He wouldn’t let her accompany him when he did, insisting she stay safe and dry. He’d noticed the fever. The weakness. The sluggishness that clung to her long after she woke.
He asked again if he could give her a silna to speed her healing, concerned that she might be suffering some kind of bacterial infection from the ocean water that had infiltrated her wounds. But she refused, afraid the silna might eradicate the virus.
If the virus died, she would have no immune system. So she’d take her chances without the silna.
Since she only had two shirts, Ava had to wash one every day.
Jak’ri offered to do it for her, but she refused. There was no reason she couldn’t do it herself. Besides, when he was topside, there was little else for her to do.
The oversized shirt that had been cut and torn in multiple places during the most recent battle was already looking so frayed and ragged that she set it aside. That only left her with the one that fit her a little better.
Shrugging it off, she pursed her lips. If she and Jak’ri were alone on the planet, she would just remain topless while she cleaned the shirt and let it dry. They’d been naked around each often enough now that she no longer felt self-conscious. But the damn Gathendiens were still loitering on the cliff. And if the bastards surprised them with a return trip and actually discovered the cave, she didn’t want to be caught with her pants down or—in this instance—her shirt off.
Jak’ri must not either, because they both now slept in their clothes.
Ava rummaged through the medic bag in hopes of finding something useful. The best she could come up with was a roll of bandages she wrapped horizontally across her breasts, then up over her shoulders several times until she had formed an improvised sports bra.
“It’ll have to do,” she muttered and knelt beside the lake to wash her shirt and spare shorts. She would prefer to soak the fabric in some nice, fragrant laundry detergent or drop it in one of those sleek clothing decon units. Alas, neither was at hand, so seawater and sand had to do the job.
Once she twisted it and squeezed as much water out as she could, she held it up for inspection. “Meh.” It looked a little on the grimy side, but at least it didn’t stink. If their troubles with the Gathendiens had ended, she’d just spray their clothes with that awesome retsa stuff and let it clean the fabric the way it cleaned her wounds.
But their troubles seemed far from over.
After spreading the shirt on a rock to dry, she rose.
The cavern whirled around her.
Swearing, Ava staggered to one side and had to brace her feet to keep from toppling over. She threw out her arms as if she were standing on the deck of a ship that listed this way and that, which was pretty much how she felt.
After several seconds, the dizziness ebbed.
She glanced toward the water, glad that Jak’ri hadn’t been here to witness that. He cautiously ventured out twice a day to monitor the Gathendiens’ actions and to listen for possible rescuers, telepathically scouring every mind within range in hopes that one might be Purveli. Or Segonian. Or Lasaran.
Sometimes he did the same at night but remained in the water in case any large nocturnal predators roamed the island. He hadn’t encountered any yet, but better to be safe than sorry.
As if her thoughts had summoned him, his form appeared in the lake, arrowing toward her with powerful strokes. He rose from the water, chest bare, pants clinging to his powerful thighs, all visible hair silver.
Ava loved watching his hair dry, seeing the strands slowly darken until they were black once more. “Hi, handsome.”
His gaze dropped to her chest.
Spreading her arms, she showed off her improvised bra top. “What do you think? It’s a sports bra.”
As he stopped before her, one side of his mouth turned up in a sheepish smile. “Is it wrong that my first thought was, Is it removable?”
She laughed. “No. And you can remove it anytime you want. I just didn’t want to walk around topless while my shirt dries in case we end up having unexpected visitors.”
He slipped a pack that bulged with fresh fruit and freshly filled canteens off his shoulder. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. The Gathendiens are still searching the mainland’s shore. Most still think we’re dead.” He winced. “Or that you’re dead and I’ve swum far away, losing myself among the marine life.”
“Jerks,” she grumbled.
“Agreed.”
“Have they had any contact with the warship?”
“No. Still nothing.”
That was excellent news.
Moving closer, she rested her hands on his chest. “So you’re saying we may have quite a bit of free time on our hands?”
He dipped his head and rubbed noses with her. “Yes.”
“Oh my,” she breathed as he curled an arm around her and drew her up against his body, still cool from the water. “However shall we occupy ourselves?”
Smiling, he teased her lips with a light brush of his. “I believe I have an idea or two.”
Jak’ri hurried through the forest, eager to return to Ava.
They had been sheltering in the subterranean cavern for almost a week now. The dizziness Ava suffered was worsening. She still felt overly warm. Her movements grew more sluggish by the hour, as though fatigue constantly strove to drag her down. And even the bright amber light that used to flare to life in her pretty brown eyes had dimmed to almost nothing.
It was as if all the life was slowly being drained from her.
And it scared the srul out of him. Jak’ri didn’t know what to do. He’d checked her injuries again, concerned that one might have become infected. And though they weren’t healing the way the one on her foot had, none appeared to be worse or inflamed.
He didn’t understand what was happening, why she wasn’t getting better.
Some of the island leapers followed him through the forest, swinging or jumping from branch to branch. The ones here had dimmer stripes than those on the mainland. They were also larger and had softer hoots of a much deeper tone that didn’t reverberate throughout the forest.
He took little comfort in their companionship, though. He hadn’t wanted to come out today, hadn’t wanted to leave Ava. But afflicted as she was with fever, she needed to consume more fresh water to stave off dehydration. And he kept hoping a constant supply of fresh fruit would benefit her.
His feet sank into soft, dark sand seconds before the trees parted and blue ocean stretched before him. Jak’ri paused only long enough to ensure no silent craft hovered within view, then splashed forward and dove beneath the surface.
Fear for Ava continued to plague him as he swam along the shore toward the peninsula.
A shadow approached him from the dark ocean. Then another.
The playful creatures that reminded him of raashini and Ava of dolphins soon joined him. They often found him during his excursions, perhaps still intrigued by the newcomers.
When the passage that led to the cave came into view, Jak’ri didn’t slow. He’d traveled it so many times now that he’d memorized the path and knew without concentrating which turns he needed to take to avoid the dead ends. The raashini-like creatures never followed him inside. Sometimes he wished they would, just to provide Ava with a diversion.
A dim glow grew ahead of him. He picked up speed, eager to get back to her, and had almost reached the cavern when something brushed his mind.