Soul of Eon (Eon Warriors #8) - Anna Hackett Page 0,19
thigh.
They both stiffened. She lifted her hand.
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t move it.”
She hesitated, then let her hand drop to his corded thigh.
It felt good.
“Tell me about being a doctor. Do you like it?” Not the smoothest change of subject.
“Yes. It’s my calling. I like healing people. I like solving challenges.”
And he was an excellent warrior. She’d seen him fight. He was good.
“Do you like the Air Force?” he asked.
She nodded. “I like the order, and the challenges, and serving my country.” She resisted the urge to stroke the muscles under her fingers. “Although, I realize I’ve been all work since…”
“You lost your husband.”
She nodded. “This experience is a good reminder that I need to live a little more.”
His hand moved to the back of her neck and squeezed. A quiet understanding. She closed her eyes. She was so drawn to him.
They sat in companionable silence. Together they watched the pool of water, so still and calm.
“I’m going to look around.” He shifted and rose. “You keep resting.”
“I can—”
He raised a brow. “Doctor’s orders.”
She rolled her eyes. “Does that really work for you?”
“Most of the time.”
She watched him circle the pool and check the walls. He crouched, touching some of the rocks.
Her gaze moved down his body. She loved the easy way he moved his powerful form.
He finally wandered back her way and she pushed to her feet. She was feeling better, steadier.
“There are some shafts in the far wall,” he said.
“But?” She heard it in his voice.
“But they go down. There’s no other way out of here, except the way we came in.”
Kaira glanced at the cliff they’d fallen down. The sheer walls didn’t look scalable. “Well, maybe if we go down, we’ll find a way up.” A yawn hit her.
He eyed her. “We should find somewhere to rest, get some sleep.”
“I vote we go down.”
He nodded. “We’ll have to climb.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m ready.”
They circled the pool. Thankfully, there were no signs of any more floods.
They reached the wall, and she spotted the holes he was talking about. Thane waved her in.
Kaira poked her head in and turned to look downward. The rock walls were rough, and the shaft was roughly circular, like a chimney. It had a slight slant to it, which would help with the climb.
“I’ll go first,” Thane said.
She watched him climb into the shaft and start inching down.
Right. She pressed a boot to the wall and climbed out over the hole.
Ugh. This wasn’t going to be easy.
She moved downward, moving her hands and feet, one after the other.
God, if they slipped…
Kaira gritted her teeth. She just had to think about getting out of here, then into the Kantos base.
Suddenly, her hand slipped, and she lost her grip.
Shit.
She dropped and smacked into Thane.
Thankfully, they didn’t fall. He’d locked his arms and legs, and was holding them still.
“Jesus. Sorry.”
“You all right?” he rumbled in her ear.
She nodded and reached for the wall, conscious that she was plastered against his body.
She got a grip and steadied herself. They kept moving.
“We’re close to the bottom,” he said.
A second later, she moved out of the shaft behind him.
She stepped out into a cavern awash in a blue-white glow.
“Oh my…”
It looked like a fairytale. Bioluminescent plants covered the walls. Some dripped down from the ceiling, looking like strands of fairy lights. There was another small pool of water in the center of the space, with the same blue glow as the plants.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“Kaira, look.” Thane walked toward the far wall.
She gasped. The stone wall was covered in symbols. There were circles and lines, all painted in a glimmering gold. They linked together in intricate designs.
“Some sort of language?” She touched a line and a pulse of light flared across the concentric circles.
“These might belong to whatever ancient culture lived on Crolla before the Kantos came,” Thane said.
“Maybe the same aliens who built the stone ruins above.” Sadness washed through her. No doubt they’d been victims of the Kantos as well.
There was a sound behind them. The crunch of rocks under a foot.
They both spun.
She didn’t see anything in the cavern.
Both of them tensed and scanned around.
“Anything?” she asked.
“I’m not picking up any life signs.”
“Okay, well I suggest we rest.” She yawned again. Tiredness was dragging on her like a heavy blanket. “I—”
There was a sudden burst of bright light. She blinked and several figures appeared out of nowhere.
“Thane!” She threw up an arm.
Something hit her on the back of her legs and she dropped to her knees. When