Maria was exhausted, but she also knew the end of the day’s ordeal was near. The sooner they got there, the sooner she could rest.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just don’t gotoofast. I’m still a lot slower than you are.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you behind,” he said, then turned and started off at a slow jog.
She fell into a steady pace behind him, watching his broad shoulders and sculpted ass as he moved in front of her. He wouldn’t leave her. Somehow, she was certain of it. More than that, he’d put his own freedom in jeopardy to save her. She didn’t know much about this man, but whatever his historymight have once been, one thing was certain. He would protect her as best he could, and without ulterior motive. On this strange alien world, he was the first, and only, man to do so. Somehow, Maria had found the most unlikely of protectors, and her life was about to take another drastic turn as a result.
CHAPTER FOUR
It sure as hell wasn’t the Ritz or Four Seasons, but after such a prolonged and intense flight from captivity, Maria thought the bed of tall grasses and leaves Zepharos had hastily woven for her to sit on was the damn near most comfortable thing she’d ever experienced. She downed another electrolyte gel and more water, filled from a convenient stream that Zepharos knew from experience was clean and safe to drink.
The alien watched her a moment to ensure she was adequately comfortable, then he began digging through his pack, pulling out several sealed containers.
“What’s that?”
“Dinner,” he replied, opening one of the hand-sized containers and passing it to her. “It is cold, but I thought you would appreciate proper food given the effort your escape would require.”
“So you got takeout for me?”
“Yes. Why are you laughing?”
“I’m not laughingatyou. It’s just so, I don’t know,unexpected, I guess.”
“You need to eat and replenish your energy, it’s as simple as that.”
“Yeah, sure. But I figured we’d make a fire, cook some roast lizard or something. You know. Survivalist stuff.”
“We will still need to forage as we travel and use this up. But there will be no fires,” he said politely but firmly. “Not for days. That will get us spotted at night faster than any scan could find us. So please, don’t even think of?—”
“Okay, okay. I get it. Jeez,” she replied, her laughter reduced to a faint chuckle as she inhaled her food.
Satisfied she was enjoying her meal, he left Maria alone a short while to make a quick survey of their perimeter. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but the light was certainly dim. It was no matter to him. He ran with fluid grace, darting through the trees as if he had night vision. Of course, the runes they all had supposedly gave them varying abilities, some of which sounded an awful lot like superpowers, but unlike other people, Maria hadn’t felt a single thing. She was just as normal as always.
Except being the novelty of a human female on a planet that had until recently never even heard of them, naturally. In that way she stood out like a sore thumb. Lucky for them, there was nobody around for miles.
Zepharos returned in short order, his relaxed body language making it clear they were safe before he even spoke.
“All good,” he said, sitting down beside Maria. “The rocks will provide us good wind cover, and the natural minerals in this entire region make scanning tech very erratic and unreliable.”
“I thought you said they wouldn’t be coming for us this soon.”
“They shouldn’t be. But it would be foolish to assume the best possible scenario while ignoring the worst one. Or as one of your kin from Earth says, ‘Hope for the best; expect the worst; prepare for both.’”
“Sounds like I’d like him.”
“Her. There are two human females in our village, actually.”
“How’d they wind up there? I thought you said you guys weren’t into technology. I’d think a crashed ship still falls into that category.”
He chuckled. “Fair point. But Darla was brought to us under the care of a Nimenni general. A man named Heydar. You likely met him aboard the Raxxian ship. A large man with golden tan skin. He would have applied the rune behind your ear.”
“The surly guy who gave me that tattoo?”
“That’s the one. He and Darla live with us now that they are bonded, at least until he finds his comrades.”
“Wait, you said bonded. How is that possible?”
“The Infala ties them,” he replied, a grim look pulling at his forced smile.
