He’s got a point, and Nevada finally nods in agreement.
Terex moves forward. “We will need to walk to where we have tethered our mishua,” he says, and I hope to God he’s talking about some kind of horse.
We all nod, and I find myself fighting back tears at the thought of more walking.
It’s okay, Ellie. Just get through the next bit, and you’ll either get to sleep, or you’ll be dinner. Either way, this nightmare will be over.
Terex walks close to me as we slowly shuffle out of the clearing and back the way we came. We’re in bad shape, too exhausted and stunned to talk. I feel like someone has punched me in the gut at the thought of leaving with the other women missing, but the warriors are right—we’re all hurt, and none of us have any experience on this planet.
I’m light-headed and feel like I could puke. I don’t know if it’s the pain from my elbow or the dehydration, but all I want to do is curl up next to one of these huge, creepy white trees and sleep. Maybe I’ll wake up to find that this was all a nightmare.
I stumble over a tree root, and fireworks explode in front of my eyes as the movement jostles my arm. It’s weirdly numb and achy if I keep it still, but if I move it, the pain almost drives me to my knees. I can’t imagine how much Zoey’s hurting right now.
“Female,” a deep voice intones, and I turn. Terex gestures for me to turn back around, and I comply, body tense as he unties and reties my sling. His hands are cool and assured as they brush my neck, and he soon has the sling in a tighter, more supportive position.
“Thank you.”
It’s a long walk, and I have a lot of time to think. Instead of brooding about the things I can’t control, I spend my time wisely checking out the giant warrior who saved us.
Everything about him speaks of self-assured confidence—from his piercing gaze to his wide shoulders and the way he holds his head high as he scans our surroundings. The two other warriors seem to defer to him, but he still listens to what they have to say. He’s obviously tense, and all three of them are on high alert in case more Voildi appear. But he still noticed I was in pain and took the time to attempt to ease it by adjusting my sling.
I catch Vivian running her eyes over his huge body and immediately flick my gaze away. So that’s how it’ll be.
Finally, we enter another clearing, and all of us women stop in shock as we take in our rides.
“What the hell are they?” Nevada murmurs.
“Our mishua,” Deraz says, looking confused. “Have you never seen one before?”
“We’re not exactly from around here,” I mutter, and Alexis laughs.
The only thing these strange beasts have in common with horses is that they can both be ridden. At least I assume so, since all four of them have some sort of saddles on them. Oh, and just like horses, they have four legs.
But that’s where the similarities end. The mishua are dark green, with thick scales covering their bodies and heads that remind me of a lizard or even a dinosaur. Their huge teeth gleam in the sunlight, and their heads are covered in thick horns that rise from their snouts, becoming even bigger as they make their way up to the top of their heads.
“They’re dino-horses,” Nevada says in a low voice.
She’s not wrong. With their red eyes and scaly skin, they look a little like something out of Jurassic Park. The thought of getting near them makes me want to turn around and take my chances with the Voildi.
“Don’t be afraid, female,” Terex says, and I turn to find him studying me. “We will not allow them to hurt you.”
“You know, the more comforting thing to say would be, ‘They won’t hurt you,’” Alexis mutters.
Terex shrugs. Then the warriors all reach into the leather bags attached to their dino-horses and pull out water skins.
They hand them to us, and I almost cry in relief. I take a gulp and then force myself to take small sips, worried that it’ll come back up. Once we’ve handed the water back, Terex gestures for us to step forward.
“We have four mishua, as we were hoping to bring back meat for the tribe. Which of you would feel the most comfortable riding alone? We will keep it tethered to one of our mishua, and you will be perfectly safe.”
Unsurprisingly, Nevada volunteers. We all watch as Terex leads her to the beast’s head, introducing her.
“This is Leai,” he says. “Offer your hand, and we will see if she accepts you.”
We all hold our breaths as Nevada gives the mishua a look that clearly says, Don’t fuck with me. She holds out her hand, and Leai snorts, bumping it with her huge nose.
“She wants you to pet her,” Terex says, the ghost of a smile crossing his face. I attempt to ignore the spark of jealousy deep in my chest and frown, turning my attention back to the other mishua.
I’ve never had such a strong reaction to a man in my life. Sure, I’ve had crushes, and none of them have ended particularly well. Maybe it’s just the way that my brain is processing the shock of everything that has happened to me. It’s looking for some distraction to keep me sane.
A hand on my good arm jolts me from my thoughts, and I realize I’m staring into space. I’m so tired that I almost fell asleep with my eyes open.
I smile at Deraz, and he grins back. He’s also incredibly handsome, although he doesn’t make me almost trip over myself with nerves the way Terex does. That’s a good thing though.
Deraz leads me to his mishua, and I can’t help it—I freeze. Nevada’s already on her beast, calmly waiting while she strokes Leai’s neck.
Asroz is lifting Alexis onto another mishua, and I take a tiny step forward, attempting to find some courage.
“She will ride with me.”
I turn and meet Terex’s eyes. “Oh, it’s okay,” I say. “This mishua is fine.”
I take another tiny step forward and freeze again as the mishua eyes me. Deraz gives me a look that says I’m crazy for arguing with Terex and gestures for Vivian to step forward instead.
She shoots me a killing look, and I sigh, turning back to Terex.
He watches me out of those odd-colored eyes and points toward his mishua. “Her name is Kini.”
I tremble at the thought of getting closer to the mishua. She’s even bigger than the others, and she watches me out of one red eye as Terex moves up behind me.
“Shh,” he says. “Your fear will startle her. Mishua are very sensitive, and if you are afraid, you will make her afraid too. A frightened mishua is a dangerous mishua.”
“Okay.” I blow out a breath. Terex talks me through it, his huge body behind mine, his voice a rumble in my ear. He leans forward, taking my hand in his and offering it to the mishua. I’m trembling like a leaf, but I allow it, and Kini snorts at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the dino-horse was mocking me.
She allows me to pet her, and her eyelids slide to half-mast as I stroke her skin. She’s scaly, not unlike a lizard, but she’s also warm, and she has the weirdest fur along the bottom of her legs—fluffy and lush. Exactly how did these strange creatures evolve?
I squeak as Terex suddenly lifts me like I weigh nothing. Before I can come to terms with my change in height, I’m planted in the saddle, and he swings his body up behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist.