Forged (Star Breed #10) - Elin Wyn Page 0,36

it would take us to get to whatever it was that was reflecting?”

I calculated, gave up, and made a wild guess. “A few hours, maybe more. We haven’t spent enough time on the surface of this moon to know how quickly darkness will fall, but being in a valley won’t help.”

“It’s either we stay up all night looking for threats,” Yasmin argued, “or we stay up all night walking to something that might help us. I know which one I’d rather do.”

She was right. There was no way to find a defensible position here.

We had to move on.

After the first hour, the chill in the air grew pronounced.

“Let’s switch everything into the net bag,” I suggested, “and at least get your top back on you.”

She nodded, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist against the cold.

Once I’d condensed everything into the net bag, it bulged at the sides a bit, but the moss kept the components in.

Hands shaking, she untied the sleeves and transformed the cut-off top of her coveralls from a bag back into a shirt.

“Aren’t you freezing?” she asked as she fastened it up tightly.

“Nope.” I slung the bag over my shoulders, looking around for anything else that might serve as another layer for her.

Nothing.

“Let’s keep walking, at least it’s a little warmer that way.”

With the sun fully down, the only light was reflected from the swirling pastels of the gas giant above.

It was nowhere near as bright as the harsh daylight, but really only a little darker than it had been in the caverns. It was easy enough for me to keep one eye on the target ridgeline.

“Are you sure we’re headed the right way?” Yas asked after she stumbled over the second scraggly bush in an hour.

“Yes,” I said, then gave in to my instincts. “You’re not gonna like this, but I promise it’s not patronizing you. It’s playing to our strengths.”

She turned her exhausted face to me, her forehead lined with confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know, babe,” I said, then scooped her up in my arms and held her snuggly to my chest. “Yas, why didn’t you tell me you were so cold? We should have stopped hours ago.”

“What were you going to do about it?” she protested. “We just need to keep going. Find that thing, whatever it was.”

“You need to sleep,” I said. “I’ll keep us going.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she mumbled. “You’re a ridiculous, impossible man.”

“I know,” I answered, even though I doubted she could hear me anymore. “Apparently, I’m pretty good at that. Don’t tell anyone else, though.”

Once she was sound asleep, I picked up the pace, hyperconscious of the fragile bundle in my arms.

Impossible calculations ran through my mind.

If I ran full speed, would I burn too much oxygen, cripple myself if we needed to fight?

The faster I got us to whatever the shining thing had been, would it mean we were safe?

Or had we built a fantasy based on lack of options and desperation?

Yasmin turned her face into my chest, rubbing her cheek against my skin in her sleep.

And suddenly, nothing else mattered.

I would get her there, keep her safe, get her off this damn moon.

All I had to do was figure out how.

The first rays of dawn touched the ridge of the mountain when I saw it.

“Yas, honey,” I whispered into the top of her hair. “I think you’re gonna want to see this.”

She made adorable noises, and I reconsidered waking her up.

How many more quiet moments like this would we be able to have?

Except, really, she’d want to see this.

“Wake up, babe.” I squeezed her closer to me. “I think we found our ride out of here.”

Her eyelids flew open. “What do you mean? How is it light out?” She kicked her legs, scrambling to be let down. “Have you been walking, carrying me all night?”

Lowering her legs to the ground, I let her slide down my body, still keeping her trapped in the circle of my arms. “Considering we weren’t in a safe enough area to do any of the other things that I’d rather do to you, that seemed the better option.”

I was never going to stop teasing her if her cheeks flushed like that every time.

“You must be exhausted,” she pushed away, chin high. “We should find a place to rest and—” She stopped mid-sentence. “Did you say a ride out of here?”

Gently taking her by the shoulders, I turned her until she faced what had caught yesterday’s failing light, signaling