The Krinar Captive

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Swearing under his breath, Zaron jumped into the river. Had he been human, the powerful current would’ve instantly carried him away. As it was, he had to use all of his strength to swim across the foaming water. Several times his kicking legs struck underwater rocks, but he ignored the pain. Bruises were nothing to those of his kind; by the time he reached the boulders ahead, the injuries would already be healed.

Finally, he was there, clambering up onto the slippery rocks and crouching beside the girl lying there. She was alive; he could hear her weak, erratic heartbeat and the gurgling sounds of her breathing.

She was alive, but judging by her injuries, she wouldn’t be much longer.

Her lower body was twisted at a strange angle, and her slender limbs were broken in several places, with bone fragments protruding from torn, pale flesh. Half of her face was covered with blood, the dark red liquid oozing sullenly from a deep gash in the side of her skull. Her short-sleeved shirt hid most of the damage to her torso, but Zaron suspected she was hemorrhaging internally, her ribcage likely shattered by her fall.

His stomach tightening with a mixture of pity and strange despair, Zaron stared at the broken human. She was young and, from what he could see, quite pretty. Long pale blond hair, clear skin, a slim, shapely build… If she hadn’t been on the verge of death, he might’ve been attracted to her.

But she was as good as dead. At best, she had a few more minutes to live. With such extensive injuries, it was surprising that her heart was beating at all. Humans were fragile creatures, easily hurt and slow to heal. He doubted human doctors would be able to fix her, even if they managed to get here in time. Krinar medicine could save her, of course, but Zaron didn’t have anything on him, and the girl was unlikely to survive the trip to his house.

Lifting his hand, he lightly touched the uninjured side of her face, running his fingers along her jawline. Her skin was soft and smooth, like that of a baby. A sharp pang of regret pierced his chest; under different circumstances, he would’ve very much enjoyed her.

Suddenly, a small broken sound escaped her throat, startling Zaron. And then, much to his shock, her eyes opened.

Framed by thick brown lashes, they were a bright blue-green and strikingly beautiful.

For a moment, she seemed disoriented, those sea-colored eyes clouded with pain, but then her gaze sharpened, focusing on his face.

She knew she was about to die. Zaron could see it on her face. She knew, and she was fighting it with every cell of her being.

Her mouth moved, her lips opening in a wordless plea, and he knew what he had to do.

Reaching for the girl, Zaron gently picked her up, cradling her against his chest.

It was almost certain she would not survive the trip, but he couldn’t let her go like this.

Nobody who clung to life so fiercely should have to die without a fight.

The trip seemed to take forever, though Zaron ran as fast as he could, taking care not to jostle the girl too much. The hardest part had been the river; battling the current with one hand while holding the girl above the water with another had been challenging even for him.

She was unconscious again. He could hear the harsh rattling in her lungs, and he knew she wouldn’t last much longer. Her face was deathly pale, her skin cold and clammy from the river.

Finally, they were there.

Carrying her into his dwelling, Zaron carefully laid her on his bed. A sharp voice command and one of the walls opened, allowing jansha—a small, tubular healing device—to float toward him. Grabbing it from mid-air, Zaron placed it on the bed before starting to undress the girl. She wasn’t wearing much—just a T-shirt and cut-off jeans—and he made short work of her clothing, his chest tightening at the sight of protruding bones and torn flesh.

Picking up the device, he ran it over her nude body, letting it diagnose her injuries. As he had suspected, they were extensive. Aside from damage to her internal organs, she had a spinal cord injury. Even if she had managed to survive, she would’ve been paralyzed from the waist down.

There were other injuries as well. Broken bones, a gash on her skull, scrapes and bruises—those all seemed to be from her accident. However, there were signs of an earlier trauma as well. At some point, she’d broken her wrist, and there was scar tissue on her leg from some other mishap. She’d also been subjected to primitive human dental care, with some of her teeth hollowed out and patched up with non-organic filling.

Zaron hesitated only for a moment before enabling jansha’s complete healing mode. If he had more time and her injuries weren’t so severe, he could’ve calibrated the device to focus on specific wounds. But as it was, a full-body procedure was her best chance at survival.

The device vibrated for a second, releasing the healing nanocytes, and Zaron watched as the girl’s damaged flesh began to knit together, each of her cells regenerating from within.