Page 32 of Hope Forged
She broke the kiss. “Seba? But how—” She gaped, her gaze settling on Illan. Since he had her trapped to the ledge, the flare coated them in light. “I…achefor you. Why’s that? What did you do to me?”
He closed his eyes and wrestled with his control, willing his kok to calm. “I will explain another time. Why is Seba here?” He pushed himself off her, wincing at missing her softness beneath him.
She sat up. “How should I know?”
“Lack of harness says Brac did not lower him. Which means…” Illan arched a brow at her.
“That he knows a way into the cavern.” She clambered to her feet. Her taut nipples tenting her tunic shouldn’t be something he noted.
He wanted out of this place fast. Having her near him, her scent tantalizing him, but unable to finish what he’d started was worse than the torture the Yithians had inflicted.
“Coll?” he called, grabbing Ziamee by her harness and nudging her toward the edge. “We are coming down. Toss a flare to guide us.”
No reply came, but a light burst into life.
“Aim for that,” he said to her.
“What about Seba?” she asked.
“He is too heavy for either of us to hold him.” Illan scratched the creature along his jaw, half grateful he’d interrupted them. “And judging by his presence, he knows the way down.”
“I’ll go, but see if he follows.” Off she went.
Seba whined, peered after her, then bolted. Illan hesitated. He’d have liked to know where the path was, but he wasn’t certain whether he could navigate it. Instead, he repelled off the side, his focus on the flare below. When his feet touched soil, Ziamee wasn’t waiting for him.
Darkness of another kind gripped him.Fear.
“Ziamee?” he bellowed, spinning on the spot.
Chapter Ten
ZiameewantedtowringSeba’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.
