Oh wow. It was beautiful. Like the rest of the ocean, the water in here was as clear as that of a well-kept swimming pool. Long, towering strands of a green plant that reminded her of kelp stretched from the sandy bottom almost all the way to the surface, creating a sort of underwater jungle.
Jak’ri skirted its edges and headed for the opposite side of the cavern.
The water grew shallower until Jak’ri lowered his feet to the obsidian sand and stood.
Ava poked her head up out of the water. But Jak’ri had to take several more steps before her toes could touch the bottom. Even when she could stand, she continued to hold onto him while she gaped at their new hideaway.
A tranquil saltwater lake as big as a football field encompassed roughly half the cavern. The black rock that made up the high ceiling and walls was streaked with veins of bioluminescent ore that emitted bright enough light for them to see clearly. And unlike the ore in the cave they’d sheltered in on land, this didn’t require an alternate source of light to activate it.
Stalactites abounded in the cavern, producing stunning sculptures, many of which were coated with a pink moss that produced dim light of its own, increasing visibility even more.
“This is amazing,” she said with quiet awe.
Beside her, Jak’ri nodded. “The ground over there is dry and looks like it remains so during high tide.”
She looked up at him. “I don’t think the Gathendiens will find us in here.”
He smiled. “I don’t either.” Taking her hand, he sloshed through the shallows and led her onto dry sand that sparkled like crushed obsidian. “How are your wounds?” His gaze went to her forehead.
Reaching up, Ava gave it a feel and grimaced when she encountered a sizable gash. “Still there. About the same as this one, I guess.”
“I’ll see to those first. Then I’ll go survey the island.” When she started to protest, fearing he’d be spotted, he held up a hand. “I’ll only explore the side they can’t view from the cliff. I want to see if any of the trees here bear the same fruit we’ve been enjoying on the continent and pick a goodly supply of it so we won’t have to venture out for a while.”
“If the Gathendiens don’t find us dead on the rocks, do you think they’ll come here?”
“Probably. But I think their search efforts will be restricted to the island’s surface. I don’t think they’ll find us down here.”
“If they do, we’ll just hit them all with the stun grenades. They can only enter from the one tunnel.”
He smiled. “Which will put them at a distinct disadvantage.” Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her to face away from him and relieved her of the medic pack. “Let’s see to those wounds.”
Ava shook her head. “They’ll keep. Get the fruit first. We don’t know how soon they’ll send someone over here to look for us.” And they’d had to leave behind the heavy fruit they’d foraged during their stay in the cave. “How well can those sedapas swim?”
“Very well.”
She turned to face him with sigh. “It figures.”
“But they can’t scent us in the water.”
“That’s something, at least. You want some help with the fruit? I’m pretty proficient at climbing trees now.”
He shook his head. “I want you to rest. As soon as I return, I’ll tend to your wounds.” He shrugged out of his pack and unfastened it. Flipping it upside down, he dumped the contents onto the sand.
There were still quite a few nutrient cubes.
She curled her lip at them.
He grabbed several empty canteens and tucked them back in the bag. “I’ll see if there’s a fresh water source while I’m up there, too.”
“Okay. Just be careful.”
“I will.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and drew her into a hug. “I’ll be quick.” Then he waded back into the water and disappeared.
Ava sank to her knees. Everything seemed to hurt more now that she was out of the cold water, which seemed weird considering how much the salt had stung.
She glanced around. Jak’ri was right though. This cavern should keep the Gathendiens from locating them. The problem was… it would also keep potential rescuers from finding them.
So how were they going to get off this planet?
When Jak’ri returned to the subterranean cavern, he found Ava sitting beside the supplies he’d dumped out of the pack before leaving. She almost looked as if her knees had given way and she’d just slumped down to sit on her feet.
Her chin touched her chest. And she didn’t look up when he splashed toward her.
Anxiety gripped him. “Ava?” He touched her shoulder.
She started, then blinked up at him with bleary eyes that glowed amber. “What?”
“Were you sleeping?”
“No.” She bit her lip, her brow furrowing as she glanced around. “Maybe.” Then her gaze shifted to the objects on his back. “What’s that?”
He shrugged out of the pack and showed her the huge leaves he’d rolled up and awkwardly stuffed between the pack and his back. “Our bed.”
She produced a weary smile. “I like the sound of that.”
When she moved to help him unroll and arrange the leaves, he gently rejected her aid. He didn’t like the pallor of her skin, the fatigue that slumped her shoulders, or the pain reflected in her pinched features.
“I’ll get more leaves after I see to your wounds,” he promised. This makeshift bed boasted fewer layers than the one they’d shared in the other cave, and he wanted her to be comfortable.
She sent him a sweet smile. “This is fine. The sand is softer than the hard ground was in the cave.”
Jak’ri took her hand and encouraged her to sit down, noting the way she clamped her lips together and winced with every movement. He reached for the ties of her shirt. “Let me get this off you so I can tend your wounds.”
The fact that she didn’t help him testified to her fatigue. “And here I was hoping you wanted to get me naked for another reason.”
He forced a smile and sent her a playful wink. “There’s that, too.”
When he parted the sodden material and gently drew it down over her arms, he fought the urge to curse.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she told him softly.
Yes, it was. If the gash some Gathendien grunark had carved across her stomach had been any deeper, she would’ve required surgery to repair internal organs.
More cuts—some deep, some shallow—marred her slender arms.
The shorts she wore were stained red at the waist from the blood that had poured forth from the stomach injury and sported enough blotches of pink despite their long swim that he removed those as well. They hid no more wounds, he was relieved to see. But her thigh once more bore a deep gash. And there was the shallower one on her forehead.
It infuriated him. “I wish we’d found some Z-12s.”
“I forgot, what are Z-12s?”
He met her amber gaze. “Grenades that would’ve left little for the big cat creatures to dine upon.”
She blinked. “Yeah. Those would’ve definitely come in handy.”
“Lie back.”