Urkot drew more silk strand from his spinnerets. “We can look for it.”
He passed the rope to Callie, and they bound themselves to one another, Urkot tying it securely across his abdomen. Then he strode to the base of a large tree and looked up.
Though he’d not spent nearly as long in the Tangle as Ketahn or Telok, Urkot had climbed many, many trees in his time outside Takarahl. But none had seemed quite so large and imposing as this one. He knew it was weariness weighing down his limbs, knew it was exhaustion teasing every side of his mind.
A little farther, and we can rest.
Callie slipped her arms around him, and Urkot gently patted them with his lower hand. “Hold tight, female.”
“Not letting go.”
If he had ever doubted the power of words, those doubts were laid to rest in that moment. Cally’s reply burrowed into his heart, flooded his chest with warmth, and lent him strength when so little of his own remained.
“And I will never let you go, my heartsthread,” Urkot rumbled.
Sinking his claws into the bark, he climbed.
He found a wide branch midway up the tree and hauled himself onto it. Untying the rope, he helped Callie down with extreme care. After guiding her in front of him, he sank down next to the trunk and sat her upon his folded forelegs. She leaned back against him, and he wound his arms around her, holding her close as his claspers curled around her hips.
He did not like the way her body continued shivering.
Crooning, he rubbed his palm up and down her arms.
“It’s strange being so high up again after being underground for so long,” Callie said.
Urkot glanced around; the shadows were deep, the sky almost fully dark, but he could see the leaves swaying in thebreeze, could smell everything around him, so earthy and alive. “Strange but good. Much good, to be here with you.”
“Much good.” She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer. For a time, she was quiet, and the sounds of insects and rustling leaves filled the silence as the night deepened around them.
“Do you think they’ll find us?” Callie asked.
“Why hunt us? We gave food to them.”
“Huh? We didn’t give them— Oh. Ugh.” She weakly swatted his forearm. “Not funny, Urkot.”
He chittered, but his humor was fleeting. He tightened his lower arm around her and nuzzled her hair. “I do not know if they will come, or how far. But I will keep watch.”
Over time, her body stopped shivering, and she relaxed. The sounds of the night created a song unique to the Tangle. Below, plants and mushrooms began to glow as the moons rose and the stars sparkled into view through gaps in the canopy.
Urkot turned his gaze skyward, to a large break in the boughs above. So many tiny dots of light, glittering like countless crystals viewed from afar, scattered against splotches of subtle blues, purples, and blacks. It was still strange to him to spend so much time beneath the open sky. When he’d first ventured out of Takarahl to fight the thornskulls in Zurvashi’s war, he’d gazed at the stars every night, wondering what they were, wondering if one could reach them somehow.
Knowing that Callie’s kind had traveled from those very stars only made them more wondrous to him.
“Do you know which is your world, Callie?”
“Hmm?” she asked sleepily.
“The stars.”
She turned her face toward the gap in the boughs, head lolling upon him. “They’re different here than they were on Earth. Where I’m from, you could barely see them at nightbecause of all the artificial light. They’re prettier here. But my world…it’s not up there.”
Urkot cocked his head, mandibles twitching. “What do you mean? You are from the stars, yes?”
“I am. But my world is no longer out there. My world is here. With you.” She tipped her head back and turned her face toward him, pressing a light kiss to his jaw. “You are my world, Urkot.”
He trilled, shifting his head to brush his lips across hers. “Ah, my heartsthread. My world will never be dark as long as you are in it.”
CHAPTER 29
