Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 by Victoria Aveline (books to read for teens TXT) 📕

in view. She reached her still-burning torch and was about to bolt, when a deep groan emanated from the lump.

Lily sat frozen, her pulse racing and her breathing labored. It’d sounded like a person, a man. She was torn. Her limbs itched with adrenaline, urging her to flee, but she held her ground. On the one hand, she hadn’t seen another person since Alex, and she desperately wanted help for her. On the other, she had no way of knowing if this…thing…was even a man at all. And even if it were, was she in more danger with him than she was on her own?

Am I so miserable that I don’t even care anymore?

Lily shut down the thought as soon as it came to her. She might no longer care about her own well-being, but she still needed to discover evidence of Alex, whatever that may be. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself knowing she hadn’t done everything she could to find her friend.

The shape in front of her remained still. Oh, shit. Did it die? She hurried forward.

As she got close, she slowed and examined the creature. Raising her torch, she made out the shape of a large, muscled back, clad in a black long-sleeved shirt and pants. Lily swallowed. Definitely a man. The shallow rise and fall of his back confirmed he was still breathing, at least.

Maybe he’d come from a nearby village and could lead her there. She eyed his broad shoulders. But how had he gotten here? He didn’t have wings. One of the men who’d held her captive in the bunker had had wings. Lily shuddered, renewed caution tempering her excitement at seeing another person.

She swept the ground with her hand and found a small rock. She lobbed it at his back and held her breath. Nothing. Next, she moved in with a long stick and prodded. He remained motionless.

This is just ridiculous. The one person who might have answers as to where Alex could’ve gone might be slowly dying because she was too scared to get close. Lily took a deep breath, gathering her courage, and inched toward the man. She knelt next to his large figure and, with a heave, rolled him to his back. He released another low groan of pain but remained otherwise unmoving. The soft glow from the torch illuminated his features, and she lost her breath. He was an alien, indisputably, but he wasn’t like any of the aliens she’d already seen.

His skin was a deep navy blue but flickered to a lighter green in some areas where small cuts and scratches appeared. His ears were long and pointed, with faint punctures as though he usually wore earrings. Lily tilted her head and took in his defined square jaw, straight regal nose and high cheekbones. Had she ever seen such a perfectly sculpted face? His dark brows were furrowed upward in worry, and his full lips twitched. Her hands ached to smooth his brow.

And his scent… His clothes smelled of crisp air and nutty wood, but there was an underlying smell she couldn’t quite place. The more she tried to identify it, the further away she got. Like chasing the memory of a dream.

She shook her head. Get a hold of yourself.

Scanning the rest of his body, Lily searched for injuries. When he continued to lay still, she became bolder in her search. His shoulder had been dislocated, likely during that fall. She winced in sympathy. It was going to hurt like a son of a bitch to pop it back into place. Venturing lower, she found the side of his shirt was damp. Upon lifting it, a deep gash in his hip came into view. Blood, red like hers, oozed out of a pale-green wound. The flow was slow enough that she didn’t believe he was in danger of bleeding out anytime soon.

Lily sat back on her heels. She needed to make a decision. Either leave him here and take off in the night, or drag him back to camp and help him.

What if he’s one of the men who likes locking up women? her mind prodded.

“What if he’s not?” she shot back in a whisper. Suddenly she recalled Alex’s comment about the aliens caging them as food, and her stomach turned.

Wedging her torch in the dirt near his head, she crawled over the man and carefully lifted his top lip. His canines were sharp, more like fangs. All the blood seemed to rush to her head, and her ears buzzed. Maybe they were raising humans as a delicacy for alien consumption. Only predators had teeth like that.

A rattling growl rumbled through his chest. All of her breath seemed to catch in her chest as her gaze shot up and met glowing green eyes. Eyes that were alert and angry and very much focused on her. Before she could dash away, he gripped her hand, still hovering over his mouth, and flipped her onto her back. He brought her other wrist above her head and loomed over her.

His sharp fangs were bared, glinting in the firelight. Lily bucked, attempting to force his center of gravity forward and throw him off balance, but he was too heavy and her energy was just too depleted to put enough power into any of the moves she knew.

“Where am I?” he rasped, his eyes growing unfocused.

“Get off me, and I’ll tell you,” she shrieked, writhing under him with every ounce of strength she had left.

A pained expression crossed his face, and he winced. He released her and raised his torso. Her hips were still trapped under his massive thighs, but her hands were now free. She stretched toward the spot she’d left her torch. As she swept her hands around blindly, she kept her eyes trained on the alien above her. He rubbed at his dislocated shoulder, then