Page 42 of Claim
She wrapped her arms tight around him.“I love you too.”
“Um.Should we come back later?”Sil’s voice reached them, hesitant but amused.“Sorry we took so long.We took a wrong turn, but we can go back and wait around the corner.”
“We’re right where we need to be,” Mag said.“Together.”
When she finally opened her eyes, he was smiling down at her, and June tried to remember why she’d ever found the big tusks and fathomless black eyes so intimidating.
What was there to be afraid of in an infinite universe when the i’lva was always there to light the way?
“Can we get out of here together?”Teq growled.“Because those stones we rigged up weren’t strong enough to knock out this moon, and the people of the Gloom aren’t too happy with us.”
“Then they shouldn’t’ve stolen my apex,” June growled.
As they raced back through the empty tunnels, Mag lifted June into his arms, doubling his speed.
“You’re hurt,” she protested.
“Do you think I’d let anyone else carry you?”
Angling around his tusk, she pressed her lips to his cheek.“Because you are apex or because I’m short?”If the happiness in her heart expanded any more, she might explode with the rest of this little half moon.
“Maybe it’s just easier to follow you if I’m holding you right here.My guiding light.”
***
On theDeepWander, she commanded him directly to the med bay where Sil followed the AI directives to seal his wounds and begin knitting the cracked bones.
June growled through the exam, furious at his pain.“I should’ve brought a bigger bomb.”
Mag tried to reach for her but winced.“I almost didn’t recognize you, but your magnificence shone through.”
Stepping closer so she could touch him, reassuring herself he was here, back on his ship as was his place, she shrugged angrily.“We took too long getting to you.But we had to borrow a shuttle becausesomebody stole ours.”
“That foolish person should be punished.”
“Oh, he was.”Tears prickled in her eyes, but she blinked them away to kiss him around his bandages.“He knows better now, right?”
“Definitely.”
The comm chirped.“Apex,” Teq said with his no-nonsense crusher voice.“Incoming message from Luster Station.”
June sucked in a harsh breath, but Mag put one hand over hers when she gripped his wrist above the bandages.
“Put it through.”
The station second barely glanced at Mag, her focus on June.“That wasn’t a very big explosion.”
“Maybe next time.”June sighed.
Leani snorted, and her exo-suit released a curl of smoke, setting off the nearby alarm which she irately disabled.“Speaking of next times… There happens to be an available berth at the station.If you want it.”
Mag stiffened.“The Dastard said we’d missed our chance.”
When she snorted again, with more smoke, the alarm on her end only let out a resigned chirp.“His tongue spills a lot of sludge for someone who hasn’t had to scavenge for a very long time.”
“So he doesn’t know you offered,” June translated.“Not that we’re suspicious—well, maybe a little suspicious—but…why?”
For a moment, Leani was silent except for the soft hiss of gases moving through her suit.Finally, she said, “We made this place because there was nowhere else out here for us.We wanted more than just another dark and dangerous hole.Obviously we still have far to go.”She paused again, then poised a finger over some off-screen control.“But if you don’t want it—”
