Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Ziamee wanted to wring Seba’s neck when he waited for her on the shore.
She channeled that anger and frustration as a distraction.
Her body zinged, pulsed with a craving that was nonsensical yet so divine.
Whatever Illan had done to her had melted her insides.
She shook herself, focusing on Seba’s deep footprints in the soil.
“Padya,” she whispered and bolted, taking off after her silly Seba.
And here she’d thought he was smart. She snorted. All the times she’d begged him to find her father, but no, she’d had to align with strangers… The darkness grew thicker, closing in on her. She narrowed her eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of Seba’s white fur or Coll.
A splash when her boot sank into the water had her leaping aside. The lake was to her right. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught the tiny pinpricks of light from the flares.
“Kuck,” she cursed.
“Never thought I would hear you say that,” Illan said, appearing out of the shadows.
She slumped and flashed him a grateful smile. “Sorry. Seba’s abandoned me.”
“Like you did me.” He scowled. “I did not like finding you gone, Ziamee.”
How was she supposed to respond to that?
His fury was palpable, crossing the short distance between them.
What had she done but what they’d come here to do?
She swiveled on a heel and left him standing there.
Padya mattered, not whatever Illan’s presence might end up meaning.
He huffed and followed, thumping his steps too loud, like Seba did when he didn’t get his way.
She rounded the shore, a little revealed by Illan’s flare. A kneeling Coll froze her, his figure outlined by his own light. Beside him was the recognizable shape of her father.
“Padya?” she choked out. How she reached him, she couldn’t say. But when she sank beside him, tears flowed unhindered. She opened and closed her mouth; no sound escaped. He was thinner, his skin an unnatural pale blue.
“I know, ohara. I was a fool.” He cupped her cheek, summoning another wash of tears. “If it wasn’t for Seba, I wouldn’t be alive.”
She stiffened, fresh anger pulsing through her. “I begged him to take me to you.”
“What matters is that we have found your father,” Coll said, running the med-gun over Padya’s leg. It stretched before him at an odd angle.
“Why did you come down here?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.
“Curiosity,” he said, dipping his chin to his chest. “A hard lesson has been learned. Tell me, what manner of species are you?” He directed his attention to Coll, and by his scientific tone, she didn’t want to stay around for the many questions he no doubt had.
She rose to her feet, intent on searching for Seba. He’d galloped past her father and disappeared into the dank darkness.
“Curiosity,” Illan whispered, his breath fanning her cheek when he leaned closer. “Seba must have found an easier way in.”
“Yes.” She stopped at the edge of the light, arched her back, and yodeled.
A roar responded, then a moment later, Seba appeared. He bounced on the spot, his big feet sinking into the soil.
“Ohara, how’d you get here?” She knelt and rubbed behind his ears, massaging the tips the way he liked it.
He swung his great head, glancing over his shoulder, a small whine escaping him.
“Can you show me?” she asked.
Illan grunted from behind her.
She glared at him. “He’s not stupid.”
“I did not say he was. It is your foolish determination to ease your curiosity. We should leave with your father.”
“And if this happens again?” She leaped to her feet. “No, it’s best we learn what we can while we’re here. Besides, I’m not leaving Seba alone. What if he can’t escape this place?”
“We must reach the surface to port,” Coll said. “The med-gun can heal most injuries, but the bones have fused incorrectly. I will escort Amet to our ship, to the med-E.D. on board.”
“As you deem necessary.” Padya smiled at Ziamee. “I had lost hope of seeing you again, ohara.”
She sniffed and gave him an awkward hug. “Focus on getting well. Illan and I will find Seba’s way in.”
“No, it’s unsafe.” His gaze flickered to the lake.
Coll removed a spare harness he’d clipped to his own. He worked it onto Padya, not once hurting him. Then before anyone could ask, Coll hoisted her father into his arms as if he weighed nothing. That said much about his strength.
“Do not worry about us.” Illan gestured at a pacing Seba. “And leave the rope in case we lose the beast. Secure the Durn, and have Brac guard the crevice.”
“Are you certain?” Coll frowned, then shook his head. “Use your suits to regulate your temperature.” They disappeared, the darkness swallowing them.
“What about a flare?” she called after Coll.
“Etterians have excellent vision,” Illan said.
She strained to hear their fading movements while peering in the direction of the cavern’s ceiling. “What did he mean about the suit? What’s that?”
“He meant your armor.”
She gasped and touched the soft garment covering her chest. “This?”
