He inched back on the bench to make room for her to sit.

Without him needing to tell her, Ariel slid onto his lap between his thighs. They ate fast. Ral gave a nod at men around the room. She glanced up. Ral’s people were tense.

She could almost feel it in the air. She wondered what in the hell was going on. She glanced up at Ral. He looked down at her and smiled.

“Ral?”

“Trust me and ask later.”

She shut her mouth and nodded. Ral wanted them to be on the move. She left the eating area with him. He didn’t walk toward the mine though. He gripped the blanket over his shoulder, took her hand and headed toward doors marked with words she couldn’t read. The markings looked like wiggles with some scratches. The hand holding hers tightened. He paused to look down at her.

“Stay with me. If something goes wrong, we will have to run. Run with me. Swear it to me, Ariel. I won’t lose you and I will die if they take you from me because I will fight to keep you regardless of the odds.”

Fear hit her. What in the hell was going on? Ral opened up the door that led to a smaller hallway. Ral jerked her forward and they nearly ran down the hall. It ended at one of those platform elevator things with the raw rock walls. Ral stepped onto it pulling her into his arms.

“Do not touch the walls.”

“I won’t.” She shivered. “It would be like touching an electric cheese grater at the speed these things move up and down.”

“Cheese grater?”

“Never mind. I was talking to myself.”

The platform slowed. Ral sniffed the air as he jerked her forward. They ran down halls until they came to another large door. It looked like the crush door she’d walked through when Yoz had taken her to the mines. The door swished open. Ariel was a little surprised to see that one of Ral’s men stood there.

“We are ready. The rest follow.”

Ral nodded and took off without warning. His hand on Ariel’s tightened as he yanked her behind him. She ran for all she was worth across the large room to another large door. Ral paused and looked back. Ariel glanced over her shoulder to see dozens of Zorn run into the large room with more on their heels. The room was filling with Zorn.

The man who’d let them into the room finally shut the other door. There had to be well over a hundred Zorn in the room with a few other species she hadn’t seen before.

The other non Zorn looked as confused as she felt. There were only a handful of them, all of them were females.

“Let’s do this.” Ral nodded.

The doors opened. Ariel spun to see what the room they were going into was. She gasped when she eyed the largest ship she’d ever seen parked in what appeared to be open space. She saw the glass dome then. It was barely noticeable with deep space as a background.

More Zorn men were by the ship. They waved frantically at everyone. Like a stampede, the Zorn started to run. Ral gripped her hand as he jerked her closer to his body. They both ran for the large ship.

It was a space ship. She understood that. She wondered about what was about to happen. Comprehension hit her as they neared the ship. They were trying to escape.

Shock tore through her as they ran up a ramp and into the belly of the ship. It looked like a large cargo area. More of the Zorn waited inside. Ral kept moving, yanking Ariel with him, as they ran through the cargo area into a metal hallway.

“This way, Argis Ral,” a man yelled. “We are getting ready for flight.” Ral wasn’t even out of breath as they ran. “Have you damaged the other ships?”

“Yes,” the Zorn jogging beside them growled. “They won’t be able to follow us. Not for a long time.”

Panting hard, a pain in her side, Ariel started to slow down. Ral growled. He halted and spun, shoving the blanket and clothes at the other man as he released Ariel’s hand.

In an instant Ral grabbed Ariel by her middle. Her hips hit Ral’s shoulder hard. He spun around and started to run again as he held her tight against his body.

They ended up in an elevator. Ral stood there with the other Zorn man as the elevator jetted upward. Ariel pushed hair out of her face to stare at the Zorn man standing a few feet from her and Ral.

“The ship is full.” The Zorn touched his ear. Ariel saw a metal device clipped to the man’s ear. “They are securing the cargo doors. We’re ready. All are accounted for.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Ral snarled. “Do not wait for me to reach the command center.”

“Liftoff,” the Zorn ordered. “Argis Ral has ordered liftoff.” The engines of the ship weren’t loud but Ariel still heard them as they vibrated to life. The elevator door opened as it stopped. Ral moved fast into the room. He bent over to deposit Ariel on her feet gently. He gripped her arm and spun her around.

Ariel stared wide eyed in astonishment at the large window. The room was some kind of control center. Five Zorn were at the controls. Ral moved to the large seat, tugging Ariel with him. He sat down, yanking her across his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist securing her so she couldn’t move.

“Report,” Ral ordered.

“They triggered the alarm when the ship was started but we’ve overridden their systems.” The man behind them snarled. “The dome is retracting. Forty seconds to liftoff.”

Ral growled. “Faster, damn it.”

“We can only go so fast. The dome has started to open. They cannot reach the ship.

The pressure seals were broken when the dome started to open. They would be sucked out of the dock even if they could bypass their safety measures.” Ral nodded. “What about their defenses?”

“They are destroyed.” The man sitting in a chair to their right laughed. “We blew them at once when you gave the order to lift off. Those blue bastards are busy right now dealing with the fires we set. We will be clear. They cannot stop us.” Ral nodded. Ariel’s eyes flew to his. He didn’t glance at her. He looked grim as he gazed at the large window. “Until we are free and clear I will not feel too confident, Avi. Viz, have you accessed their charts? Do we know where we are and how to get home?”

“Yes, Argis Ral. We are three weeks from home at full capacity.” Ral shut his eyes and smiled. “Home.” His eyes snapped open. “Time?”