Just as she reached the mountain’s entrance, just as a chilling wind whipped at her face, stinging her eyes, just as she saw the endless fog that looked like pillows stretched out before her, she remembered last night. Jaxor’s face flashed in her mind, firelight reflecting in his darkened eyes, staring at her like…like he wasseeingher for the first time.
She lost her nerve.
Her finger slipped off the button as fright replaced her sudden recklessness. She dropped fast, back inside the mountain, and she barely held back her shriek, diving for the clear block of a button, before the hovercraft’s descent froze in mid-air, only a few feet from the cave floor.
With her blood roaring in her ears, she gently slid her finger down the pad and the hovercraft came to a gentle landing. When she repeated the pattern on the silver pad…the engine died.
Silence deafened her. Almost in a state of disbelief—she’d actually done it—she jumped down from the hovercraft and walked back down the tunnel on trembling knees.
Erin wasn’t so foolish as to not prepare for a long journey. She had nothing but the tunic she’d stolen from Jaxor. She would need rations, clothes, fuel, maybe even weapons.
She went to the fire, one that Jaxor must’ve made before he left that morning. She stoked it, watching the embers glow. Adrenaline was making her giddy and excited, but also focused.
Her crazy plan might work. She just had a few kinks to work out—well, more than a few. And she needed to practice piloting the hovercraft more, even though shedreadedthe thought. It made a shiver run down her spine.
Jaxor returned a short while later and her greedy eyes drank him in as if parched. She ignored the relief she felt when she saw him—that was a part of her that she couldn’t turn off even if she tried.
Instead, she cleared her throat—and hopefully the longing with it—and asked, “Where did you go?”
Inwardly, she cringed. She didn’t mean to sound like she was keeping tabs on him, but it certainly came out that way.
His appearance gave her pause. She saw—with that same annoying relief—that thekekevirwound looked like it was healing nicely. He’d taken out her stitches himself sometime yesterday. And the mysterious cut on his pectoral muscle had faded considerably. However, he looked tired. Drawn around the eyes. She wondered if he’d slept at all last night.
“Is something wrong?” she asked softly.
He shook his head, dropping a sack next to the fire, though what it contained remained a mystery. She assumed it was fuel or food or water gourds.
“Nix,” he grunted. “I want to take you somewhere.”
Dread seeped into her. Did this have something to do with whoever he met with last night?
“Where?” she asked slowly.
“There are hot springs,” he informed her. “Not that far, so we can go on foot.”
Whatever she’d expected him to say, it hadn’t been that. Her excitement at the prospect of ahotbath? Undeniable. But she didn’t trust him, despite feeling comfortable with him last night. And his sudden suggestion made her wary.
“I don’t believe you,” she put it simply.
His brow rose.
“I’m not stupid, Jaxor,” Erin said quietly.
“What are you speaking of?” he rasped, frowning. “I never said you were ‘stupid.’”
“I know you met with theMeviraxlast night,” she said, watching him carefully. She wasn’tcertain, but when his lips pressed together…something in her sunk. “And for some reason they want me. And you’re still talking with them, which leads me to assume that you’re willing to give me to them. For something you want, or something they have over you.”
Erin swallowed, looking down at her lap, unable to look him in the eye quite at that moment. Because a part of her was frightened of what she might see if she did.
“If you’re going to give me to them, I can’t stop you. I know that. You’re stronger, faster, and bigger than me. All I ask is that you don’t lie to my face about it. If you’re planning to take me to them right now, then just say it. Don’t give me a lie about some hot springs to try to make me more docile.”
Erin’s mind was racing and her chest was hurting. She was kicking herself. Not that long ago, she was hovering over the mountaintop, staring into the endless sea of fog. She’d had opportunity then. Now, she was at his mercy. Again.
She should’ve been reckless and justgone. Jaxor would’ve come back to an empty base.
“I am not lying to you, Erin,” he murmured, his voice almost…soft. Gentle. It surprised her so much that she looked up at him. He seemed embarrassed at her shock, a muscle around his jaw twitching. As if he wasn’t used to being…kind, as if it was a vulnerability he’d rather not have. “There are hot springs nearby. I wish to take you to them.”
“Why?” she whispered.
