Chapter 10
Nansar
The rhythm of Starfield's gait created an unavoidable closeness between us.
I kept my hands positioned carefully on either side of Chloe, gripping the reins, but when the kuda navigated rougher terrain, my arms bracketed her more firmly.
Each time I steadied Starfield over an uneven patch, my chest pressed against her back, and I felt that initial stiffening—her body's instinctive recoil, a reflex carved into her by trauma.
But something had shifted. The tension didn't linger.
She didn't pull away immediately. After a heartbeat or two, her breathing would even out, and she'd settle back into the saddle, relaxing against me by degrees.
It was such a small thing, this gradual easing, but I noticed every increment of change.
I wished it didn't matter to me. But something about her resilience—the way she kept moving forward despite everything Hewes had put her through—had burrowed under my skin and taken root.
The image of those two bodies kept flashing through my mind—the Romvesian and the Andorian, sprawled where I'd left them in deliberate display. A message written in blood and bone: This is what happens to those who touch her.
But the thought brought me no satisfaction.
Only a gnawing worry that coiled in my gut like a serpent.
How did they get past Ahrick? My friend was too skilled, too careful to have simply missed them.
Which meant either something had happened to him, or the net closing around us was wider and tighter than I'd anticipated.
The realization settled cold and heavy in my chest. Fange City wasn't the only source of hunters.
Persico's bounty on Chloe's head would draw predators from across the planet.
They could be coming from any direction—from settlements and outposts I hadn't even considered.
The wilderness suddenly felt less like cover and more like a maze with enemies at every turn.
And I wasn't even considering the threat posed by the Welati.
I adjusted my grip on the reins and scanned the tree line ahead, every instinct alert. We needed to reach the mountains. We needed to disappear.
My thoughts drifted back to what Chloe had told me about Declan.
The things he'd done to her, the violations that went far beyond the physical—the systematic dismantling of her sense of self.
The memory of her voice as she'd spoken about it—small and distant, as if she were watching it happen to someone else—made my blood run cold and then boil hot.
I had never wanted to kill anyone more than I wanted to kill Declan Hewes.
Not in combat, not in the heat of battle—this was different.
This was personal. This was primal. The urge to find him, to make him understand the depth of his crimes in his final moments before I ended him, was almost overwhelming.
My hands tightened on the reins until my knuckles went white and ached.
But what stayed with me even more than the rage was the way she'd accepted my embrace when the memories became too much.
How she'd let herself lean into me, seeking comfort she probably hadn't allowed herself to accept in a long time.
The weight of her against my chest, the way her breathing had gradually steadied as I held her—it felt right in a way that terrified me.
I liked holding her. More than I should. More than was safe for either of us.
The forest began to surrender its hold as we pushed forward, the dense canopy giving way to scattered trees that stood like lonely sentries.
Then the first mountain revealed itself—a massive dark sentinel rising against the dimming sky, its peak crowned with the dying light of day.
The sun bled across the horizon, staining the jagged peaks in shades of molten amber and deep crimson, and that old familiar weight settled in my gut like a stone.
I felt Chloe's eyes on me before I turned. She was studying my face, her brow creased with concern. "You look worried."
I was. But I kept my voice level, controlled. "We're entering Welati territory."
"The Welati?" The uncertainty in her voice was unmistakable. "Who are they?"
My gaze remained fixed on those darkening peaks, though every nerve in my body was aware of her attention on me.
"The indigenous people of Palaydium. They were here long before any of us—long before the settlements, before the prison operations.
" I chose my next words with care, weighing each one. "They don't take kindly to outsiders."
"How unkindly are we talking?"
"They're savage. Merciless." I let the words hang in the air between us.
"Anyone they find trespassing on their land—and they consider most of these mountains their land—doesn't get a warning.
Doesn't get a second chance." I paused, making sure she understood.
"They kill all trespassers. No exceptions. "
The blood drained from her face, leaving her skin pale in the fading light, but she didn't look away. Didn't flinch. "And we're riding straight through their territory."
