many ways.
I had the unstoppable urge to kiss and cuddle him.
He welcomed my affection, soaking it in like a desert absorbed the first rain of the season. I realized that all of it was new to him. Every single thing that had happened between us—each touch, kiss, caress, and whisper—was something he had never experienced before with anyone else.
And I wanted to give it all to him—everything he’d missed, stranded in this place with no one capable of any feelings.
I wished to give him my all, but I hadn’t expected how much he would give back.
With Vrateus, I felt not just wanted, but needed, desperately. His strong arms around me made me feel safe in this place filled with danger.
Rolling to his back, he drew me over his chest. I broke the kiss, rising over him on my arms.
He gazed up at me. “You are by far the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Well, considering the appearance of some of the guys around here, it’s hardly a compliment.” I giggled, warm with pleasure from the glow of affection in his bright orange eyes. “By Earth standards, I’m fairly ordinary looking, to be honest.”
“I don’t believe you.” He grinned, the tips of his fangs glistening in the dimly lit room. “You make me feel happy, Svetlana. When I should be stressed and terrified.”
“You make the life here so much better for me, too,” I confessed. The fear, the dread of what was to come were still there. But all of that seemed manageable as long as he was with me. “Together, we’ll be okay, Vrateus. You and me.”
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
Chapter 21
“HERE, TAKE THIS, TOO,” Vrateus said, taking a ruby ring off his pinky and putting it on the ring finger of my right hand.
“A promise ring?” I attempted a joke with a nervous giggle to combat the dreadful anxiety of the looming uncertainty.
This morning, he had taken me to the functioning bathroom on one of the ships near the gardens. Then, we’d had some berries and fruit for breakfast. We had taken care to stay out of sight. However, the gardens appeared deserted. Even Malahki seemed to be gone.
Back in the room behind the library, Vrateus was now getting ready to confront Crux.
“If you press the button here...” He lifted my hand, pointing at a small bead in the setting of the ring. “A needle will slide out. It’s soaked in a concentrated fuhnid juice.”
“It is?” I took a closer look at the tiny button he had indicated.
“Very potent.” He nodded. “The needle is too fine to penetrate the skin of every species on the Dark Anomaly, though. If anyone gets too close, aim for the eyelids or lips if you can. It should kill a large male within seconds.”
“Wow.” I admired the ring with newly found appreciation. “I see what you meant when you said you liked things that are pretty and functional.”
He checked all my weapons, as if I were the one going out there to face the wild crowd, not staying in the small room behind the library, waiting for his return.
He cupped the side of my face for a moment, then slid his hand down my arm, lacing his fingers with mine.
“I’ll come for you in an hour or two.”
I squeezed his hand, wishing I didn’t have to let go.
“Be careful, please. I need you to come back.”
“I will always come back to you.” He held my gaze. “You understand what you’ve done to me, Svetlana? It’s no longer just about survival for me. You’ve shown me how to live. If I lost you now, I wouldn’t know how to go on.”
ONCE AGAIN, I WAS SITTING in the dark, waiting. My eyes on the glowing screen of the tablet, I tracked every passing second, counting down the minutes until Vrateus’s return.
An hour passed, then another crawled by, and he still wasn’t back.
I strained my hearing, listening to every little noise out in the tunnel, but none of them were the sounds of him returning.
At lunch time, I ate some fruit Vrateus and I had brought from the gardens. Unable to sit, I paced in the small space.
Something must have happened. I couldn’t shake the dread.
I had no doubt Vrateus would have come for me as soon as he was able. If he was able.
Something bad must have happened to him, and I couldn’t stay here, not knowing what it was or if I could help.
Adjusting the weapons strapped to