She rests her hands on my shoulders as I grab her waist and lower her to the ground. A loud sigh pours out of her when she touches the ground and rolls her neck back and forth. Her face contorts when a fresh wave of smell wafts off her robe. This close up, I can smell her, andit’s awful. The stench coming off me is equally bad. I pull off my shirt and wad it up.
“Here, let me,” I say quietly and pull the dirty robe from over her head, exposing her goddess costume. Her hair hangs loose, framing her face. Even though she’s tired, her eyes are bright and full of excitement. She looks wild and ready to take on the entire universe.
The wind blows a thick strand of hair across her face and before I can stop my fingers, they tuck it behind her ear. The touch reverberates all the way down to the soles of my feet. Her eyes drop to my exposed chest before she pulls away.
“What sorts of snacks did we pack?” she asks awkwardly, ducking away and rifling through the saddlebag behind me.
I clear my throat and focus my thoughts on our survival. Between the conversation and being close to her, I’m struggling to keep my mind straight. Her dodge makes me insecure about where we stand. Are we those people who just occasionally fuck? Or is there something happening between us?
“Flatbread, dried meat and that grainy sticky stuff they try to pass off as food,” I say, doing my best to sound normal. Although I’m far from it.
She digs around in my bag and pulls out long strips of the meat. “I’d rather eat sand,” she says and swallows with a grimace.
“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” There is one absolute certainty: I will do anything to protect her and get her home safely.
We aren’t going to make it to the Veilfall before dark after all. It’s slow going through the hot sand. I can’t even blame Bri’s h’axom. We are all struggling. The adrenaline from the escape has worn off and bone-deep exhaustion has settled in.
Bri is drained too. Her eyes are tired, and she hasn’t talked shit to me in hours. I’m going to call it off. We need torest. We have a lot more journey ahead of us, and it’s extremely doubtful the brethren would be able to catch us without any h’axom.
I slide down Brutus’s side and hit the ground. My feet have been asleep for hours, so the sudden rush of blood hurts like stabbing needles.
“Let’s stop for the night,” I tell Bri. She nods and swings her leg over the saddle. I grab her before she can drop to the ground, catching her mid fall.
“You rest. I’ll set up camp while you have some water.” I place her on the ground and shove a canteen into her hands before she can argue.
“Thanks. It caught up with me all of a sudden,” she says and takes a long drink from the canteen.
I’ve been drinking as little as possible, conserving water for Bri. I worry I pushed her too hard today. She looks like she could pass out right here in the burning sand.
My tent pops up without a problem. I pull out my BioDent. I bite down on the disc and it goes to work cleaning my teeth. The foam is minty and fresh—and I’ve never been more grateful for the tech. I’m covered in sweat and sand, which I can deal with, but there is no way I can make it without a clean mouth at the end of the day.
I step around Bri, who hasn’t budged from the spot where I deposited her. I pull off her pack and dig around for her tent. I’d rather she sleep in my tent, but she’s tired and probably wants her own space. I take my time setting up her tent, giving her the opportunity to tell me she doesn’t need it.
She doesn’t say a word, so I reluctantly stake it to the sand next to mine. Close enough to keep an ear out for trouble through the night.
I am about to toss my BioDent in my pack when she asks, “What’s that?”
“A BioDent. You’ve got one in your pack. It cleans your teeth.” I dig through her bag and toss it to her.
“This is the best thing I have ever seen.” She opens the disc and puts the mouthpiece in place.
“Bite down, not too hard, and it’ll turn on,” I instruct.
Her eyes roll back in her head when it hums to life.
I distract myself by dealing with the h’axom. My fingers twitch and my wrist clicks when I tether Brutus and Daisy to my tent stake. If they try to wander away in the middle of the night, the jolt will wake me up. The last thing I want is to wake up without our rides.
She spits out the foam and carefully puts the BioDent away. “That was so good, I think I came.”
I try to laugh at the joke, but I’m too concerned about my arm.
“You okay?” she asks, looking at my bionic hand. Her keen eyes never miss anything.
“Yeah, it’s acting up again.” I flex my hand to try to make it act normal.
“Here, let me see.” She calls me over and pats the sand next to her.
I drop down, close enough for our arms and legs to touch. She grabs my hand and turns it, inspecting it from the outside.
