“He didn’t give an exact time, so who knows when he’ll even show up,” she said. “Hour one, hour twelve, hour twenty-three… We could be waiting for ages.”
“Hour one. Bridgebane’s always on time.”
Tess stopped fidgeting, her sudden stillness making me look over. She frowned at her lap. “You know him better than I do. I guess I’ll take your word for it.”
I didn’t like the hurt in her voice—or the fact that she tried to cover her pain with notes of bitterness. “I might know him, but he was still willing to shoot me and put a huge bounty on my head. You, he won’t touch.”
“I can’t imagine why.” She sniffed and looked out the window again, avoiding my gaze.
Couldn’t she? Whatever Bridgebane’s crimes in Tess’s eyes, he’d spared her life twice, against orders. Her uncle obviously cared about her.
She exhaled, definitely closing the subject with the long breath she let out. “Isn’t this kind of far from the Grand Temple? There’s plenty of docking space for personal cruisers around the Holy Hollow, and people usually just sleep in their transportation units. Shouldn’t we stay closer to tomorrow’s meeting spot?”
“Sleeping in this cruiser is for contortionists only, and I had enough of it during those first days on board the Endeavor. It’s not that far, and the Aisé Resort runs a private shuttle to the Temple Lands on a regular basis, if you prefer that to the cruiser tomorrow.” The resort shuttle would be more anonymous, although I trusted Bridgebane to come alone and didn’t think anyone else would be looking for us on Reaginine right now.
Tess went back to watching the scenery. The river snaked through the darkening green like a rainbow serpent, reflecting the sunset colors. Purple, pink, yellow. A splash of red faded into dull orange. The fiery sky made a feral backdrop for the even wilder jungle.
I rubbed my jaw, the pads of my fingers scratching over light stubble. I’d missed this place. Or maybe I just missed my parents. Memories flooded back as though carried on the muddy rapids of the Gano. Some made me want to smile. Others made my heart twist. A few were on the tip of my tongue to share with Tess, but I didn’t trust my voice to come out as anything other than thick and hoarse.
When the main lodge of the resort came into view, I finally looked at the exact coordinates and located Bungalow 39. The private cottage was on the small side, but it was just Tess and me, so I didn’t mind. The landing pad was spacious and unshaded by the thick vegetation cutting us off from any sign of other people. The cruiser would recharge nicely starting at sunrise. I popped out all the delicate solar panels before powering down and getting out. My first breath of humid Reaginine air came within a hairsbreadth of choking me up. I blinked and cleared my throat.
Tess hopped down on her side as I rounded the cruiser. She shivered, looking around. “I’ve never felt so isolated in my entire life.”
That sounded ideal to me, but I didn’t want Tess feeling marooned on a strange planet. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Listen.” Opening my ears to the jungle’s chorus, I tilted my face up to the first stars. Night fell slowly here. It was only dusk, but silver dots still splashed across the deepening sky like diamonds tossed up to the heavens in a careless handful.
Tess cocked her head. At first, only a breeze seemed to whisper through the trees. Then the chirping of insects began to fill the spaces between warm gusts that smelled of jungle mist, rich earth, and foliage. The soft, gurgling music beneath the other sounds was the swiftly moving water of the Gano.
“Is that the river?” She looked downhill in the right direction.
I nodded. She shivered again, even though she pulled her sleeves up. Goose bumps peppered her arms.
“How can you be cold in this heat?” I tucked her closer to me.
“I’m not cold. I’m freaking terrified.” With another shudder, Tess leaned into my side. “I’m absolutely certain a horde of flervers is about to jump on me.”
Don’t laugh. Don’t do it. “Flervers are solitary creatures. And in Sector 2, like I said before.”
“Nope. They travel the galaxy in hordes and eat space rats for dinner.”
“And you got this from what source of information?” I asked, my smile two seconds from bursting.
“From my overactive imagination. It’s very helpful.”
I grinned. “Try to rein in thoughts of death and destruction by flerver. Seriously, they’re like beavers.”
“I don’t like beavers, either.”
“Have you ever seen a beaver?”
“No.” Tess huffed. “They’re extinct. You know that as well as I do.”
I smiled against Tess’s long bangs that were always slipping forward and kissed her temple. “Okay. Let’s go inside before a Sector-hopping horde of hungry flervers smells your fear and zeroes in on us from across the galaxy.”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
I put my hand over my heart. “I would never.”
Tess’s scowl didn’t fool me. The humor in her eyes told the real story. “They’ll eat you first. More muscle.”
“If it keeps you alive, I’m happy to sacrifice my biceps.”
“Good. Plenty to gnaw on.” She nodded in apparent satisfaction. “But really, you should just stop siccing flervers on me.”
Laughter bubbled in my chest. My steps more buoyant than in years, I urged her toward the bungalow. “I’m your navigator, but I still might need a map to show me exactly how the conversation got to this point.”
Tess slapped her arm. Grimacing, she brushed away a crushed bug, leaving a big smear of red near her elbow. “I’ll draw you one inside with the blood of my enemies. Sound good?”
“Sounds hot.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“Come on. Your safe haven awaits.” Or maybe it was my safe haven. How had I ever stayed away this long?
I strode forward and opened the decorative shutters hiding the console next to the bungalow’s front door. With the code from my least used bank account, I transferred the required currency units for a two-night stay. A key card emerged once the payment went through. I swiped it in front of the lock, opening the door for Tess. She stepped past me and went inside.
Soft lighting automatically clicked on, even though it wasn’t truly dark out yet. Tess stopped dead. “It’s open.” She looked from side to side, taking in the two-and-a-half walls and partial roof above us. “It’s amazing. But open.”
“Netting covers the whole patio and attaches to the house. It’s sheer but electrified. Nothing gets through uninvited, big or small. I promise. No bugs. No critters.”