bringing pieces of the machine up from the lake.

My questions seem to have created a dark cloud over us all, for I do not hear them speaking even among themselves in their language.

Thinking on what they disclosed is also bringing me down, so I try to keep busy.

Taking what’s left of the fish, I mash it as much as I can.

While I work, Sam heads to the lake with a broad leaf and brings some water back. She uses it to wash Mina’s face while I turn the fish into a paste as best as possible with the tools I have—my one good hand, a stick, and another leaf.

More of the Scrit is slowly removed from the lake as we work. I recognize bits of the huge walking legs and I shudder and turn away, choosing instead to focus on feeding Mina the pulp I made.

She’s so exhausted, weak, that it’s hard for her to swallow.

But she tries.

She even smiles at me bravely even though I know she’s in pain.

She doesn’t complain.

There’s fear in her eyes too. I see it whenever she meets my gaze…whenever she looks at the aliens around us.

I can’t imagine the terror she’s feeling inside.

“It’ll be okay, Mina.”

A blatant lie.

She knows it.

I know it too. But I swallow hard and continue feeding her anyway.

I’m feeding her when her eyes widen and focus on something behind me.

That’s when I hear a hiss that sends a shiver down my spine.

When I whip around, the dark-eyed one is there.

His blades have risen, his teeth are bared, and his eyes are on Mina’s midsection.

Dropping the fish pulp I made, I scramble back on my elbow and put myself in front of Mina, meeting the alien’s gaze in the process.

I don’t know what’s gotten him so worked up, but out of all of these aliens, he’s the one that makes me the most uneasy.

And even though I’ve placed myself in his view, he’s still snarling. He hisses again and his blades rise even higher.

I feel the blood draining from my skin.

Had I said Fer’ro was adorable?

I was wrong.

His kind is utterly terrifying.

There are now so many blades across his body that I’m pretty sure he’s slicing the air itself with every heave of his chest.

He looks as if he’s about to launch himself at us, but he’d seemed fine just a moment before.

What has cha—

And then I feel it.

Against my back.

The part that’s pressed against Mina’s belly.

I feel it under her skin.

It writhes against me and I freeze, a gasp lodging in my throat as I try to remain frozen while I face the alien in front of me.

That thing inside her…

He’d seen it moving.

Chapter Fifteen

FER’RO

I’m under water when I hear the shrill sound.

Dampened by the liquid around me, but shrill nonetheless.

I don’t know how I do, but I know it is her.

My ba’clan activate, pulling me through the water to the surface, even before I can send the mental command.

Adee’ra’s fear scent almost knocks me over when I break the surface and my gaze finds her immediately.

She is so small, San’ten’s large body almost blocks her from my view.

She has her back to the infested female, her thin arms splayed as she projects herself as a shield.

And San’ten…even to a Vullan, he is a terrifying sight.

He is in full battle form.

His ba’clan have extended from his body, hackles rising everywhere.

A deep hiss and a roar leaves my lips as I shift into battle form as well, the ground beneath my feet disappearing as I launch myself from the shore toward him.

He only has a second to turn before we collide.

In a cloud of dirt and dust, we roll a few lengths away.

Adee’ra’s fear scent intensifies and I am only dimly aware that she is scrambling away and trying to take the other female with her.

My whole focus is on San’ten.

He roars, struggling to get away from me and I realize in horror that while my focus is on him, his focus is still on the retreating females.

“Release me!” San’ten’s roar echoes across the Er’th trees. “We must kill it!”

He speaks in the hyu’man language and I am sure the females hear.

“Not until you regain control!” I twist my body into his, pinning him down and San’ten hisses. But instead of yielding, he claws at me.

He only misses because I release him.

But now we are crouched, facing each other.

His eyes have bled to black and I know he is crazed.

“Control yourself!” I repeat and he hisses in response.