“My cabin.” He gestured vaguely with one large hand. “The western side of the mountain range.”
The mountain range that split the continent was hundreds of miles from Port Cantor and populated by little more than wild animals and the occasional trapper. They were in the middle of nowhere.
She sat up fully, automatically pulling the furs around herself for modesty.
“You pulled me out of the escape pod. That was you.”
He inclined his head. A single, minimal acknowledgment.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You saved my life.”
For a moment, he looked genuinely surprised, as if gratitude was something he rarely encountered. Then he nodded once, curtly. “You would have frozen. Another hour, maybe less.”
“Then I’m very grateful you found me when you did.”
Silence stretched between them. The fire crackled. Wind howled against the shutters, a sound like wild animals fighting over scraps. She became acutely aware of how alone they were—no servants, no guards, no chaperones. Just her and this enormous Vultor male in a cabin buried somewhere in the mountains.
I should be afraid,she thought again. She searched herself for fear and found only that same strange calm and that same inappropriate warmth.
“I need to contact someone,” she said, shifting to the edge of the bed. The movement made her head swim, and she gripped the frame of the sleeping platform until the dizziness passed. “My… family will be searching for me. If I can reach a communication hub?—”
“No.”
One word. Flat and final.
She blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“I don’t have any communication devices.” He didn’t move from his chair, didn’t shift his gaze from her face. “And the storm earlier this week blocked the southern pass. Nothing’s getting through until it clears.”
“When will that be?”
He shrugged, an oddly human gesture.
“Days. Maybe longer, depending on the weather.”
The words should have filled her with panic. She was trapped in the mountains with a stranger, with no way to contact the outside world, no way to let anyone know she was alive. Aunt Marina would be searching for her.
Or pretending to search?Her aunt had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember, stepping in after her mother died giving birth to her. She’d always been pleasant and polite, and yet there had been no real warmth between them.
And if I’m not there, she’ll continue running the company, just as she’s done since my father’s death. Without me, she’ll simply take over the company. Take everything my father built?—
“You’re not going to faint, are you?”
The gruff question snapped her back to the present. He was watching her with something that might have been concern, although it was hard to tell beneath that stoic mask.
“No.” She straightened her spine. “I don’t faint.”
“Good.”
“Where am I exactly?” she asked. “You said western mountains, but…”
“The southern pass leads to a small human settlement at the base of the mountains. The settlement is about halfway between Riverton and the coast.”
“I see.” She filed that information away and studied him more carefully. “You’re Vultor.”
“Obviously.”
“I’ve read about your people.” The words came out before she could stop them, driven by the same curiosity that had alwaysgotten her in trouble with her tutors. “Although I suspect the early contact reports were heavily biased—most of the accounts I found were written by humans with obvious prejudices against non-human species.”
