look up from the figure in my hand.
“What?” I ask.
“You did make those,” she says softly.
“Oh,” I say, staring at the toy again.
Nothing. I don’t recognize it. Yet I made it?
An empty ache pulses in my head and is mirrored in my stomach. I drop the toy and rise to my feet. I walk over to Amara, who is holding a bag that she is filling with basic supplies. Dried meats and such. I see a waterskin sitting on the counter, so I pick it up then look around for a place to fill it.
There’s a tank sitting behind me, so I fill the skin there. When it’s done, I sling it over my shoulder and look to see if she is ready. She has the bag in her hand, so I take that and sling it across my opposite shoulder, adjusting the two bags so they won’t interfere with access to my lochaber.
“Ready?” I ask and she nods. “Then lead the way, my treasure. Please.”
I see it in her eyes. She knows I’m asking her to lead because I don’t know how to get there. The reproach in her look tells me I should and that she isn’t fooled by my coverup. My chest tightens, but there is nothing I can do about it.
She leads us out of the building and through the empty streets. Our echoing footsteps are the only sound until we’re close to the dome. A male sits on a stool next to the airlock. He rises to his feet when he sees us approaching.
“See you found him,” the male says.
The scales on back of my neck itch. I don’t like this male. Something about him puts me on edge. I want to keep him away from Amara.
“Yes,” Amara says, her shoulders squaring, jaw clenching, and her hands balling into fists. “Thank you.”
She doesn’t slow her stride, so I keep pace with her as we close the distance.
“Woah,” the male says. “No one is supposed to go outside. Lockdown, don’t you know? Besides, you already lost him once, you want to lose him outside there? Whole damn planet he could get lost in.”
“Out of the way, Draker,” Amara growls. “Stay back and keep the distancing in, right?”
He backs away holding his hands up and making a patting motion.
“Sure,” he says. “Trying to be helpful. No need to take it all wrong now.”
“I’m not,” Amara says, working the panel to the airlock. “We’re in a hurry.”
“Hurry for what?” the male asks.
“If she wanted to tell you, she would have,” I say through clenched teeth.
The itching in my head, the rising red, I want nothing more than an excuse to hurt this male. His attitude challenges my dominance. The dragon will not be challenged. I am the dominant here, and there is nothing I want more than to show him. Only a thin thread of rationality keeps me from putting him in his place.
“Okay, see we’re grumpy,” the male says.
The door whooshes open.
“Come on,” Amara says.
I follow her into the airlock and watch as the door closes behind us. An urge to run swells, to get free of the small space, but I control it. It’s silly and unnecessary. Amara is calm, I’ll be calm too.
The male returns to his seat and grins through the transparent door portions of the airlock at us. I growl, my tail rising between my shoulders. Amara puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Trust me,” she says. “He isn’t worth it.”
The air pressure shifts, and the door out opens. We walk through and the full force of the two suns of Tajss hit us. I spread my arms, close my eyes, and lean my head back, enjoying it. I spread my wings and bask in the glorious warmth. It feels good, natural, like coming home.
“You would enjoy it,” Amara grumps.
“Do you not?” I ask, looking at her.
Moisture beads the line of her hair at the top of her face and her skin has taken on a reddish hue. Something tickles my thoughts, a memory, I try to grasp it, wrestling it from the fog. She doesn’t like the heat. Then it hits me.
“Epis!” I yell, surprised by my own thought coming through clear.
“What about it?” she asks.
“You brought epis? You’ll need it.”
“I brought some,” she says nodding towards the pack I carry. “Our supplies are low in the City. I don’t need it as often as I used to though, should be okay. One advantage of long-term taking of it. It stays in my