Someone had done a real number on the male at some point. “It’s not your choice. I appreciate your concern for the safety of the group, but I don’t agree with your assessment. Nayla is on our side and I won’t tolerate any more threats.”
“But—”
“Watch yourself, soldier. I know you think you’re pretty tough, but I’ve come across assholes far worse than you, and I mowed them down without a second thought.”
He left Malin glaring after him, breathing a sigh of relief when he rounded the next bend and caught sight of Nayla once more.
He’d have to watch his teammate. He had a bad feeling the guy would not be backing down despite the warning.
“Sharluff say just little more.” She gestured him forward, thankfully unaware of his recent exchange, her feet light as she skipped over the rocks, her ankle much better thanks to her miracle paste.
He smiled back. He loved seeing her this carefree. Even if her statement was hard to believe. He’d been listening for the rush of water and heard nothing.
The creature brayed. Poked the dirt with his beak, and squeezed himself through a midsize crack in the cliffside that looked no different from any other.
“This way.” Her excitement was palpable. “Here. Come. Like me.” She plopped to the ground, her legs disappearing inside the crack. It looked like some kind of edge…
“Nayla, wait—” Before he could stop her, she pushed off and disappeared.
His heart stuttered. This was the problem with caring for someone. He remembered now. It was terrifying having your heart outside your body where anybody could crush it.
With a curse, he dropped a rope and a marker so his crew would know where to follow and hurtled forward. He expected to fall. Instead, he found himself in a chute, sliding down fast, enveloped in darkness so complete he couldn’t see his legs stretched out in front of him. Nor whatever the hells the top of his head, shoulders, and pack kept knocking into as the winding descent continued. He didn’t know how Sharluff fit. No wonder the creature’s hide was so thick. It served as nice protection.
Nayla and her pack were much smaller so they likely had no problem with the fit, which was why she hadn’t thought to warn him.
But Grif wasn’t so lucky. Sharp edges tore at his skin. He ducked his head and still got slammed in the back of his skull.
Then, he heard it. The roar of actual water.
His speed picked up as the slant grew steeper, the chute so narrow he feared he might be wedged in there for good.
“Grif, put feet out. Get ready.”
He couldn’t see her, but he heard Nayla’s instruction loud and clear.
The tunnel spat him out. His feet hit the ground. He traveled forward with his momentum, the pack on his back adding even more punch, forcing him to take several running steps before he caught himself enough to pull up short.
“Holy Goddess.” He swiveled in a circle.
He could scarcely believe he was on the same planet. He was standing on a small beach while a glittering cavern of gold shimmered around him. Teaming with stalactites and stalagmites of amber and honey-colored crystals, the whole place glowed. The sparkling rocks reminded him of stars, or Nayla’s skin in the moonlight.
They also looked a heck of a lot like whatever had powered her spear.
Also astounding was what lay at his feet only ten steps away. A roaring, neon pink river of water the width of at least fifteen men stretched from head to toe. It cut through the cavern, crashing up against the shore close to his boots before winding around the glowing stalagmites and sharp, tubular formations of turquoise, silver, and orange that jutted up from the depths of the water.
He could barely absorb it. The prison mines had been a brutal, harsh sea of inky blackness and bloodred rock. The shell of the planet was deep cracks of sand and swirling dust. But here, just a few meters beneath the surface, was a different side of Dragath25—full of vibrant rainbow colors and beauty.
He’d never had any clue this place existed.
He would never have known if not for Nayla.
“This is…incredible.” His crew would go crazy when they saw this place. Equally amazing, this new discovery had just moved them one step closer to retrieving the missing females. They’d travel far faster on those currents.
“I’m glad you like.” She came up beside him, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Reminded of their recent descent, he swiveled to face her, relieved to note no new scrapes or bruises. Still, his voice was gruff, the memory of what he’d felt in that moment sharpening his tone. “Don’t ever disappear without telling me what’s going to happen.”
She reared back, fear flitting across her face, and he knew the past had caught up with them again.
He softened his tone. “I was worried about you.”
It would take time to prove to her he wasn’t Talg.
It would also take time for him to get used to the vise tightening around his chest as he considered all the dangers that lay ahead for her.
But he would. He’d just need to be extra vigilant and remain clear-eyed and in control.
“I didn’t think.” Her nose wrinkled, the fear seeping away as understanding dawned and her expression turned contrite. “I ask Ancients for forgiveness.” He suspected that was the pack version of an apology. “I just excited. I used to traveling alone with Sharluff. I be more careful next time.”
Already in the water, Sharluff slapped his beak against the surface, his big body no longer looking so cumbersome or lumbering as his feathers pressed tight to his side and he kicked his six legs and swam in a circle. He looked sleek, capable, and right at home in the churning current. He also looked impatient to get moving for real.
Hard to believe, but Grif was pretty sure he was starting to understand the creature.
“Thank you, for everything, Nayla.” He cleared his throat. “This is extraordinary. Even back on New Earth, there’s nothing like this anymore. I…I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime.” Aping the pack gesture of affection she’d shown him earlier, he bent down and rubbed his nose against her collarbone.
Her eyes lit with pleasure—until her gaze caught on his right shoulder. Her expression darkened at the sight of the blood. “You are hurt.” She raised her hand, but didn’t touch him, her hesitancy obvious.
He could tell she was worried all over again that she’d upset him by hurrying ahead. What was between them was still so new and fragile.
Seizing her palm, he brought their joined hands to his chest. “It’s just a scrape.” He held hers to his beating heart. “We’re learning how to be a team. Which means we talk. Occasionally disagree. But we never give up on each other. We always have each other’s back.”
Her smile loosened the worst of the knot in his chest.
Damn it, he was good for her. Just as she was good for him. They might have started out all kinds of screwed up. They might both be broken as hells. That didn’t mean they couldn’t make this work.
“I like be a team with you.” Her fingers brushed his skin.
Heat and need shimmered between them.
“Grif? You down there?” Zale’s voice echoed down the chute.
With an apologetic smile and a quick press of his lips to hers, he hustled over to where the tunnel had spat him out.