Page 65 of Protected By the Convicts
While Ky’Li enjoyed his time with Hannah immensely, there was always a sadness about her. She never complained or voiced her worry, but he could see it in her eyes every time they went to a drop point. The way she craned her neck and searched past the trees, it was clear she hoped to see Ren, Vaughn, or Sersie, maybe all three.
After those initial three weeks, they’d gone to the drop points, repeatedly, only to find no new supplies and the surrounding ground undisturbed. Hannah and he had built a nice cache over those first three weeks, not using as much bottled water as they’d anticipated. Now, three weeks since the last drop, their reserves had dwindled considerably. Ky’Li estimated they could survive another week, maybe two, without additional supplies, but no more. The fruits in the jungle only offered so much water.
Ky’Li tried to hide his worry, but his sha’vi was too bright not to do the math, to understand what lay ahead of them. “We have to go back,” Hannah said lying beside him on the bedroll.
“I will raid the miners’ homes while they work, fill our water bottles, and return. Several trips in and out and we buy ourselves a few extra days. You will stay here.”
She rolled onto her side. Soft eyes accompanied her smile.
He sighed, realizing this moment had been destined by the gods. “You want to return, to remain in the colony, sha’vi?”
“It’s more than the water, Ky. They wouldn’t stop bringing supplies. I’m worried about them.”
He was too. He trusted those men, the three who had indeed started to feel like brothers to him. While he didn’t always agree with their ways, they were honorable and they loved Hannah and had fought for her. They would not have stopped bringing supplies unless they’d had no choice. Or were dead. He wouldn’t voice that thought to her, though. Not without proof.
If not for the lack of potable water, they could live in the jungle of Narkos indefinitely. Sneaking into the colony to fill water bottles every few days would be another patch on an otherwise insurmountable dilemma. They had to return to the colony.
Perhaps he could broker an agreement with Dresden. Though as a miner, Ky’Li had nothing of value to offer the colony manager. He only had Hannah and protecting her remained his top priority.
“We will approach, find out what we can, but I won’t risk Dresden capturing you and selling you again.”
Her smile lit in a way he hadn’t seen in weeks. She was going home, to her family. He’d never be enough for her, he understood that now, even if accepting it was hard.
She cupped his cheek. “Thank you, Ky.”
He sank into her touch as he closed his eyes. “You will still always be mine, sha’vi.” He needed to say the words, so there’d be no question how he felt about her, no matter what happened going forward.
Her lips brushed his before he opened for her. Her tongue entered without reservation, but with a strength that spoke to who she was. . . his sha’vi, his one and only.
“I feel as if you still don’t understand, Ky,” she said as she sank back against the bedding, fitting herself perfectly in that crook between his chest and arm.
“Understand what?”
“If I had met only you, I would have been content, ecstatic, loved every minute with you without ever feeling as if I was missing anything in my life.
“But. . .”
“Sersie, Ren, Vaughn. I love them each for who they are. It’s not that you are missing anything or that I’m missing anything with you. But I love them just the same. And once I fell for them, I couldn’t forget them like they never existed.”
“They are a part of you,” he concluded. It’s what he had suspected for some time. The others made Hannah more, somehow. Ky’Li wasn’t sure he would ever understand it, but those men were a part of her now, and he’d no sooner rip them from her as one he would rip an organ or a limb from a person.
“This is still new to me, sha’vi, and I’ve had no joy in your losing them. They are my brothers now. I’ve lost as well.”
“Really?” she said, sitting up.
May the gods above protect her, he would never tire of the awe that filled her eyes. She held power as mighty as the wind, the earth, and the sun created by the gods themselves.
“I saw the effect you’ve had on them. They’re different men now, better, because of you. You chose well, sha’vi. I too miss them.”
She lay back down against his chest, the slight weight of her body always a comfort. He stroked her hair as she fell into an easy sleep. He hoped she had good dreams, because tomorrow, their life might descend into anarchy.
