Page 63 of Crash Landing
“You don’t understand…”
I shifted my weight, closing in on myself a little more. “Stop saying that. It’s freaking me out.”
“I’m—”
“Stop. I don’t want to think about anything beyond how nice it was. Not this second, ok?”
He surrendered to the pouty look on my face with a tired blin and scooted closer to me, stooping his head a bit to stare deep into my eyes.
“I cannot tell you how much I wanted you these past few days. How much I wanted you last night or even how much I want you right now. I regret nothing in that sense. Please tell me you know that.”
The sincerity in my eyes was overwhelmingly warm. I couldn’t help myself. A gentle smile spread across my lips and my heart fluttered. If that look was going to become regular, I would never be able to get angry at him ever again.
“I guess I know,” I said just as a loud rumble shook the sky. I looked up at the cave roof as if I could see the sky through it. “Storm?”
“No. That was a ship entering the atmosphere.”
I perked up immediately. “Really?”
“Yes. Come on. We have a bit more hiking to do.”
He tapped my leg and then stood, helping me to my feet. We slung our packs over our shoulders and headed out of the cave. That time, Saleuk took my hand. And he didn’t let it go until we reached the top of the mountain where a valerian ship was waiting for us.
22: Saleuk
Being back on Sylos was a relief. Sam and I made our way eagerly from the landing zone to the medical facility with Ilisa close behind us. It was only on the trip over from Phesah that Sam started to complain about her right leg, telling me it had hit the cliff face with a good amount of force when she fell.
Seeing her fall had ripped me open and the entire time I thought she’d gone down into the ravine, I thought I might want to jump in after her to save myself from the pain and shame of losing her. Of not being able to protect her. It was only by chance that she grabbed a root sturdy enough to support her long enough for me to get to her.
That kind of feeling couldn’t be just because of a surge. That was something else. Something beyond biology.
I should have known the mountain would be unstable. I should have held her hand the whole way. Something.
“Are you ok?” Sam asked, a slight limp in her step.
I smiled at her and bent to lift her into my arms. She let out a soft squeak of surprise as I carried her into the med building.
“Where are the interns?” she asked.
“Returned to the Nexus,” Ilisa said. “Michael Hemburg has been banned by the council to ever step foot on Phesah or Sylos. Or any other valerian-owned planet, for that matter.”
“Was it that easy?”
Ilisa shook her head. “No. The council was very close to dismissing the whole thing until one of the interns figured outhow to access the feed from his OxyMask. He’d tried to tamper with it, which only strengthened the case against him.”
Sam’s smile had a hint of darkness behind it and I didn’t blame her. I would have done far worse to the lead researcher if I had the chance. And now, with the bond we shared, I considered hunting him down before his return to Earth only to solidify my claim on Sam by maiming him.
Claim? My brain was acting like she was mine. Like we were a pair. But we hadn’t had that conversation as seriously as we should have.
“In here,” Ilisa said, escorting me into a small private room with a metal table and a few simple medical instruments.
I set Sam down on the table and stepped back to let Ilisa examine her, crossing my arms sternly as I watched. To my relief, Sam didn’t seem too worried about her injury and when Ilisa got an internal scan, things looked alright save for some bone bruising and swelling in her calf muscles.
“So?” Ilisa asked in Takesh as she pulled up Sam’s pant leg to look at the purple flesh forming there. “What happened on Phesah?”
“We got attacked by a kilor,” I sighed. “And then we found ourselves at the ruins of the—”
“No,” Ilisa cut me off, taking a deep breath. “I mean between you two.” Gently, she set Sam’s leg down and walked to a small compartment in the wall containing cryo patches. “I smell the two of you on each other.”
