When she nodded, he crept toward the giant mug. His hand was poised over a sheath that was settled against his spine, right between his wings.
Before she knew it, he crept inside the cave.
There was no sound and as the seconds ticked by, her anxiety rose.
She was just about to rise from the sand when she saw him exit the cave, sheathing what looked like a sword along his spine.
“It’s safe,” he said as he approached her. “No sand cats, though there shouldn’t be any. Not on this side of the planet.”
He was crouching to lift her again.
“Sand cats?”
“Big wild beasts.” She could feel his intense violet gaze on her and it only made her cheeks warm. “But they won’t harm you. They are not here.” Once more, he made to lift her but she touched his arm as he bent and his gaze seemed to zero in on her hand against his skin.
“I can walk.” She felt a bit woozy but she tried to give him the best smile she could, ignoring the awkwardness that was making her cheeks redden. “You’ve been carrying me for so long now.”
“I don’t mind,” his reply came just as he swept her off her feet before she could offer another word of protest.
He lifted her so easily, as if she weighed nothing. It was strange being carried around like this but she found she couldn’t argue with him about it. She couldn’t offer any resistance. Somehow, his actions rendered her speechless.
As they entered the dark space of the cave, the cold seemed even greater.
She must have shivered because his arms tightened around her.
“You are cold.” It wasn’t a question.
Before she could reply, he rested her on the sand, his head turned to look out of the cave opening. “You will need food and bedding to keep warm.”
He glanced back at her then and she realized all she could do was look back up at him.
Was he telling her so she knew to go find those things herself?
She didn’t want to rely on him for anything else. He’d already done so much but she knew fully well what the result of her trying to fend for herself would be. She had no idea how to get those things. She’d never been the outdoorsy type.
Back on earth, her definition of a day outdoors had been going shopping with her dorm mate.
Earth.
If she’d been thrown in the wilderness on Earth, she was sure she’d have died within a week. What did that mean in relation to being stranded on a desert alien planet?
It probably meant that she wouldn’t survive for more than a day without Kyris’ help.
“Sh-should I go and try to find some?” Her wide eyes focused on the cave opening as the words left her lips.
Please, don’t say yes. Please, don’t say yes.
She hated relying on him for so much. Heck, she was relying on him for everything, but until she got her bearings she didn’t really have a choice.
Still, there was that little niggling feeling that made her aware of everything he was doing for her. That niggling feeling said that one day his patience and kindness would run out. She needed to prepare herself for that day.
Just…not right now. She could start tomorrow. When the sun was high in the sky again, not retreating as if it too was afraid of whatever lived on the planet below.
When he didn’t reply, she looked up at him.
Again, he was looking at her as if bewildered by her question.
He was standing over her—tall, masculine, and shirtless, with violet eyes and freakin’ wings. He was definitely not human. Yet, the bewilderment in his eyes was such a human-like emotion she felt the warmth in her cheeks increase.
“Some food and something to make a fire?” she continued. “Should I go try to find some?”
The bewilderment in his eyes disappeared immediately, only to be replaced with what looked like disbelief.
“Qrak no.”
“Huh?”
“I will hunt some zehmips for you and bring back their skin. They will be your food and your bedding.”
“Ah...okay.”
She had no idea what a zehmip was and she really didn’t want to imagine what it looked like either.
It sounded as if it was some kind of animal and seeing that she’d failed at even dissecting a bug in high school biology, she doubted she’d be able to kill a zehmip. She’d probably have headed out in search of one only to return empty-handed. Then it would have been zehmip one point; Song Tanaka zero.
Resting her head against the cave wall, she closed her eyes briefly.
Her head was still pounding. She must have hit it really badly.
“I’ll be back soon,” she heard him say.
He was so tall and looked so strong. She couldn’t imagine what she must look like to him.
Small and weak, she bet. Just like she felt.
Probably that was why he was going to hunt on his own.
As Kyris exited the cave, her eyes followed him till his wings unfurled and he was gone.
She kept her gaze in that direction and realized she could see the setting sun...
Wait...Song blinked as she squinted.
There were two suns—one a bit larger than the other.
Setting suns. Plural.
The planet had two suns.
Closing her eyes, she pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to ignore the pounding in her head.
Two suns.
If that wasn’t proof she was far away from Earth, she didn’t know what was.
And the thought was not comforting in the least.
8
It was dark outside and the cave was cold. Still hugging her knees toward her chest, she couldn’t help the worried frown as she stared out in the darkness.
It was dead silent out there. So silent, it was almost creepy.
But apart from cementing how strange the place was, it also underlined that she was alone.
Kyris had been gone for a while and as the minutes ticked by, her feeling of desolation increased.
What if he was thinking exactly what she’d been thinking?
What if he’d just said he was going to get
