He found it twenty meters into the forest. A massive tree had fallen years ago, its root system creating a natural cave. Brevan set me down inside, then immediately pulled off his soaked jacket.
“The Regalia—” I started.
“Is waterproof.” He showed me the sealed inner pocket before setting the jacket aside. “Skin to skin is the fastest way to share heat.”
He pulled me against his chest. His skin was incredibly warm, almost fever-hot.
“Better?” he asked after a moment.
“Getting there.” The violent shivering was easing. “How long can we stay?”
“Not long. Maybe an hour. They'll expand their search pattern.”
I pressed closer to his warmth. “Brevan?”
“Yeah?”
“You could have left me. Moved faster alone. Gotten the Regalia to safety.”
His arms tightened around me. “No, I couldn't have.”
“The mission?—”
“The mission is meaningless without you.” His voice was rough. “I realized that on the bridge. When you jumped. When you chose me over him.”
“I chose freedom.”
“You chose to trust me with your freedom. That's more than I had any right to expect.”
Voices in the distance. Getting closer.
“They're sweeping this sector,” he said. “We need to move.”
We dressed in our wet clothes. Miserable but necessary. He lifted me again.
“I hate this,” I said. “Being helpless.”
“You're not helpless. You're injured and adapting.” He started moving again, deeper into the forest. “There's a difference between needing help and being helpless.”
He ran for another hour. Changing directions whenever Flinx warned of patrols. Using water to break our trail. Doubling back to confuse tracking.
Finally, he stopped in another cave. This one deeper, more protected.
“We'll rest here,” he said, setting me down. “They've pulled back to regroup. We have maybe two hours before they resume.”
Two hours. It felt like a lifetime.
I looked at him. Really looked. Gray skin marked with gold traceries. Red eyes that had gone from cold assessment to something warmer. He'd been carrying me for over an hour through hostile terrain, and he wasn't even breathing hard.
“What?” he asked.
“You really could carry me for days.”
“Yes.”
“That should terrify me. That kind of strength.”
“Does it?”
