Page 155 of Beasts of Mine

By the time I returned with my overnight pack, Mara had carried the map to the outdoor table, where one corner kept trying to curl in the morning humidity.

“General working zone stays between the stream and this ridge?” Mara asked as she traced the route west from the station with the capped end of her pen, tapping the boundary I had marked before looking toward me.

“Mostly. I might work a little farther north along the water if something gives me a reason to, but I’m not crossing the ridge.” I answered Mara as I pointed toward the same line, giving her enough information to know where I should be without trying to predict every turn I might take once I was actually out there.

“And the field shelter is still your sleeping plan?” Mara asked as her pen moved toward the familiar marker farther south.

“That’s the plan right now.” I answered Mara as I adjusted one of the straps on my overnight bag. “If I find somewhere better closer to where I’m working, I’ll still be inside the marked zone.”

“Fine. I don’t need the coordinates of the exact tree you sleep under.” Mara wrote another note beside my name before moving down the page. “Radio at six tonight. Update me before you start back tomorrow morning, and I want you here by ten unless you call with a change.”

“Six tonight, update before I head back, and back by ten.” I repeated the schedule to Mara while checking the radio clipped securely to my belt.

“And if the radio gives you trouble?” Mara asked as she lifted her eyes from the log.

“Locator if it’s an emergency. If it isn’t, I move until I get a signal and try again.” I tapped the outer pocket of my pack where the beacon sat within easy reach.

“Food, water, medication?” Mara asked as she glanced toward the overnight pack, working through the familiar list without making me unpack it in front of her.

“Dinner, breakfast, emergency rations, two full bottles, purifier, tablets, blockers, emergency heat suppressant, and the usual first-aid kit.” I counted off the basics for Mara before resting one hand on my camera bag. “Spare radio batteries, six camera batteries, power bank, and enough memory cards that the batteries will give up first.”

“So if you get stranded because your camera dies, I’m leaving you there.” Mara informed me as she capped her pen, the seriousness in her face giving way to dry amusement.

“That seems unnecessarily cruel.” I told Mara as I slid the camera strap over my shoulder and checked the zipper covering my spare batteries.

“You’d survive.” Mara lifted her coffee and looked pointedly at the pack behind me. “You packed half the station.”

“I packed for one night.” I protested to Mara as I settled both straps over my shoulders and shifted the weight until it stopped dragging backward.

“You packed for one night like the forest might close permanently behind you.” Mara took another drink while her gaze traveled over the size of the bag.

“I like options.” I told Mara as I clipped the last loose strap into place. Mara gave the equipment one final inspection before the humor around her eyes faded.

“Evie.” Mara said my name more seriously, lowering the mug.

“I know.” I answered Mara before she needed to finish the reminder, resting one hand against the camera strap crossing my shoulder. “Six means six.”

“Good.” Mara nodded once, apparently satisfied. “Get whatever shots you’re chasing and come back with all your limbs attached.”

“That’s less professional than your last warning.” I told Mara as I stepped away from the table, smiling when she lifted her coffee toward me.

“I’m adaptable.” Mara replied as she leaned back against the table.

“So I’ve noticed.” I called back to Mara before the trees swallowed most of the station behind me and the generator began fading beneath the forest. The overnight pack felt awkward for the first few minutes, heavier than the gear I normally carried on a day route but familiar enough that my body found the rhythm quickly. Moisture still clung to the vegetation beside the trail, brushing cold against my pants whenever the path narrowed, while birds called somewhere high above me and unseen insects buzzed among leaves still glittering with leftover water.

I had made it less than five minutes before Luca appeared.

Unlike Tavian, he didn’t jump out from behind anything, make a dramatic entrance, or pretend he had been invisible. He simply stepped onto the trail from a narrow side path, dressed in a loose dark shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms, lightweight pants, and worn boots better suited to the damp ground than the sandals he preferred around the temple. His shoulder-length hair was tied at the nape of his neck, although several strands had already escaped in the humidity, and his green-gold eyes went immediately to the oversized pack on my shoulders.

“That’s new.” Luca observed as he slowed beside me, his gaze traveling over the pack before returning to my face.

“Apparently I’m staying out tonight.” I told Luca as I continued walking, enjoying the way he stopped for half a second before catching up.

“Tonight?” Luca repeated, surprise breaking through his usual calm as he looked at the overnight pack again.

“Mara suggested it.” I explained to Luca as we moved beneath a section of canopy thick enough to block most of the direct morning light. “I’m missing dusk and early-morning coverage from the upper stream. Hiking all the way back to the station tonight just to turn around before sunrise would be stupid.”

“You’re sleeping out here.” Luca said the words more slowly, and the pleased note underneath them was impossible to miss.