My heart raced as the life pod banged within the confines of its nest hold in the stasis and evac chamber. We had taken too many hits despite Ragal’s expert flight maneuvering. Our defensive shields weren’t fully activated when the first strike hit the ship. The damage slowed us down and left us vulnerable to the rapid succession of further hits.

In the moments afterward, I did what I could to get us within Dragselia’s atmosphere. I felt the magnetic bindings that held the pod in place break free, and the pod rolled around, jolting Denise and me despite the righting mechanism of the internal chamber of the life pod.

There was blood on my chest from where Denise had hit her head on the table. She clung to me, but she didn’t seem responsive to anything I said.

I felt intensely responsible for her. Somewhere between pulling her out of that box, half-suffocated, and that kiss, I realized I had started to care for her. I had wanted her, surely—the attraction had been instant—but I realized it was more than that.

Of course, all of that was for naught if we didn’t make planet-fall before the ship broke apart. I closed my eyes and held her against me, wondering whether, of all the times I had come within a hair’s breadth of death, this would be the time I didn’t walk away.

The ship followed a course of maneuvers I had hastily programmed in before scrambling toward the stasis chamber. I had done my best to randomize the flight path and make their pursuit as difficult as possible, but I wasn’t sure it would be enough.

Suddenly, I heard a loud banging as a big chunk of the wall was ripped open, creating suction from the vast vacuum of the space beyond. Our pod was pulled toward the break in the seal, but we were just large enough that we weren’t ripped through immediately. Instead, the pressure pulled at the pod, slowly sucking us out.

Through the walls of the pod, I could see us approaching the blue layers of Dragselia’s atmosphere. We were in a race against the infinite powers of space. Just when I felt the pod begin to slip through, we were hit again with another blast from the Starfleet, sending the ship hurtling faster toward the planet.

The full wall of the stasis and evac chamber came apart, sending all of our pods falling just within the safety of Dragselia’s atmospheric pull. We dropped toward the green and gray surface, a shower of golden life pods, Dragselia’s exiled sons raining down on her.

The ship dropped faster, its greater weight increasing the gravitational pull. The pods and the ship alike were engulfed in flames from the speed of our descent. I watched as the ship crashed into the side of one of the Elder Mountains, erupting in a tower of flame and smoke.

It seemed somehow fitting. The Elder Mountains were home to the lava flow from which all life on Dragselia was said to have sprung. As such, when a king died, he was returned to the lava to be sent home to the fire gods.

I tightened my arms around Denise, cradling her in what little protection my body could offer as I braced for a similarly explosive impact as we neared. Our pod made a strange hissing sound, like gas leaking, and it almost felt like we slowed, just slightly. Then we struck, and everything went black as the impact knocked me unconscious.

“Pavar! Are you alive?” I opened my eyes to the sight of Zaruv looming over me.

“Well, I certainly hope that when I die, I’m not still hounded by you,” I grumbled.

My body felt rattled but intact, and I realized Denise was still in my arms. As I began to stir, she opened her eyes, looking woozy and bruised.

I stood, lifting her with me, and scanned the area. Our pods had fallen in a valley at the base of the foothills of the Elder Mountains. To the east of those, I knew, was Vahakun, the glittering capital of Dragselia. Somehow, we had all landed close together.

Everyone made their way to the center of the debris, some limping, some bleeding from minor injuries.

I asked aloud, “What happened? How did our pods stay so intact?”

“Tasha and I made some modifications to the pods,” Ragal said, his voice raspy.

Tasha nodded. “We added a deceleration mechanism that discharged some of the protective chambers of gas, counteracting the gravitational pull and allowing us to minimize the force of the impact. It’s not much, but it was our first trial.”

I was impressed. “Well then, Tasha, I will never complain again about having to heft your lab equipment.”

She laughed, but Karun cut in, “All right, we need to get moving. Dragselian Base Command will be sending troops to search the wreckage for survivors. By my estimation, from where we have landed, they’ll be here within the hour. We need to be as far from here as we can by that time.”

“Where will we go?” Asked Laniope, fear coloring her voice. I felt for both her and Nurin. This was not the expedition I knew they had signed on for, though they were made aware of the risks from the beginning.

Zaruv shook his head. “I can’t believe Mulkaro would order us killed. He is rigid, but not to the point of committing fratricide.”

“We have not been gone long, but we don’t know who has his ear now. There may be Infernian influences behind this,” I responded. “I motion that we make our way to the royal palace at Vahakun and find out what’s going on.”

For the first time, her hearing apparently having returned, Denise spoke up. She looked dubious as she asked, “Do you really think we should head toward your brother, considering he just tried to have us killed?”

I nodded. “We came here to face this threat head on. We can’t shy away now that we’re finally back on Dragselian soil. I know the palace. I know its secrets, its passages. I’ll keep you safe. Besides, we’d be no better off trying to hide in a village. Unfortunately, as members of the royal household, we are easily recognized.”

The color along her left jaw was darkening slightly, and I saw a cut above her eyebrow, likely the source of the blood I had detected before. The air of early morning was already warm and balmy, but she was shivering with adrenaline.

I put an arm around her anyway, offering whatever calm I could, inwardly grateful and relieved to still have arms on my body, unlike the last time we crashed.

Zaruv agreed. “Pavar is right. We need to know why he ordered us shot down or if it was even him. It is possible the message was intercepted. If that is the case, Mulkaro needs our help now more than ever. If it is not, and there is some Infernian influencer giving council to Mulkaro, then perhaps we can find an ally in Brinae.”

Brinae, now Queen of Dragselia, was Mulkaro’s wife. She was the daughter of a noble house and was only a year older than me. Brinae, Ragal, and I had been close friends as children, and even before she had married Mulkaro, she had been like a sister to us.

Somewhat naïve and fragile, she inspired both a fierce protectiveness and doting concern from the usually caustic, aloof Mulkaro. If anyone could sway his opinion, it would be her, and I knew she would take our concerns seriously.

Andie looked to the forests that covered the foothills. “From what I recall of the terrain maps you created, Pavar, the capital is beyond those mountains, correct? Easy as it would be for you all to shift and fly us there, I’m guessing that’s not going to be the best idea tactically. I say our best bet is to take cover under that forest canopy and hike through there.”

Karun nodded. “The King’s Wood extends along the base of the mountains. We could feasibly use its protection for the majority of the route to Vahakun.”

Zaruv nodded. “It’s our best bet. Let’s move.”

Jennifer had run over to the life pod they’d emerged from and pulled out a small, square pack.

“Wait. First, I need to patch a few of us up. We’re slower and easier to track when we’re bleeding,” she said firmly, stalling any arguments.

Coming over to Denise, she applied a small bandage to her forehead, examined her ear, and gave her a small self-expanding compress for her jaw.

Denise winced slightly at the compress and Jennifer said, “I’m sorry, but it’ll help with the swelling. You got lucky though. It’s not broken,” she said as she hurried over to Nurin, whose hand was bleeding.

Denise relaxed against my arm that I was supporting her with. “Too bad. I would have preferred a different kind of lucky last night,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

I felt myself grinning. “I think I might have preferred that too.”

Jennifer made quick rounds, using what limited supplies she had, and we finally set off. Though we didn’t lose much time, the threat of being found loomed over our heads, driving us forward into the thicket of the overgrown King’s Wood.