"They're here for the savioress, I'm sure of it," said Bry as they descended back into the compound. "Get her somewhere safe, take extra soldiers if you need them. I'm going to assemble a few squads to combat those creatures." He planted a kiss on Arinda's cheek before rushing off.

Faish led them a long way through the halls, although they didn't descend any lower into the building. "There is no time to collect a team to travel with you. Kofi, I want you to take Roxanne to Lindka. I doubt the sariun will care enough to pursuit if a small ship leaves. If they do, don't do anything rash, but do whatever you must to keep her safe. I don't need to tell you how vital it is to ensure her wellbeing."

"Yes, sovereign." Kofi dipped his head, not slowing his pace.

"Wait, you'll just send the two of us off?" Rocki's head was spinning almost as fast as her heart was racing. "What if they follow us? What's the plan then?"

"I'll prepare your ship," said Arinda, dashing ahead.

Faish didn't answer Rocki's question until they stopped in front of a stairwell. "They won't follow you. They'll assume we'll hide you in the center of the compound like they would. Kofi will take care of you. Stay safe, savioress; all valicara are depending on you." He bowed his head deeply, making Rocki shuddered at the gravity, then glanced up at nodded at Kofi.

The blond valicaran grabbed her arm and snatched her away, up the stairs, before Rocki could think of anything to say to Faish. She winced as the sunlight hit her eyes when Kofi slammed the trapdoor at the top open, but there wasn't time to let her eyes adjust as he pulled her across the flat roof.

The sounds of battle assaulted her ears—the sharp noise of metal, powerful blasts, the cries of men. Several ships were shooting rapidly at each other as valicara and sariun combatted face-to-face on the roof.

One sariun immediately ran towards Kofi, firing a blade from his wrist. Kofi dropped to avoid the projectile, then blasted him back with a burst of plasma. He leapt into the air to avoid more confrontation, wings beating powerfully. Rocki shouted as she was dragged up by only her arm. Kofi glanced down, eyes widening before he tossed her up into his arms. "Sorry!" Rocki tried not to move too much as he sailed across the roof, even though one of her wings was at an awkward angle and her arm throbbed from being jerked so hard.

Watch out for the—Hang on tight—Wing hurt—spear—Where are we—How are we going to—Fly faster—Don't die.

She flinched as a blade shot past them, barely missing Kofi's head. Her fists grasped his shirt, holding tightly as he swooped towards a particular ship. Her eyes followed a valicaran that was also flying. His hand was clutching his eye that was bleeding through his fingers, but he still charged back into battle with a spear, gutting a sariun.

Kofi landed near the ships, setting Rocki on the ground and barely gave her a moment to steady herself before they were dashing for the open door to his vessel.

Arinda glanced back at them from the pilot's seat. "It's almost ready."

"Hurry up," snapped Kofi. "The sariun already made it to the roof. I only pray they didn't recognize Rocki. Sit down." The last part was directed towards Rocki, who took the same seat she had on the journey there. As she buckled herself in, Kofi took Arinda's place, thanking her. "Now get back in the compound, and don't get hit!"

Around them, multiple other ships were taking to the sky. They were all smaller than Kofi's, and lighter. They didn't have to go far to join the battle, immediately firing plasma blasts at their enemies.

"Be careful," said Arinda before she ran off, closing the ship's ramp behind her.

Kofi waited until she disappeared safely under a trap door before launching. He carefully eased the ship higher above the roof, then began moving forward. A blade skimmed the windshield with a shrieking sound, leaving a light scratch on the glass.

"It was a stray," said Kofi dismissively after a quick glance around, increasing their speed and altitude. He searched the roof below more than he was watching the skies ahead, keeping an eye out for anyone trying to attack or follow.

Rocki's fingers dug into the armrests, her whole body tensing as they sped towards space. The cacophony of battle was replaced with the booming sound of air against the ship as it traversed farther and faster away from the planet, which didn't at all settle the headache she was experiencing.

Her stomach jolted, and even though her brain knew it wasn't the baby, she still clutched at her womb. Shh, please don't make me sick. Everything is going to be okay. We're away from the fighting now. Kofi is taking us somewhere safe.

When the ship was settled on its course, Kofi brought her back to the kitchen to sit. "Just the two of us again, blue eyes" he said with a grin. "It's almost like we were meant to be." Rocki rolled her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You look pale again. Is it the travel?"

