Page 13 of Tharn's Hunt
He then gestures to the back of the cave, where I’d been resting. An order. A clear, non-negotiable command.Rest.
I should argue. Should scream and throw rocks. Should insist we leave immediately. But my legs wobble beneath me, my vision spotting with exhaustion.
He’s right.
And damn him, knowing he’s right is the most infuriating part of all. I haven't eaten anything proper in days. I'm tired. Hungry. Even with the water he's provided, my body is running on empty. I wouldn’t make it a hundred yards.
My shoulders slump. For once, I listen to my body instead of my stubbornness. It's the rational choice, I tell myself. No point in getting eaten by desert monsters when I'm this close to finding Justine.
As I slump against the cave wall, sliding down until I'm seated on the cool stone floor, my gaze slides back to him. This golden-skinned, copper-haired, naked alien who's appeared out of nowhere with my sister's earring and water to share.
Who somehow made light appear between us.
Who wants to take me to Justine.
The earring still lies between us, a tiny fragment of my world in this alien place. He notices me looking at it and, with those careful movements, as if he’s trying not to startle me, he picks it up again.
This time, he extends his hand, offering it to me directly.
Close enough to feel the heat radiating off his golden skin. Close enough that the air between us prickles with static.
He goes utterly still, not breathing, not blinking, as if waiting for a detonation.
I snatch the earring without contact.
His exhale is audible.
Mine burns in my chest.
Even though I just took a drink, my throat goes dry and I clench my teeth, watching as he eases back.
The earring is heavier than I remember, the cool metal biting into my palm. My chest tightens, tears threatening behind my eyes, but I blink them away before they can fall.
For the first time since I'd set out to find Justine, hope warms me more effectively than this planet’s blazing sun.
Justine is alive.
This strange being knows where she is.
And tomorrow, he’ll take me to her.
The desert holds twenty-seven ways to die.
But as his golden eyes lock onto mine in the deepening twilight, a new thought takes root. Maybe, just maybe, I’ve finally found the one way to survive.And he is it.
Chapter 6
INSTRUCTIONS NEEDED. THE FEMALE IS AWAKE (NOW WHAT?)
THARN
The female rests now.
I crouch at the edge of the cave, careful to keep my distance, watching the rise and fall of her small chest. So small. Small but loud. Dust, soloud.
Jah-kee. Sister-female of Jus-teen. Amiracle.
She shifts in her rest, making a small pained sound that grates against my ears even as it makes me instantly alert. Her face tightens, brows drawing together. Pain? Hunger? Thirst?
