Page 64 of Dark's Savior

Aly shook her head. "No. No, just hypothetical." He looked at her a little suspiciously but didn't pry. He looked down at the water, thinking.

"That's a good question," he said. "Obviously, it's not good to force yourself on them. If they need their space then that's what you should give them." He was quiet for a moment, staring at the water. "It's hard but...if you truly care about someone, you learn to let them be. Coping is all you can do. It means working on yourself, to be a better person so they can see that you can be separate from them and still care. That you could be there for them and it means nothing more than that. To be selfless for their sake." Mark let out a short laugh. "Or maybe I'm just talking out my ass."

Aly shook her head. "No. No, that's good, actually." She looked down at the water too. "I think you are right."

His hand tightened in hers then released it. "Maybe that's why I should tell you that I care about you. But I get that what happened on the ship between us was enough. I understand if you don't feel the same way."

Aly closed her eyes then opened them slowly. "I care about you, too. But as a friend."

She saw him nod. "I had a feeling," he said. "And you know what...it's okay. I'm glad to be just your friend."

Aly's throat suddenly tightened. She looked back at him, and for a brief second, wished she felt for him like he did for her. Truly wished it. Because that would make everything so much easier.

But no, she was in love with a man from another world. Who wouldn't even touch her.

She leaned in and hugged Mark, and he did the same.

They talked for a little while longer, until the rain started to fall harder.

"Let's get back before the rain gets worse," Mark said, starting to stand. He offered his hand, and she took it, standing up with him.

They walked together back to their hub. Before they reached the door that led into the hall attached to their units, Mark stopped her. "It's going to be okay, Aly," he said. "Whatever happens, it's going to all right." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Aly didn't mind. She smiled back at him, thankful.

***

Ryziel watched the pair from the edge of a stairway. He'd waited several days to come above, only to check on Aly, just to make sure she was safe. Or so he told himself. He'd been working harder than ever within the Keep, the last few days spent working through the night and rarely even returning to the lair. If anything crossed his path between the Keep and home, he made sure they regretted it. With the scent of nyghi blood still permeating the air and with him stalking the Keep in a dark mood, most living things stayed far away. Xilya came down many times with him but never stayed for more than her shift.

After he returned, he barely spoke. Not even to Nar. He went to his room and tried to meditate, and when he couldn't do that, he worked on the ship. Neither Xilya nor Nar said a word, though they knew something had happened and that it had affected him in some way. Even Xilya knew it was best to let him be.

When the fifth day had come since Aly left, he began to grow restless. But it only made him work more. It wasn't until Nar found him sleeping on top of the ship that he told Ryziel he should take a break. Ryziel did but only to go stalking through the caves at the bottom of the mine. Climbing down stairways and passing through tunnels, not thinking where he was going, just moving. Eventually, his travels brought him to discover a sluth nest. He destroyed it and a few of the stragglers, tearing his way through it until there was nothing left.

On the seventh day, a report went out on the forum that another body had been found. Nar had a mind to ask an urk cousin if there was any similar trouble in the dens, to which he replied back that there wasn't but that there were rumors going around as to what it might be. This was the final tipping point for Ryziel, and so, on the eighth day, he went looking for Aly.

And he found her with another human. The one that he had first thought to be her mate but had quickly discarded the notion when he saw how little time they spent together and how her attention had been focused elsewhere. Still, seeing the man touch his mouth to her again didn't make him feel any better. Because, though they might not be mates, the intimate gesture could mean they were courting. And thatdefinitelydidn't make him feel better.

But she wasn't his. Though his brother might tell him otherwise, he couldn't make her his. Because he was a cold-hearted bastard, and if he tried to stop her from being with another, after everything he had said to her, then he was a selfish one too. It wasn't fair to her, and he knew it.

So, though his Drega trembled, wanting him to rush forward and clock the man out of the way for touching her, the part of him he could still control said to just back away and be thankful she was safe. Even if leaving hurt.

He made his way silently back down, his mind like the storm clouds high above, when his techband went off. He stilled on the stair and saw it was Nar.

"What is it?" he answered, not too nicely.

"Nihl's hide, Ryziel, get back down here quick." The urk sounded breathless, excited. "Xilya is coming too. You both need to see this."

"What is it?" he repeated.

"Ionx," Nar said. "We've found it."

Chapter Twenty-two

Ryziel entered the lair and saw Xilya already there, talking with Nar beside the console.

"Where?" he said, his heart still racing after flying down the stairs. Xilya moved to the side so Ryziel could see the map.

"Below Yurza's Keep. Literally right below it, in fact," Nar said. He pointed at the map below the area of the Keep, where tight clusters of yellow dots showed bright. And not just yellow clusters but blue and green ones also. All the minerals they would need, ready for the taking.

Ryziel stared at them with a tight frown. "That's...impossible. We've looked all through and around that area. How could we have missed this?"

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