“Mara?” he called softly.
No answer.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
Something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Chapter 39
Mara
There was absolutely no way she was going to relieve herself inside the tent with Vaelor lying right there. Even if he was asleep. Even if he insisted, he wouldn’t notice. It would be like a couple using the bathroom with the door open, something she had never understood and never would. She liked her privacy, even at the end of the world. Even in the middle of a frozen death-trap planet.
So, she slipped out of the tent as quietly as she could, hugging her arms around herself as the cold slapped her in the face. She reached for her biosuit, glad that it was warm and dry. She put it on.
The storm had eased, but the air still carried a sharp bite that made her breath puff out in white clouds. The fire Vaelor had built crackled softly behind her, casting a warm glow over the clearing. Beyond that circle of light, the ice forest stretched into darkness—towering crystalline trees that glittered like glass spears under the moonlight.
She found a boulder a short distance away and hurried, because the cold was vicious and she had no desire to freeze her ass off. Literally.
Once she was done, she used sanitizer to clean up, shivering as the wind cut through her thin underlayer. She longed—achingly—for a hot bubble bath. A real one. With steam and scented soap and a door she could lock. When this was all over, she was going to soak until her skin pruned.
She turned back toward the tent, eager to crawl into the warm bedding beside Vaelor. Her boots crunched softly over the snow-crusted ground. The fire’s glow was a welcome beacon.
Then she heard it.
A crunch of ice behind her.
She froze.
Her heart thudded once—hard—before instinct screamed at her to run. She opened her mouth to call out to Vaelor, but she never got the chance.
Something slammed into the back of her head.
Pain exploded. The world spun. The firelight blurred into streaks of orange and blue.
Then darkness swallowed her whole.
When she woke, she was lying on the cold ground, her cheek pressed against rough ice. Her head throbbed, a deep, pulsing ache that made her stomach roll. Her hands were tied in front of her, wrists burning where the rope bit into her skin. Her mouth was dry. Her vision swam.
She blinked until the world steadied.
Blaine stood a few feet away, his back to her, shoulders tense. He was breathing hard, like he’d been pacing. Or working himself up to something.
Dugan was nowhere in sight.
Neither was Vaelor.
Panic fluttered in her chest, but she forced herself to stay still. Maybe if she pretended to still be unconscious, she could—
“Stop pretending,” Blaine said without turning. “I know you’re awake.”
His voice was cold. Hard. Stripped of the easygoing charm he’d always used around her. It sent a chill down her spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.
She pushed herself upright, scooting until she could sit. Her head throbbed at the movement. She glared at him—the man she had once thought was her friend.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