“No.” Illan studied the disturbance across the lake. “Let us not linger.”
She stamped her foot. “Answer me then.”
“Ziamee, something watches,” he whispered.
She froze and focused on her surroundings, sensing the undercurrent of danger. He was right, and she hated that. “Where’s Seba?” Padya she couldn’t do anything about but a wayward Seba… She spun on the spot, then pointed at his footprints. “This way.”
“Wait—”
She didn’t, charging along the shore. A muttering Illan made her grin.
Not that she planned on slowing her pace.
Losing Seba was out of the question. And once she relocated him again, she’d make damn sure to keep him in her sights.
But searching with a grumpy Illan trailing her was hard. He made such an annoying distraction.
When darkness engulfed her and Illan’s tread didn’t reach her, she halted.
She must have gone too far ahead. Whirling, she longed to find a pinprick of light saying she wasn’t alone.
She’d been an idiot to hurry ahead, but pride squared her shoulders and smothered her screaming instincts.
Panic lodged in her throat. She had to cough to dislodge it so she could call out to Seba.
“That damn animal,” she muttered, sparing the ripples on the lake a glance.
“This is insanity,” Illan whispered, bringing light with him as he rounded a rock spire.
His focus wasn’t on her. He was cast in an eerie glow from the flare, and yet, as relief flooded her core with blessed warmth, she’d never seen a more handsome sight.
“Let us return. Onward can only lead to trouble.”
“I need to know the way in and out,” she said. “Padya can be stubborn. Regardless of this incident, he’d come down here—”
“You are not staying on this planet.”
She faced Illan, shock flapping her mouth like a ceaza out of water. “What?” she managed, anger rising to the fore.
“Once we reunite your mother and father, they will, no doubt, want to see civilization for a change.”
She blinked. Leaving Vora hadn’t occurred to her, which was silly. Illan had responded to the beacon. Just its existence meant the desire to forsake her…home. She swallowed hard and gave him her back.
“I can’t go anywhere without Seba.” Unshed tears burned her eyes.
“No one is expecting you to. I will ask King Xeus for a battleship equipped with a pseudo-Vora biome for Seba.”
“You can do that?” she gasped, then stiffened. “Yes, that’s right. You are Durn,” she mimicked him in her deepest voice. “It’s not wise to migrate any species to another planet or ecosystem not their own.” She tutted. “And I want him to find a mate at some point.”
“You cannot stay,” he said, his tone gentle.
Fury burst into life. “Of course I can. So you answered my father’s distress signal. He can leave.” She raised her chin. “I’m staying.”
She gave him a firm nod and stomped off.
A sort of peace settled in her heart at her decision, but a part of her twanged, flickering pain outward.
She’d be alone…again. But this time, she’d not be living with a dying hope but with the knowledge that her family was well.
And maybe not so helpless. She stroked the blaster’s grip.
Two med-guns bulged her pants pockets. And she had boots.
Maybe where Mudya was would act as a better home, but Ziamee refused to abandon the Haile and Oz.
“What if we find Seba a mate?” Illan asked, standing too close for her senses to ignore.
“Teleport a few females to your ship in the hopes he likes one?” She scoffed.
“Why not? But I am suggesting we go to the females.”
She rolled her lips to hide a smile. That was a good idea. “And Oz?” She waved a dismissive hand. “You’re assuming Padya wants off Vora.”
“True.” He caught her elbow and steered her away from the water’s edge. “It draws near.”
A chill raised bumps over her skin.
Not from fear but a slight breeze— In a cave?
She veered toward it. Seba’s secret entrance had to be behind the fresh air smelling of sunshine. Excitement merged with hope, and she grinned.
She hadn’t taken a step when she hit the ground, her chin bouncing off the soil. An immediate ache formed at the nape of her neck. Illan pinned her in place, then rolled, taking her with him. She stared at the massive grooves in the shore where she’d been a moment earlier.
“What—”
He had her on her feet, shoving her in the direction of the breeze. “Run!”
She did, sprinting along the shore. “What is it?” she asked, not daring to peek over her shoulder.
“Great creature,” was all he said. “We must climb.”
She wanted to smack him. How high was enough for a great creature? Did it have limbs, fins, fangs, wings?
A blast of air whipped her braids forward. Illan grunted, stumbled, then righted himself—as far as she could assume, by his footsteps.
“I can’t see,” she said, coming to a halt.
He slammed into her, spinning in midair as they tumbled, then slid across the sand until they stopped.