Page 102 of Ronan

His feet are bare, hair more matted in the daylight, and he looks fragile enough for the gentle breeze to knock him to the ground. Hunched over, his small stature is even more exaggerated, but even standing straight, he would barely reach Cameron’s shoulder.

“Would you like me to show you where to wash?” He stares at me for a long time before he gives another of those single nods. Relief loosens a fraction of the weight from my shoulders as I gesture towards the camp. “They are gone, I swear to you.”

His throat bobs in a nervous swallow as he nods again, and I translate for Cameron. “He’s going to shower while we find him some clothes.”

“Good,” Cam breathes, a wobbly smile forming on his lips. “That’s good. That’s… really, really good.” The two of us walk towards the camp, and after a pause, the Drüinae’s feather-light footsteps follow.

Soap and shampoo are already inside, and I explain how to use the gravity fed system before saying I will place clothes outside the stall for him. Shoulders hunched, he says nothing else, just occasionally glances at me until I offer him a small smile and leave. Outside, I listen for the water and smile again when it starts.

“How long do you think he’s been in captivity?” Cameron asks, and I shake my head.

“There’s no way to know, and he isn’t exactly eager to talk right now.”

“How is it he only knows your language?”

The same question has been bothering me. “It seems impossible, doesn’t it? Unless he’s been alone on thisside or held captive for a considerable time. Drüinae have a very long lifespan, and I can’t tell how old he is, especially in his current condition.”

“Drüinae?”

“Peaceful folk… healers. They’re usually found in the forest. When we first passed through the veil, they refused to be part of the front lines. Eventually, some crossed, but they kept to themselves on this side. Until him, I don’t believe I’ve seen a Drüinae in the past eighty years. I’d almost believed them to be extinct.”

Cameron gestures towards the van. “We should get him some of my clothes. They will be big on him, but it feels wrong to dress him in something that belonged to his captors.”

A sad smile pulls on my lips as I twist him to face me. “You have a good heart, mo’sziv.”

“Just don’t tell anyone,” he whispers, his warm breath ghosting over my skin as his lips meet mine, my sadness mirrored in his heavy eyes. “You’ll ruin my reputation.”

“You aren’t important enough to have a reputation,” I tease, coaxing a quiet laugh from him as I smooth the hair from his face. Suddenly, my conversation with Khuth comes to mind. “The soldiers knew who I was.” Cameron’s brows fly up his forehead. “Khuth claimed all bases received reports of a high-ranking Anunian officer’s defection, along with alerts about a missing transport van. They suspected it was me when they stopped us.”

“That’s… not great.”

“It’s not,” I admit, “but news of our presence did not leave this camp. Even amongst the military, radios are so valuable that they stay with the officers. The soldiers heredid not rank high enough to be trusted with such technology.”

“You’re sure they didn’t report us?”

“Positive. If they’d been left with comms, the equipment uses antennas and radio towers so tall that you wouldn’t miss them, especially in a camp this size.” I pause as we make it to the van, Cameron chewing on his lip as he digs through his bags. “They didn’t know I was traveling with a human.”

“Why do I feel like I should be offended by that?” he mutters, and an amused smile tugs at my lips. “Big surprise, the drama queen gets to be the center of attention. Again.”

“Your presence kept them from killing us on the spot when they first stopped us on the road. Since your absence was never noted from the base, it made them question my identity. Which also means that regardless of what happens to me, you’re safe. There’s no price on your head, no search party out scouting.”

“You know I hate it when you talk like that,” he says with a frown. “Whatever happens to you, my ass. The few drops of social energy I had in my body were used up learning to tolerate you, so you’re stuck with me.”

“I love you, too,” I murmur, earning a scowl as I ruffle his hair, but there’s no actual heat behind it.

After a show of swatting my hands away, he returns to his bag and pulls out cotton shorts and a t-shirt, along with underwear and socks. “I don’t have extra shoes.”

“We can only do what we can do, Cam. Come on, let’s search the camp.” We scout all the tents, grabbing every pair of shoes that we find. What doesn’t fit him mightwork for one of us, and it’s always a good idea to have spares.

Water still runs inside the shower house as I step in, and I can’t imagine the relief of washing away the dirt and grime of his confinement. “The clothes belong to my mate, although we didn’t have extra shoes, so we had to grab what we could find around camp.” His silence is expected, so I lay everything on the bench and tell him we will wait outside, giving him his privacy again.

Midday sun shines overhead as I step out, and I try to hide my anxiety. We should’ve been gone hours ago. “Let me show you what I found,” Cameron says, pulling me from my thoughts as he leads me towards the common tent.

“You were right about there being no paperwork about this secret base lying around. It’s not like I really expected there to be, you know? It just would’ve been nice to find some random binder laying around with all the answers in it.”

“That would’ve been too convenient,” I say, and he grumbles his agreement.

“There were barely any papers at all, and they were just schedules and duty assignments. A few half-written love letters. One from Kek was particularly raunchy, and I saved it in case you want to read it.” I choke on a surprised laugh as he flashes me the first genuine smile I’ve seen from him all morning.

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