Curling my toes, I nod. I take the long knife Zaku gave me, palming the handle of it where it’s sheathed at my belt. We make the slow descent down his mountain.
For the rest of the day, we’re scaling down one mountain, only to climb another. We stop occasionally to rest and eat, but never for long. Vruksha won’t let us. He’s tense, and as the hours pass, the muscles of his back and arms only bunch further.
When the sun lowers, his countenance darkens even more. It’s making me nervous.
He’s been cold since we left his bunker, and now that it’s just the two of us, his mood has only soured. My stomach twists. We have to talk; I know we do. We’ve kept our conversations to the here-and-now while with Daisy and the others, but they’re gone now. Nothing is stopping us but the trek—the wilderness.
I keep my mouth shut.
Vruksha is focusing on our path and staying vigilant. I’m right there with him. Every snap of a twig, every gust of wind, even the chirps of bugs and birds keep me on edge.
People lived here. I trail the heavy growth of trees with my eyes, pushing through several branches. My people. We were landlocked here for thousands of years.
I can’t comprehend it, not having the freedom of space, being stuck on a single small planet, where if I wanted to get away from someone or something, I could only put some land and maybe an ocean between us. I’d rather there’d be millions of galaxies.
I thought it was amazing that Vruksha’s bunker, the tech, and even the animals were still here, but after seeing Zaku’s home, there’s nothing left to surprise me. He had running water, silver walls edged with stones, and so much more. I’d gone through a time machine, back to when my ancestors thrived.
It’s while I’m thinking this, having finally stopped worrying about Daisy, that Vruksha leads me into the ruins of a building.
A large one. One I haven’t seen before.
Vines and moss cover it, but floors remain, and the rest of it? It’s scattered amongst the trees as far as I can see. There are rusty bars, shattered windows, and trees that shoot from the ground through the pieces that are left. We’ve passed numerous buildings and ruins, and each one is interesting in its own way.
Vruksha leads me deeper into the building, and I’m met with centuries of dust and decay. Looking around, it appears stripped of objects that might be collected, except for random bits and pieces left behind.
He stops, leans over a counter, and brushes some of the debris aside with his tail. He rises and points his spear to the spot. “We camp here tonight.”
I peek over the counter to the hard, dirty floor on the other side. It’s not great, but I like the walls on every side. Vruksha drops my bag of clothes. It’s a good spot.
“I’m going to secure the perimeter.” He slips away before I can stop him.
I rub the chill from my hands, open my bag, and pull out a ration to eat. I take it with me when I decide to familiarize myself with the building.
There are broken chairs, decaying pictures on the walls, and drooping plastic plants. I try to imagine what it would have looked like before the Lurkers, but I can’t, not really. The place was made to be comfortable, and there’s no comfort left.
I hear something behind me, and I turn, finding Vruksha. He stops when he sees me. There’s a dead bird in his hand, and he shows it to me. “Food,” he says.
“I ate a ration.”
His tail curls. His brows arc. He takes me in, and I straighten, wondering what he’s seeing. He lifts the bird to his mouth and starts eating it raw. My nose wrinkles.
I’ve seen him do it before.
He stares at me as he eats it, licks his fingers.
I shiver.
“I’m going to keep watch,” he says when he’s done, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Stay here and get some rest.” He turns to leave again.
“Wait,” I call out quickly, not wanting him to go.
“What?”
I take a step forward. “You’ve been… distant since we left the bunker.”
Vruksha cocks his head.
“You’ve been upset.”
He hisses. “Your friend is sssafe, female.”
“That’s not what I mean. I know she is. This isn’t about her.”
“Then what is it about? Tomorrow, you will be back within my den, in our nest, and you will completely give yourself to me. Forever.”
He continues, stalking toward me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
“I haven’t changed my mind,” I say. I don’t want to break my word, but also, I can’t imagine what he’d do if I did. My naga is reasonable, intelligent, and strong, but he’s also lawless, and quick to temper. He stops in front of me, eyes ablaze. I chew on my tongue, straining my neck to meet his gaze. “I want to know what’s wrong. With you.”
For someone who rose through the ranks as a comms officer, I’m sure as shit at failing at communicating now, when it matters most.
Maybe that’s the trick about communicating. When it doesn’t matter, it’s easy, and when it does… It’s the hardest thing in the world to find the right words—the right time.
“Wrong, female? There is nothing wrong. Once I have you safe, where no other male can either see you or get to you, we can talk. Tonight? I do not trust what could be waiting in the canopy above.” He pulls away again.
I grab his wrist. He stops, tensing where I touch him. It’s the most we’ve touched all day. He doesn’t shake me off, so I move into his arms and press against his body, curling my arms around his back. I inhale his earthy scent, and his soft scales tickle my cheek. I close my eyes hard and shudder.
“I miss you,” I whisper.
His arms close in around me. “I’ve
