Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Alina woke to warmth and weight and the slow, steady rhythm of a heartbeat beneath her ear.
She didn’t open her eyes immediately, preferring to linger in that delicious state between sleep and wakefulness. She knew where she was—who she was with—and the knowledge sent a wave of contentment through her body.
Rhyx’s arms were wrapped around her, one hand spanning her waist while the other cradled her head against his chest. His skin was warm and smooth beneath her cheek, the scales along his arm catching the soft glow from the bioluminescent vines.
But she’d also woken to silence. The constant drone of wind that had become background noise over the past days—so omnipresent she’d stopped consciously registering it—had vanished. In its place was a stillness so profound it felt almost oppressive, as if the planet itself was holding its breath.
The storm is over.
The knowledge sent a spike of ice through her chest, sharp enough to make her gasp. Rhyx stirred beneath her, his arm tightening instinctively, pulling her closer.
“Alina?” His voice was rough with sleep, but she could hear the alertness already creeping in. He’d felt it too. Felt the change in pressure, the settling of the air. “The storm—”
“It’s done.” She pushed herself up on one elbow, looking down at him in the soft bioluminescent glow.
His golden scales caught the light, shimmering with each breath, and she had to resist the urge to trace the patterns with her fingers.
There would be time for that later. There had to be time for that later. “I need to leave.”
His jaw tightened, the only outward sign of his distress. “Now?”
“Soon. They’ll send search parties once they confirm the storm has passed.
If I’m not back at the settlement before they start looking…
” She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t need to.
They’d discussed this the previous night, in the quiet moments between kisses and lovemaking.
The plan was simple. She would return to Border Town, claim she’d sheltered in a cave during the storm, and begin the delicate process of figuring out how to keep Rhyx’s existence a secret while still being able to see him.
Simple. Right.
She sat up fully, the cooler air of the cavern raising goosebumps on her bare skin. Her suit lay in a crumpled heap nearby, along with her breathing mask, still broken from yesterday’s… enthusiasm. She’d have to tie it into place.
“I don’t like this.” He rose to his feet. Even after days together, she still found herself startled by the way he could go from perfectly still to lightning-fast in the span of a heartbeat. “Letting you go back to them alone.”
“I’m not exactly defenseless.”
“You are small and soft and have no claws.”
“I have a brain.”
“Brains are delicious. They are the first thing predators eat.”
She stared at him, unsure if he was joking. His expression gave nothing away.
“That’s… disturbing,” she finally said.
His lips twitched in the almost-smile she’d learned to recognize. “I am attempting humor.”
“Maybe stick to being the strong, silent type.”
He caught her hand as she reached for her suit, his grip gentle but insistent. “I am serious, Alina. I do not trust your people. Especially that Martin. His scent clings to your memories like rot.”
She flinched at that. She’d told him about Martin during one of their long conversations, trying to explain the complicated web of relationships and politics that awaited her return. He had listened, but his protective instincts had flaring at every mention of the other male’s possessive behavior.
“Martin’s harmless,” she said, though even she didn’t quite believe it. “He’s annoying and entitled, but he’s not dangerous.”
“You do not sound convinced.”
“I’m not.” She sighed, pulling her hand free to start dressing. “But I can handle him. I’ve been handling him for months.”
He watched her with those bright blue eyes, his vertical pupils narrowing slightly. “And if you cannot?”
“Then I’ll figure something else out.” She pulled the suit up over her hips and winced, her muscles still a little sore from the unaccustomed activity of the previous night. “I have to do this. If I don’t go back, they’ll come looking. And if they find this place… If they find you…”
“I know.” He came to her side, towering over her. Even knowing how gentle he could be and how carefully he controlled his strength, his size still took her breath away. “I will stay hidden. I will wait. But if you do not return within three days—”
“I’ll return.”
“If you do not,” he repeated firmly, “I will come for you.”
The certainty in his voice sent a shiver down her spine—half concern, half something warmer. “That would be a spectacularly bad idea.”
“Perhaps. But I will not leave you to face danger alone.” He cupped her face in his hands, his scales warm against her skin. “You are my mate, Alina. Where you go, I follow. This is not negotiable.”