"We don't have a choice. The route around the mountains would add weeks to the journey.
" I shifted my grip on the reins, feeling the leather bite into my palms. "Which means we move smart.
We move quiet." I didn't mention that any other route would expose us to Persico and the other prisoners.
She had enough fear to carry without adding to the burden.
Her hand drifted toward the blade at her side—an instinctive gesture that told me her survival instincts were sharp.
I brought Starfield to a halt and activated the tracking unit strapped to my wrist. The device was a cobbled-together piece of salvaged parts that looked ready to disintegrate at any moment, but it had never failed me yet.
The screen flickered, then steadied, displaying the topographical map my father had transmitted.
"Look." I angled the screen toward her, tracing the route with my finger. "If we stick to this path and keep our presence minimal, we should be able to slip past their settlements. The Welati migrate to the higher elevations this time of year—hunting grounds."
"Should be able to?" The tightness in her voice betrayed her worry.
I met her eyes, wishing I could erase the anxiety I saw there, and promise her absolute safety. But I wouldn't lie to her. "It's dangerous, Chloe. But this is our best option."
She held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly, her jaw setting with that fierce determination I was coming to admire.
Silence wrapped around us as we pressed onward, the terrain transforming beneath Starfield's hooves—smooth earth giving way to jagged stone as afternoon bled into evening.
The sun hung low and defiant on the horizon, setting the mountains ablaze in molten gold and rust. My eyes kept drifting back toward Fange City, though the settlement had long since disappeared from view.
We weren't far enough away. Not nearly far enough to breathe easy.
"We need to find shelter." I mused as shadows began their slow crawl across the landscape. "Before the light dies completely."
Chloe's nod was weary, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion she was trying desperately to hide. She'd proven herself tougher than I'd expected, but even the strongest will couldn't erase the physical toll the day had taken on her.
I steered Starfield away from the main path, my gaze sweeping the rocky outcroppings for anything that might serve as cover.
The mountains were honeycombed with caves and fissures, but most were laughably small or dangerously exposed.
We needed something that could hide all three of us—and leave no trace of our presence.
Dusk had nearly claimed the sky when I caught sight of it: a dark mouth in the rock face, half-strangled by a tangle of scrub brush. I slid from Starfield's back and shouldered through the brittle branches, squinting into the void beyond.
The cave opened wider than I'd hoped—ceiling high enough for Starfield to stand, depth enough to retreat far from prying eyes. The floor stretched relatively flat beneath a blanket of dust and small stones that showed no recent signs of habitation.
"This will work." Relief loosened something tight in my chest as I emerged. "Come on."
I coaxed Starfield through the brush first, his hooves striking soft percussion against stone. Chloe followed, ducking beneath a gnarled branch. Once they'd both disappeared into the darkness, I stepped back into the dying light.
"What are you doing?" Chloe's voice echoed from within.
"Erasing our tracks. Stay inside."
I worked quickly, wielding a broken branch like an artist's brush to sweep away the betraying marks of Starfield's hooves left in the softer patches of earth.
I rearranged the scrub brush until it looked untouched by anything but wind, then retreated backward, erasing my own footprints with each careful step.
When I finished, the entrance was nothing more than another shadow playing tricks among the rocks.
Inside, Chloe had claimed a spot against the back wall, her pack serving as a makeshift pillow. Starfield stood sentinel near the entrance, ears swiveling at every whisper of sound.
I fished two ration bars from my pack and lobbed one to Chloe. She snatched it from the air, studying the wrapper with barely concealed disappointment.
"I know." I ripped open my own bar with my teeth. "But it's fuel."
She bit down and her face contorted beautifully. "I suppose starvation would be worse."
"The mountains are crawling with game. Wild fowl too, if luck favors us." I dropped down across from her, forcing myself to chew. "Once we put more distance between us and Fange City, I'll hunt us something that actually tastes like food."
Hope flickered across her features. "You mean it?"