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“Blant, we need to move.” His words boomed through the small room like a grenade exploding.
“Why the sudden urgency?”
“The enforcers are preparing a diversion as we speak.” His eyes flicked to his wristport, calculating the time. The way they didn’t meet mine couldn’t be construed as anything but deliberate. “We’ve less than a sun to get to the entrance.”
I took my irritation out on my bootlaces, cinching each side with sharp tugs, though in hindsight, the interruption probably saved us from a boatload of awkwardness. Did Rock Dwellers even have one-night stands? “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”
We’d spent all of yesterday together, for crying out loud. Was he looking for a café to serve us espresso before telling me about our imminent rescue?
His gaze rose to the domed ceiling. “You fell asleep.”
He could say that with as much arrogance as he wanted, but we both knew what a weak-ass response it was. Too bad mylips still tasted of his, sweet with the tinga juice and something smoky and entirely JayJay. It made my anger difficult to maintain.
At my eye roll, his forehead ridge morphed into a shy curl that made my heart trip. “I may have been distracted,” JayJay conceded before he jumped through the vine curtain, gripped my waist and placed me at his side. When he went to scoop me up like a helpless doll again, I’d had enough.
“If you manhandle me one more time, King Kong, I will…” My voice trailed off as I searched for something to fill in the blank, pushing against his chest to be let down. “I won’t gift you the fabulous clothing I’ve designed for you.” Man, that was weak.
JayJay’s lawnmower-like laugh cut through the tension as he lowered me. “Are you giving me a gift then, Ginger? I thought it was a simple thanks.”
Is he teasing me? What I needed to do was stop wasting time and start focusing on our rescue.
He grasped my hand and started a slow jog that had me out of breath in no time.
“Rock Dwellers are way too weird about gifts.”
The steep volcanic rock tunnel loomed ahead of me. Its brittle edges broke away whenever JayJay turned to assess my condition, our bags of gear smashinginto them.
“There’ll be no rescue. If we don’t increase our speed, we’ll miss the rendezvous point.” His forehead ridge shifted, full of wary caution. He was toeing the line, trying to balance how mad I would be if he carried me versus missing the enforcers.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. “Fine. You win this time.”
JayJay pressed my side to his chest. “Stubborn human females. Are you all so hardheaded?”
I was pretty sure he didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“I think you mean fabulous and determined,” I teased, but then stiffened against his hard chest as the tunnel zoomed by. What if the enforcers couldn’t distract the hellsna? How much longer would the mushroom be able to relieve my symptoms? Would we remain trapped here indefinitely? My rubbery legs and swollen joints jostled over JayJay’s thick forearms, and his smooth strides lulled me into an anxiety-riddled doze.
I’ll just rest my head here for a moment.
9
Ginger’s head lolled againstmy breastbone as I ran through the tunnel. I bit down on my lip. It still tasted of Ginger, rich and spicy. Her linnea scent magnified my senses, alerting me to the dangers awaiting us at the cave entrance. Water trickled louder beneath the tunnel’s volcanic rock floor, and the drone of the wind in the distance strained the limits of my hearing. Would the enforcers draw the hellsna away? Would we be freed? Will Ginger’s lip mesh with mine again?
The muscles in her leg clenched again, only relaxing when I pressed the pad of my thumb to her bunched thigh. Ahead, light streamed into the tunnel, highlighting the dark shadows underher eyes. Ginger needed Dr. Ten’s care in a way that set my teeth on edge.
Though I’d encountered hellsna more times than I could count, they’d never shaken me until now. With Ginger in the mix, my heart raced. A deep inhale refocused me. The thousands of repetitive drills I’d completed as lead elite guard returned like muscle memory.
We arrived at the entrance with no time to spare. Tucked behind the narrow ledge that acted as a doorway, I protected my charge from what might come. As Ginger slept, I dug into her bag and slipped her long-sleeve shirt over her tiny starburst-covered top to prevent her teeth from chattering in the cold air.
“I have this, King Kong.” She woke, her voice a raspy breath, and batted at me like a jungle kitten while she adjusted her shirt. The monster hadn’t made itself known yet, which led me to believe the enforcers hadn’t arrived.
Ginger shivered. “I forgot how blanting cold it is up here.”
I leaned against the pock-marked volcanic rock as close to the entrance as I dared and chuckled at how she tested the foreign swear word on her tongue. My gear bag jumped and rustled against my shoulder, and when I went to investigate, two eyes peered at me. Camouflaged among the contents, the dorat’s tail flickered on and off. I ran my thumb down her spine to show her my appreciation for staying with me and zipped the bag almost shut.
What I really wanted was to help Ginger get her coat on. Her arms jerked in slow increments, and her fingers trembled from the cold. Her mittens should’ve been on by now. The brittle volcanic rock wall crumbled under my fingers as I held back. My help wouldn’t be welcome. I’d learned to let her take the lead. Unless her stubbornness became a problem. Which happened to be right now.
“Ginger, the enforcers aren’t knowledgeable about hellsna.” I squared my shoulders and stood straight so she could gauge my seriousness. “We must expect the unexpected and move without argument or discussion.” The wrinkles that bracketed her nose pinched together, and I itched to smooth them out with my thumb.
