Chapter 6 #2
Sucking on another strip of jerky, I decompressed a towel and headed to the shower.
How did I show Silver that I was an asset?
That he could depend on me? I sprayed the sani-foam over my head and scoured my dense curls with my nails, cringing at the mess swirling down the catchment.
Pink sand coated the half-digested contents of my stomach.
It seemed forever ago that I’d vomited inside my helmet while plummeting to my almost-death in my family’s malfunctioning pleasure craft.
I rinsed the rest of my body with a quick sluice of water.
Sola’s blaze, how had Silver handled the stench?
His nose had been buried in my hair. I shuddered.
I toweled off, searching my mind for ways to impress Silver based on the observations I’d made. He’d been down here for months. His sleeping pod was full of containers covered in green residue. He’d panicked when his oxy tank had run out of air.
He must have been craving red meat as much as me in his isolation. I could hunt. About to slather the now-much-smaller gash in my leg with another palmful of revive gel, I paused. With fresh blood coursing through my veins, the raw red edges had already softened to pink.
Mind settled, I unsealed a black uniform from the crate, eyeing the glowing orange volcano on the shoulder—Thermal Station C’s insignia. It looked like it might fit. A couple tightened notches on the belt later, I smoothed my hands down the sturdy fabric and lifted the collar.
Launcher over my shoulder and arrows securely holstered in their quiver, I exited the stifling room, followed the emergency floor lights to the hovertube and held my palm up to the reader.
Nothing happened.
“Sola’s blaze,” I groaned. I still hadn’t registered my palm with C.
“C?”
“How can I help you, D’alton of Clan Lasting?”
“I need to get to level thirty-one to register with you?”
“Why, of course. Let me open the door.”
Cooler air filled the dim corridor as the hovertube swished open and I stepped in. “Thanks, C.”
“My pleasure.”
Would I pass Silver on my way to the hub? I hadn’t planned on seeing him again so soon, and empty-handed at that. A gift might have strengthened my apology.
Level thirty-one flashed on the sign above the exit, and the hovertube jerked to a stop.
I gagged as I breathed in the rot-filled air and walked in the direction I thought the hub might be.
My mind had been so foggy when Silver wheeled me through the first time that I hadn’t paid attention to anything besides my glaring need for blood. And his long hair.
The dim underbelly of Station C rattled and hummed.
Fans whirled above me, and the ventilation ducts that tangled across the ceiling in a maze boomed like drums as they powered off and on.
How did Silver get any sleep down here? The grated floor echoed beneath the thick soles of my boots, quieting when I paused at an intersection.
To the right, the dim corridor continued full of blinking panels, circuitry and more oscillating machinery.
On the left, a series of domes extended from the side of the black volcanic rock wall.
Their gentle glow drew me like a starbug to the light.
The ripe air became fresher as I neared, and when I peered into the dome, a wealth of plant life appeared, growing in neat rows before my eyes.
Right, I remembered Silver’s vague tour.
My fingers itched to dig into the rocky substrate and tend the roots below.
My gaze skated past tall hanyan trees and rows of juicy d’ew to zero in on Silver.
A naked Silver.
Clear plasmaglass fogged in front of my lips.
I’d gotten so close to the window. I shook my head, trying to force myself to back away, but my reluctant brain held my feet captive against the floor.
Water streamed down his sparsely furred torso.
He squirted sani-foam into his palms and scrubbed his long hair, and then his hands traveled down. Down to a place I wanted to taste.
Before I could steer my greedy eyeballs away, Silver’s gaze locked on mine.
Blant! If I thought I couldn’t move before, now I was truly frozen.
My heart raced, and a bead of sweat rolled from my temple to my chin.
His sky-blue eyes seemed to read every desirous part of me like some kind of scanner.
Could Earthers see what you wanted in the deepest recesses of your heart?
Then, as if breaking from a trance, he hastily grabbed a towel and slung it around his hips. Silver marched toward me. Trepidation twisted down my spine, and I straightened the launcher over my shoulder. Though I was ready to hunt, my heart raced like prey.
Silver stormed through the door. The two small pinpricks at the base of his neck drew my gaze away from his fierce scowl. The scents of rich plant life, earthy substrate and musky Earther filled my nose. A trifecta of deliciousness. “Like what you see?”
Was that a trick question? “Yes.”
As if surprised by that response, Silver jerked backward. His long hair left trails of water droplets along his skin everywhere they touched, and my mouth watered. He shook his head, and the spray of cool droplets lit up my body as if he’d touched me himself. “Why are you here?”
Despite his unwelcoming response, I smiled.
I needed to prove I wasn’t dangerous to him and that I was useful.
“I’m going hunting, and I can’t leave the floor without a palm scan, so C sent me down to use the hub and I…
” After inhaling to gather my thoughts, I continued.
“Well…what I’m trying to say is…I’m sorry.
If I’d been in my right mind, I would have never taken your blood without consent. ”
His gaze roamed over my chest and paused at the quiver of arrows and the launcher slung across my back before his eyes widened. “You’re going hunting?”
I couldn’t stand here much longer and look him in the eyes when every instinct urged me to move closer to lick the water from my mark on his neck. “Figured we could both use some meat.” I grinned, despite wanting to bite.
“As in outside? You’re going outside?” The long tendons lining his throat tensed. “Hunting…”
I stroked the shaft of an arrow to settle my nerves.
Did he not think me capable? “Yeah, I thought I’d search for the com system on my ship and see if anything’s salvageable.
” The slight tremor in his fingers, the way his skin paled and the sweat beading on his forehead were all signs that leaving the station terrified him.
My heart squeezed in sympathy. It must’ve been hard being alone for so long.
As if he knew I could read his every expression, he steeled himself. Silver tightened the knot on his towel, stood straighter, and washed away the concern from his face. “Well, the hub is down the other corridor.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
That dismissal felt as welcome as blood from a corpse, but I could put on a good face. “Right. Thanks. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
His nod was almost imperceptible as I turned and walked back the way he indicated.
“Ah…D’alton.”
My senses were so attuned to him that his low voice cut through the cacophony of mechanical noise. In this moment, nothing he said was getting by me.
“Yes.” I paused and looked over my shoulder.
His eyes caught mine in their tight grip once more before dropping to where his fingers fiddled with the knot on his towel. “Be careful.”
A genuine smile lit up my face this time. “I’ll be back before you know it.” I practically skipped to the terratherm hub.