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‘I thought we were going to have our own rooms,’ Hannah mumbled, her hands slipping over his and holding him close.

‘Not tonight,’ he said, and kissed her cheek.

The truth was that he needed her tonight, not for sex, but for comfort.

Chapter Thirty

The studio had chartered a flight from the Gold Coast to Birdsville, the closest town to the Simpson Desert – the vast red desert in the Australian outback, home of the famous dune ‘Big Red’.

Even the air tasted of sand and heat. It had been the first thing Hannah had noticed yesterday as they got off the plane directly onto the landing strip. They had a motel for their stay. There weren’t any luxury resorts or homes to rent in Birdsville. So, Lucas and Bianca had luxurious trailers driven in from Alice Springs to stay in, which also meant they were onsite for the filming.

The itinerary was strict and involved very long days, but it was only a few scenes that had to be filmed in this location. The rest would be done on a sound stage or at another location near the Gold Coast.

Taking a break from unpacking her supplies, Hannah stood at the entrance of her tent and stared out at the red desert, with its huge rolling dunes and scrub of the outback. It was so alien and yet so majestic; she felt lucky to be here.

As it was only a skeleton crew at this location, she had to do many of the jobs herself, such as helping to pitch up her medic tent and install the generator to power her medicine fridge.

She’d had to be sure when preparing for this location that plenty of equipment was brought with them for all eventualities. Sun exposure was the greatest risk, especially for the crew who’d be working outside most of the day. She had a ‘cooling’ medical tent, and plenty of supplies in case of emergencies. After all, they were in a desert; the nearest hospital was a flight away – she didn’t want anything to turn serious, especially if it could be easily avoided. As Kirra had said, Prevention is better than cure.

Like at the rainforest location, there was also the risk of snakes, spiders and scorpion bites and stings. She even had some anti-venom in her supplies – which was a relief after her close encounter. She hoped she’d never have to use it. She’d read up on some of the dangerous effects of venom and it had given her nightmares.

After a long day of filming, Hannah was exhausted. One sound engineer had ended up with heat stroke, another crew member had twisted their ankle, and Bianca’s assistant, Katie, had had an allergic reaction to a prawn samosa she’d thought was vegetarian.

A shellfish-induced anaphylactic shock was not what Hannah had had on her bingo card for filming in the middle of a desert, but thankfully they’d had an EpiPen and Hannah was able to arrange for Katie to be taken to the nearest doctor to be checked over.

Curious to see what was left of the shot list, Hannah went out to watch the filming and was glad she had when she saw the spectacular sky. A flood of pinks, oranges and lavenders washed across the sand dunes – the sun would set very soon. The breeze shivered across the mountains of sand, as if the desert were breathing in and out like a sleeping dragon.

The shot was set up. At the top of the dune, Lucas and Bianca waited in nearby chairs beneath a canopy to keep off the sun’s rays, but by the way they had the fans going on full blast, she could tell they were boiling despite the fact the day was drawing to a close. The black leather costumes must be miserable to wear in this heat, and Lucas had joked more than once that his pants were a sweaty swamp.

She grabbed some ice-cold water bottles from her fridge and carried them up to the actors. After checking they were drinking enough water, Hannah strolled up to where the camera and crew were, handing out more bottles from her backpack as she did so.

Caleb and Sarah, Bianca’s double, stood at the top of the opposite, much taller sand dune.

Franco began bellowing from the bottom. ‘Sky is beautiful, let’s go! Quick! Quick!’

Caleb picked up Sarah in a princess carry and stood still for a moment. The effect was a beautiful silhouette of them against a purple and pink sky.

‘Hold it!’ shouted Franco as he ran to the cameraman and checked through the lens himself. ‘Evvai! Now down. Slow. Slow. Si!’ shouted Franco. ‘Pain! Agony! Despair!’ He shouted the words as Caleb carried Sarah down the shifting sand dune, and to his credit, Hannah thought he embodied each emotion beautifully; the slumping jerk of his body as he took each step seemed filled with pain.

When he staggered down a sliding shift of sand, she had to cover her mouth to stop from crying out. She knew it was all deliberate, but it still made her nervous. Caleb clutched Sarah’s body tightly to his chest and then dropped to both knees at the bottom of the dune in front of the camera. His hair and head slumped forward, showing his exhaustion while also, rather helpfully, hiding his face.

‘Fantastico! Change, change! We must keep the light!’ shouted Franco, but Lucas and Bianca were already ready and waiting, hurrying forward to get into position.

It was the final shot of the movie, although they still had loads more to film before they finished, including the big battle and the destruction of the temple that would leave Princess Nina mortally wounded and lead to this spectacular final shot. A great cheer rang out after ‘cut’ was called, and Franco clapped loudly at the entire cast and crew, as if he were the proud father of all of them – which, in a weird way, he was.

‘This is what we are working towards! An epic love story. A tragic yet hopeful and beautiful ending! Bellissimo!’ He kissed Lucas on both cheeks before turning to Bianca and doing the same. ‘Bellissima!’

‘Come with me,’ Caleb said quietly, slipping Hannah’s hand in his and tugging her away, as the praise continued to rain down from Franco on the rest of the cast and crew.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘Don’t worry, I’m prepared this time.’ Caleb turned on a handheld torch as they began to climb the big sand dune. ‘You need to see this view.’

The night had dropped like a stone. One moment, the sun had cast a pink and purple glow over the burnt dunes; the next, there was total darkness and a cool breeze blowing across the sand. After the exhausting heat of the day, the change was like being plunged into an ice cave after a sauna, and it caused her teeth to chatter.

The lights of the camp behind them cast a weak amber glow on their feet, but they used the torch to check for shifting sand and scorpions as they trudged up the huge dune.

‘I hope this is worth it!’ she gasped, already out of breath from the strain of climbing and trying to keep on her feet. More than once, she’d grabbed Caleb to stop herself from tumbling back down the hill with the rest of the falling sand.