“Before Tarsus mobilizes ground forces? Maybe an hour. Maybe less.”
We scrambled out of the smoking wreckage of the speeder, coughing in the dust. She walked to the entrance of the cave, looked out into the darkness, and threw the collar as hard as she could. It sailed into the black and was gone.
She came back, rubbing the raw skin on her neck.
“Flinx,” she said. “Find us somewhere to hide.”
CARYS
Flinx found the ruins first.
he sent, his voice stronger now.
We gathered what supplies we could from the speeder. Emergency kit. Water. Medical supplies. Two protein bars. Not enough for extended survival, but enough for tonight.
Then we headed deeper into the caves.
The ruins were older than I’d expected. Stone blocks fitted together without mortar. Chambers carved into the cave walls.
Brevan found a defensible chamber about fifty meters in. High ceiling. Single entrance. Clear sightlines.
I set down the emergency supplies. My hands were shaking. Not fear. Just adrenaline finally wearing off. The crash after hours of sustained crisis.
I sat down on one of the stone blocks. My legs didn’t want to hold me anymore.
“You’re hurt,” Brevan said.
“Just scraped. From the maintenance shafts.” My dress was torn, my palms and knees raw.
He moved closer. Knelt in front of me. He retrieved the medical kit. Found antiseptic. Started working on my hands. His touch was careful. Professional. But I could feel the heat of his skin against mine.
“You saved my life,” I said. “In the office. You could have stayed hidden.”
“I wasn’t going to let him kill you.”
“Why not? The mission was complete. You had what you came for.”
His hands paused. He looked up at me. Red eyes meeting mine. “Because you’re not expendable. You’re not an asset or a tool or property. You’re a person who deserves better than being murdered by a sadist to prove a point.”
Something in my chest tightened. Not pain. Something else.
“Tarsus knew,” I said. “About everything. The escape plan. Renna. You. All of it.”
“I know.”
“He was testing me. Testing us. And I failed.”
“You didn’t fail.” Brevan finished cleaning my hands. Started wrapping them in gauze. “You chose to leave. You chose to fight. That terrified him.”
“I don’t feel like I won. I feel like I barely survived.”
“That’s what winning looks like sometimes.”
He moved to the scrape on my arm. The one I’d gotten squeezing through the blast doors. His fingers brushed my shoulder as he worked. The touch sent heat through me. Not the Vinduthi saliva effect. Just attraction. Pure and simple.
“Brevan.”
He looked up.
