Samantha's POV
Adrian's pale and grasping side shocked me out of the darkness. My breath grabbed in my throat, and for a moment everything around me disappeared—the tension, the sound of footfall, even the threat of Jared's soldiers moving in. I could only focus on Adrian's agonizing contraction of his face and the blood smearing over his shirt.
Shaking hands, I rushed forward to grab for his arm. "Adrian, you're hurt," I said, voice strangled with compassion.
He endeavored to wave me off, his usual assertiveness intact even in the clear anguish. "I'm fine," he responded, but his grimace suggested otherwise.
"No, you're not," I answered, glancing fast at Lucas, who had followed closely. "We have to get him off this planet."
Lucas nodded, his face austere as he searched the parking ar