Mate. The word still felt strange, too big for what they’d become in such a short time. And yet she couldn’t deny the rightness of it, the way her heart seemed to recognize the claim even as her mind struggled to catch up.
“Three days,” she agreed. “But please. Stay hidden. Don’t do anything… dramatic.”
His lips curved into something that was definitely a smile this time. “I make no promises.”
Getting out of the cavern was significantly easier than getting in, mostly because she didn’t have to do the work herself.
He carried her easily up the steep slope she’d descended, then insisted on carrying her through the twisting passages, his footsteps sure and silent despite the uneven terrain.
He moved through the darkness like he was born for it, which in a sense he was.
The tunnels were part of him, he’d said.
Part of his connection to this place. She didn’t fully understand what that meant, but she trusted him enough to let herself be carried.
The rockfall that had blocked her path on the way in proved no obstacle for him. He scaled it one-handed, his other arm cradling her against his chest like she weighed nothing, and moved easily through the cramped space.
“You’re showing off,” she muttered against his shoulder.
“Yes.”
At least he was honest.
Neither one of them wanted to separate when they reached the rover so he joined her in the cab as she made her way slowly back up the lava tube to the larger cavern.
They emerged just as the first rays of sunlight were painting the pale Martian sky.
The dust from the storm still hung in the air, giving everything a hazy, dreamlike quality, but the wind had died to barely a whisper.
He climbed down, but he kept her hand in his. The sunlight caught his scales, turning him into a creature of living gold, and her heart clenched painfully in her chest. “I should go.”
“You should.”
Neither of them moved.
“Three days,” she said again, more for her own benefit than his.
“Three days.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers in a gesture of affection that felt more intimate than a kiss. “Return to me, Alina. I will be waiting.”
“I will.”
She forced herself to turn away, her movements mechanical as she ran through the safety check and started the vehicle descending down the mountainside. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. If she looked back, she’d never leave.
She looked back.
He stood at the mouth of the cavern, silhouetted against the pale morning sky. He raised one hand in what she assumed was meant to be a wave, and something in her chest twisted so hard she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.
I’ll come back, she promised silently. I’ll find a way to make this work. I’ll—
The rover’s engines hummed, and she forced her attention back to the controls. The navigation system blinked reproachfully at her, displaying a route back to Border Town. Familiar. Safe. Boring.
She hated every kilometer of it.
The drive took just over an hour. An hour of watching the barren Martian landscape scroll past, of replaying the last few days in her head, of trying to figure out how the hell she was going to explain any of this.
The storm had given her an excuse for her absence, but it wouldn’t cover the gaps in her story.
The unusual readings from her equipment.
The fact that she’d somehow survived for days in a cave without proper supplies.
She needed to talk to Cass. Cass would know what to do. Cass always knew what to do.
Border Town appeared on the horizon just as her anxiety was reaching critical levels.
The collection of prefab buildings and pressurized domes built up around the escarpment in the center of the valley looked exactly as it had when she left—utilitarian, efficient, and vaguely depressing. Home, for lack of a better word.
Not anymore, a traitorous voice whispered. Home is back in that cavern. Home is wherever he is.
She pushed the thought aside and guided the rover towards the hangar.
The airlock cycled with its familiar sequence of hisses and clanks, and then she was stepping into the settlement’s interior for the first time in days.
The recycled air tasted flat and metallic after the rich oxygen of the cavern.
The artificial lighting felt harsh after the soft bioluminescence.
Everything seemed too bright, too loud, and far too human.
She managed to make it back to her lab without anyone seeing her, only to find Cass with a pack on her back and a worried look on her face.
“Cass! I’m so sorry I was gone so long. I hope you weren’t too worried. I have so much to tell you—” The rush of words died as she noticed the big cyborg ranger standing quietly behind her friend. “Oh! Z-542. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Alina!” She barely had time to brace herself before Cass slammed into her, wrapping her in a hug fierce enough to crack ribs. “Where have you been? We were about to come looking for you!”
“It’s… complicated.”