“I’m afraid so.”
She raised a trembling hand and caressed his jaw. “Sakara. I like it.” Her hand started to slip down as strength deserted her.
Jak’ri dropped the nutrient cube on her lap and caught her hand to hold it in place.
“You can call me sakara,” she said softly. Then her expression sobered. “But you can’t fall in love with me.”
He pressed a kiss to her palm. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that. I believe I fell for you the first time you jumped from Runaka Point with me.”
She shook her head. “You’re already mourning for your brother.” Tears welled in her eyes despite the fever and dehydration. “I don’t want you to mourn for me, too.”
Jak’ri blinked back tears of his own. “That isn’t going to happen. Because you’re going to eat and drink and overcome this. You will recover, Ava.”
She had to.
Lowering her hand, he picked up the nutrient cube and again touched it to her lips.
After a moment’s hesitation, she took a tiny bite, then took another until she ate the entire cube. And she drank when he pressed the canteen to her lips, her brown gaze clinging to his.
But in what seemed only minutes, she rested a hand on her stomach and gritted, “Lav.”
Jak’ri quickly carried her into the lav and supported her while she leaned over and vomited up the little bit she’d just consumed.
He helped her rinse her mouth with wosuur, then carried her over to the pallet of blankets and sank down on them with Ava cradled in his lap.
“The damn Gathendiens must be gloating,” she grumbled.
Jak’ri ground his teeth and opted not to comment.
“What are they saying?”
He stroked her hair. “They argue a lot. They don’t know what the srul they’re doing.”
“If they didn’t know what they were doing, I wouldn’t be so sick.”
“No. They truly don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t understand what’s happening to you and keep arguing and slinging accusations at each other.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why?”
He hesitated, wanting to tell her the truth but fearing it might make her stop fighting.
“Jak’ri?” she prodded softly. “Tell me.”
A long sigh escaped him. “The virus they injected you with…. They think it’s working. And they’re arguing because they didn’t expect it to.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s the same virus they released on your planet thousands of years ago. The one that failed to exterminate your people.” He swallowed hard as a lump rose in his throat. “But they said it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to. It’s destroying your immune system. They think within a couple of days…” She’d be gone, dead of a simple bacterial or viral infection her body would ordinarily be able to defeat but would no longer have any defense against.
Ava stared up at him, a stunned expression on her features.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice hoarse. He’d fought the truth as long as he could, unwilling to admit it because he didn’t want to lose her, but telling her… speaking it aloud… merely made it more real. And he thought she deserved to know.
Yet Ava didn’t weep. She didn’t rail against the unfairness of it all or curse the Gathendiens or express any fear over her—according to the scientists—imminent demise.
Instead, her chapped lips stretched in a slow smile. “Don’t be sorry.” Though her voice was weak, it now lacked despair and sounded almost… gleeful. “Those stupid bastards have no idea what they’ve done.”
Jak’ri stared down at her, uncomprehending.
Her brown eyes suddenly acquired a strange amber glow.
He sucked in a breath. “Ava?”
Her lids lowered, long eyelashes brushing her cheeks.
Then her frail body went limp as unconsciousness claimed her.
Ava scrambled up the trail to Runaka Point. It seemed clearer today, the slope not as steep. Even the vegetation seemed sparser as if the plants didn’t want to get in her way or slow her down because they knew how eager she was to reach the top.
And she was very eager to reach the top.
At last the ground evened out, and Ava burst into the open.
A tall, slim figure stood at the edge of the cliff, staring out at a turbulent sea.
She smiled. “Jak’ri.”
Gasping, he spun around. His brow lost its pensive furrow as he rushed forward and swept her into his arms. Burying his face in her hair, he squeezed the stuffing out of her. “I thought I wouldn’t see you here again,” he uttered, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Ava hugged him back, her feet dangling several inches above the ground. “Why would you think that? I love it here.”
He shook his head. And for a moment, he seemed too overcome with emotion to speak.
Concern rose. “Jak’ri?”
With palpable reluctance, he lowered her until her bare feet touched the soft grass, then stared down at her.
Her heart clenched at the sorrow that darkened his eyes.
“It’s been five days,” he whispered.
Surprised, she stared up at him. “Five days since what? Since I wandered into your dreams?” She’d had no idea she had been sick that long.
He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I thought…”
“Go on,” she coaxed softly when he seemed disinclined to continue.
“I thought we wouldn’t be together like this anymore.” When moisture welled in his eyes, he blinked it back.
“You thought I was dying.”
He remained silent.
“You still think I’m dying.”
More silence, full of despair.
Reaching up, Ava rested a hand on his strong jaw and smoothed her thumb over his cheek. “No, sakara. I’m not dying. I won’t leave you.” Rising onto her toes, she brushed a kiss against his lips. “I’ll never leave you.”
Dipping his head, he captured her lips in a long, hungry kiss tinged with desperation that both aroused her and broke her heart. Then he buried his face in her hair again and held her tight as though he could keep her with him as long as he didn’t let go. “Please, don’t leave me, Ava,” he whispered. “I know it’s selfish to want you to stay, but I don’t think I can bear to lose you, too.”
“I won’t leave you,” she promised again. “And we’re going to make those assholes pay for whatever they did to Ziv’ri. But first I need you to help me with something.”
“Anything,” he responded fervently.
Drawing back, she stared up at him. “I need you to explain Gathendien weaponry to me. All of it. Every weapon the guards carry. How they work. If they can be used without blowing a hole in the outer hull of the ship and killing us all. Or if I need to adjust the settings. Which ones are quiet. Which ones are loud. Which ones will kill. Which ones will stun.”
“Ava.”
“And escape pods. I think I might be able to find my way back to the Lasaran escape pod they found me in, but if I can’t… do you know where the Gathendien escape pods are on the ship? I’m sure they must have some.”