"Some of it. I've also never seen a battle before—it was terrifying." She stared at the table, remembering the valicaran with his bleeding eye and the way his spear penetrated the sariun's stomach. She shivered.

"There weren't any wars on Earth?" Kofi said, cocking his head.

She moved to push her glasses up, but remembered too late she wasn't wearing them, and she poked herself in the nose. "There were, just not really in my time where I lived. I've never had to see anything like that before other than in movies."

"What are movies?"

She didn't feel like explaining. "Nothing. Why don't the valicara and sariun hold a peace conference? Why do you have to fight this war out? Wouldn't it be better to have it finished now instead of waiting for the prophecy?"

He shrugged. "The sariun aren't open to peace talks. They're a fierce species who like killing and winning. I heard they even kick out people who are too soft for their tastes."

She shivered. "They sound terrible." I hope Aley is all right.

"They are," Kofi confirmed. He stammered when she turned her wide blue eyes to him, fearing even more for her sister's life. "I-I mean, yes, they're terrible, but they won't do anything to harm a savioress. No one would."

Rocki tried but couldn't swallow the fear in her throat. She wanted to cry again but didn't dare in front of Kofi. "How far away is the seer?" Change the subject. Please stay on the subject change.

"Only an hour. Sheere isn't far from Kliktal. It might take some time to find Lindka though, she's always moving around." Kofi glanced off for a moment, clearly trying to think of something else to say. "Tell me about your life on Earth. I imagine it's vastly different from what it will be on Kliktal."

Rocki took a second to think. "I'm an author, so I spend most of my time writing. When I'm not doing that, I'm with my family or—" she caught herself, then sighed a little, "When my family is together, we watch movies or go surfing. My dad is a pro surfer, so we all know our way around the water pretty well."

He laughed. "I understand only about half of what you just said, but that's not important. You seem to be very devoted to your sister. Are all humans like that or is it just because of the prophecy affecting you two?"

She snorted a little. "A lot of human siblings are close to each other. Aley and I aren't special like that. We have a great connection, sure, but it has nothing to do with a prophecy. We've just always been together. It takes a long time to build a good friendship, and Aley and I have been working on it our whole lives. Do you not have siblings?"

"I do. Three. Two brothers and a sister. But none of us have much of a bond other than having the same parents. Valicara are scientists, logical thinkers—family is less important than our people as a whole."

"Oh." Rocki absently flexed her wings a little. "That makes sense, I guess. It would be better to sacrifice a few than many."

Kofi nodded. "Exactly. Although, that doesn't mean we don't fall in love. Obviously some savioresses are too pretty to avoid." He winked at her.

Her wings twitched and his smile widened. Why is he looking at me like that? Do my wings mean something to him? I guess they just make me more familiar. It's not like he actually likes me though, he's just a flirt. I don't need any sort of romance after Kahinu anyway.

"You didn't mention a partner," he remarked boldly, tilting his head just a touch.

She laughed breathily. "Ah, no." Burn it all, I just told him I was available! Stop being so flustered! "And I'm not looking for one either. Obviously, this isn't a great time for me to be invested in someone anyway." Besides, no investment, no betrayal, no hurt. It's that simple. The image of a smiling Hawaiian man with short black hair and mischievous eyes popped into her brain, but she banished it immediately.

"You know, I'm not even sure how old you are," said Kofi.

"Twenty-five. And I suppose you're over a hundred?"

He laughed. "I'm wounded. I'm not nearly that old. In fact, I'm the same age as you, twenty-five."

She nodded absently, thoughts beginning to drift. How long do valicara live? Is it the same age range as humans? What about sariun?

"You know..." Kofi started again after a moment of silence. "It's just the two of us here. If we imagined hard enough, we could pretend it was a date."

If Rocki had been drinking water, she would have spit it out in surprise. Instead, she settled for a set of raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You and me, on a date. It would be fun." He grinned.

"I don't think so."

"You don't think it would be fun?"

"I don't think it's going to happen. I just said I wasn't looking for anything."

He shrugged. "In my experience, what women say is radically different from what they mean."

Now only one eyebrow raised. "So, you have experience with women?"

"Of course."

"A lot of women?"

"Depends on how you look at it."

She stood, planting her hands on the table for a moment. "Like I said, I don't think that's going to happen." She spun and headed towards the hall door.

"Saying you think still leaves space for a possibility!" Kofi called after her.

She groaned.