Gemma spun around. “You can’t be serious. They’re barely big enough for one person.”
“Then we get cozy.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Her nostrils flared. If he so much as put a hand on her—
“Relax. I told your boyfriend I wouldn’t touch you, and I’m a man of my word.” He spoke nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t already poisoned her or threatened to shoot her if she ran.
With a growl, Gemma crawled into the shelter. Colton wouldn’t get another moment of her attention.
In the dark, with only the crackle of the fire as noise, her mind wandered to Christian. She could almost picture his rage that followed after Colton dragged her away. Christian had been too young to help his mother and spent the rest of his life giving away pieces of himself to protect his sister. He didn’t know how tonotsafeguard those he caredabout. And yet, weakened by injury, with Gemma caught between him and his target...
A tear rolled across the bridge of her nose and landed with a soft plop on the shelter’s interior floor. She wished she could be with him right now, holding him, consoling him, telling him everything would be okay.
The shelter’s opening parted, and Colton crawled inside. Gemma swallowed the bile that burned her throat the moment his back pressed against hers. Sleep was not going to come easily.
“Get up,” Colton shouted, kicking her feet from the shelter’s opening.
Gemma snapped awake. She’d forced herself to stay alert while Colton lay in the shelter with her, in case he attempted to force himself on her. But at some point, she must’ve dozed off. Now, her entire body ached from remaining in the same position for hours. But she wouldn’t let Colton see any weakness, lest he use it against her. He had to have known she wouldn’t run off, given that he’d poisoned her.
Crawling out into the bright light, Gemma glared at Colton. Making her sleep next to him was his ridiculous way of torturing Christian, even though he wasn’t here to see it.Bloody bastard.
The sun barely crested the mountain peaks, but even this sliver of light couldn’t hold back the heat, hot enough that a haze shimmered on top of the red sand. Gemma narrowed her gaze as she viewed her surroundings in daylight.
“You’re taking us back through the desert of Reva?”
Colton broke down the shelter. “It’s not impassable if you know what to look out for. Luckily for you, I’ve been crossing this desert for a long time. I’ll keep you safe,querida.” He winked.
Gemma’s hands clenched into fists. The moment the antidote entered her system, she would have a great time punching that stupid smirk off his face.
“Do I need to tie your wrists again, or will you behave?” Colton asked.
“Bind my wrists again, and I’ll use the rope to strangle you.”
He smirked. “Sounds good, then. Let’s move.”
With their helmets back on, they traversed across the red sand dunes of Reva, silent until the sun was at its highest. Despite Rami’s promise that her suit would keep her cool against the blue sun’s heat, Gemma had never been so overheated. Every inch of her was wet with sweat, and her feet sunk deeper into the sand with every step. Her breathing had become labored; wheezes rattled her chest. If she didn’t rest soon, she was going to faint.
“Please,” she begged Colton, “I need a break.”
He growled. “I thought you trained with the Dissent for two-and-a-half years. You should be better conditioned than this.”
“Only to pass the Trials...and some sparring. I never...did much else.” Her words were broken by deep gasps for air.
He spun around and waved an arm at the sand. “Fine. Sit.”
Gemma plopped onto the surface.
Even through her suit, she felt the heat radiating off each grain of sand. Her chest rose and fell in a deep, rapid rhythm as she attempted to catch her breath. Without taking off her helmet, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to breathe again. But removing the helmet would lead to even worse complications, like skinburns and blistering. So, she continued to take longer and deeper breaths until her galloping pulse started to slow, the oxygen entering her helmet through filters along the front and sides.
Colton sat next to her and played with his comm. Several moments passed before he spoke. “If you don’t take another break until nightfall, we could be back to Zion about this time tomorrow. But you’re going to have to keep up.”
Gemma wanted to groan and swear at him, yet nothing came out. Her body was too tired to do anything but essential functions.
Seconds after Gemma’s heart rate had returned to normal, Colton interrupted her peace. “Are you ready to go yet?”
She rolled her eyes. “You poisoned me, remember? If you wanted me to keep pace with you, maybe you shouldn’t have done that.”
He huffed.
