“Tev?”
“Would you ask me to stay if you could?”
The muscles in his arm tightened. She felt a short breath rustle through her hair.
“Would you stay if I asked you to?” he countered instead.
Her throat tightened and burned. Tears pricked her eyes.
She felt him press a small kiss to her still-wet hair.
“Sleep,rixella,” he said again, his voice gruffer now. Neither of them answered their respective question.
Finally, she did as he told her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Strange dreams plagued her that night but when Erin woke the next morning, she felt surprisingly…all right. Refreshed. And the dreams she had were erased from her mind, leaving her to wonder if whatever she had dreamt had given her a sense of peace…and if so, what had they been of?
Jaxor was gone again that morning. Erin noticed it was raining. Not like the torrential downpour that had occurred a few days prior, but a soft trickle. The air felt sticky but cold with it. When she rose and peeked out into the base, he wasn’t there and the pulley was once again lowered. He’d probably be gone for some time. He’d stayed out yesterday until early afternoon.
Her gaze went to the tunnel where the hovercraft was landed. Erin bit her lip, feeling strangely guilty for even considering taking advantage of her time alone.
Yet, she had to consider all the possibilities and weigh them carefully. For example, what if Jaxor decided that he wouldn’t let her go, after all? She’d been planning to broach the subject of them returning to the Golden Citytogether, but now she wasn’t so sure he would take her back since he’d told her he would be punished if he was caught there. She still didn’t know their future. He’d continued to keep quiet about what he planned for her, though she no longer believed theMeviraxwere as big a threat as she assumed, given what he’d told her about them.
It was the responsible thing to have a way out, right? Just in the case? The logical part of Erin knew that. Yet, it still felt like ahugebetrayal. A heavy pit was in her stomach.
But if life had taught her one thing, it was this: never rely on anyone but yourself.
Erin had been independent nearly her entire life.
She wouldn’t give that independence up for anyone. Not even her alleged fated mate.
Which was why she made up her mind and headed towards the tunnel.
* * *
Her adrenaline was racing,churning her stomach, making her feel like her skin was buzzing as she slowly lowered the hovercraft from the opening at the top of the mountain down to the floor of the tunnel. She was shivering. Not because of her wet hair and damp skin from the rain, but with accomplishment.
She’d done it. She’d actually done it. She’d piloted the hovercraft, making a small loop around the entrance of the tunnel in the thick fog bank. Not once did she take her eyes off the entrance she’d come from, in fear that she’d lose sight of it forever. When she’d made her loop, she slowly navigated back down, descending into her landing. Then she did it again, her fingers becoming more comfortable with the controls, with the looping movements she had to make with her fingers, movements she’d memorized when Jaxor had taken her to theLopitaxSea.
Erin grinned, blowing out a long breath that seemed to push from her lungs. She laughed, her head falling back, staring up at the entrance that seemed miles above her.
She was trembling with excitement, withvictory. But when she powered down the engine and turned, all that excitement left her, turning to cold dread when she saw Jaxor standing at the tunnel mouth.
Furious.
“Shit,” she breathed, too shocked to filter the curse that fell from her lips.
Jaxor straightened and then he stalked over to the hovercraft, stepping up until he was inches from her.
“What thefuckdo you think you are doing?”
Erin flinched at his tone, staring up at him. His body was trembling too, but most likely from rage, not adrenaline, like hers was. This was the Jaxor she’d first met, the angry one, the crazed one, thecoldone. His eyes were like flint, or like sharp shards of ice that could pierce her clean through.
When she didn’t answer, he turned to the wall of the cave—as if he couldn’t bear to look at her—raking both hands through his shorn, inky hair. He let out a short bellow of anger, the sound echoing through the mountain, stirring thekekevir, who gave responding hisses.
Erin tried to stop her hands from shaking, squeezing them into fists at her sides.
