Page 30 of The Last Aquarius
“Don’t be mad, Queenie. I get it. You’ve been so used to going it alone that it’s tough to let someone in. But here’s the thing, and I speak from experience, missions, life, everything, it’s a lot easier when you have someone you can trust, who has your back, who wants to see you succeed. Partners are a good, not bad, thing.”
“We are not partners. You just want to save your planet.”
“I do, but I also kind of want to fix yours as well.”
“Only because you want the secret for killing the Kukakk.”
“That’s only part of it. I also want to—” He would have said the sappiest thing in that moment if a damned snake didn’t rear up from the water and whip its open maw for Ishtar.
“Fucking asshole, can’t you see we’re having a discussion?” Aquarius yelled as he leaped, grabbed the head, and twisted it as he landed.Crunch. Something cracked, and the body went limp. He released it, and the snake slid back into the water.
A wide-eyed Ishtar just stared.
“I think we should leave,” he suggested.
She nodded. “I won’t disagree on that.”
They followed the shoreline back to the hole they’d fallen through, with them both keeping a sharp eye on the river. Nosnakes appeared. Maybe they’d learned their lesson. If not, he’d be back with a harpoon.
He glanced upward at the jagged hole then the walls around them.
“Got any rope?” he asked.
“Sure, I’ve got it tucked in my bra,” her sarcastic drawl.
He grinned. “Is that an invitation to grope you? Because I am totally willing.” He’d never been so bold with a woman and couldn’t have said where it came from.
Her eyes widened, and she had no reply.
He winked. Maybe this flirting thing wasn’t that hard. “Stick as close to the wall and far away from the water as you can. I’m going to climb up and fetch something I can use to pull you up.”
“The wall is practically sheer,” she pointed out.
“I’ve scaled worst. Hang tight for a few minutes.”
One thing he really liked about the Mars space suit was how flexible the gloves were, almost like being barehanded but with the protection he needed to not scrape his fingertips raw.
The trek upwards went quickly, his boots finding spots to grip, his hands constantly reaching and seeking for the next slight indent he could use to haul his ass. Once he reached the crumbly ceiling it got a tad tricky, as he had to knock down some of the overhanging rock that would have crumbled as soon as he tried to put his weight on it. He punched it until the wall he perched on had a direct line to the solid ground above.
Once he exited the hole, he ran for the citadel, a hulking monolith in the distance.
“Why are you huffing?” Ishtar asked, her voice as clear in his helmet as if she stood beside him.
“Running. The suit’s struggling to convert my exhalation into oxygen.”
“Because you’re not supposed to exert yourself.”
“Would you like me to slow down?”
A grumbled, “No,” was the reply.
“Where can I find rope?”
“The chamber we exited should have some in one of the storage cabinets.”
“Okay. Hold on. I’m almost there.”
He reached the citadel and slammed the door a few times before hitting the right spot that opened it. It took opening two cabinets before he located the coil of rope. With it in hand, he raced back for the hole.
