He stared at the delicate swirls on her wrist, then he put his hand in hers.
She pulled him down beside her. “We’re safe here. We’ll wait it out.”
He gave a tense nod.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. No pressure. Just a quiet support he’d never had before.
He pulled in a breath. “I was looking for the ruins of al-Hamra on Sha’ra. I had a local guide and a small team ofporters.” His chin dropped to his chest. “I was so damn cocky. Building a name for myself. A few of the boys were barely in their teens. So excited to be on an adventure with a treasure hunter.” He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging some sand. “It came out of nowhere.” God, that horrible sound. “We didn’t have a chance to find shelter. I buried myself in the sand as much as I could. I yelled for the others to do the same, but in seconds, I couldn’t see them anymore.”
She wound her fingers into his.
“It took two days for the storm to clear.” His chest rose and fell. Two days of hell that had felt like years. He’d heard the boys screaming, had tried to reach them. “I was the only one who survived. Dehydrated, with some sand scouring. But the boys…” All that had been left was bloody bones. “They died, and I survived.”
“You blame yourself.”
“I was the expedition leader. I wanted to push on.” He’d taken stupid, selfish risks. Just like his father. “It’s my fault they died.”
“You were with a local guide and people who knew the planet. They should have warned you.” Her fingers curled around his biceps. “You’re good at what you do, Dathan, but no one’s perfect. You need to give yourself a break.”
The storm was loud in his ears. “I should have bloody well learned from my mistake. You could have died out there.” He imagined her smooth skin scoured away and shuddered.
“We’re okay,” she said again.
He stared hard at the back wall. On Institute digs, she’d have a security team keeping her safe. With him, she had nothing. She didn’t belong on a treasure hunt.
As he continued to stare at the wall, he frowned. A patch of rock was darker than the rest and rectangular in shape.
He pushed to his feet.
Striding to the far wall, he thumped a fist against the stone. The clang of metal rang out. A piece of metal was skillfully painted to blend with the rock.
“What is it?” Eos moved closer.
“Something…” All his attention was on the wall. His instincts were screaming. He gripped the metal and yanked.
It didn’t budge.
He tried again and it shifted with a small groan. She edged in beside him to help.
The metal finally gave way?—
Exposing a neat doorway leading into a yawning black cave.
“Amazing,” she breathed.
Dathan leaned into the opening. The darkness was thick and unforgiving. He flicked on his flashlight and shined it around.
The light gleamed off golden metal.
“Follow me.” He entered, Eos close beside him.
Narrow shelves lined the walls and on the first one he saw all kinds of artifacts lined up like space marines. Some made of silver, gold, others of materials he didn’t recognize.
“Holy Suva.” She raised a hand to a necklace lying on the shelf. She stroked the golden surface.
