Page 133 of Tempting Fate

“Are you hurt?” I asked, deactivating my cloaking device. It wasn’t wise, but I needed to see her.

Imani rematerialised, rubbing her arm. “A bit. What about you?”

I examined her with gentle hands. Even with the protection of my body, cuts and bruises marred her tender skin. “I am so sorry, my moonlight. I didn’t protect you.”

“Hush, are you kidding? I wouldn’t have survived that fall on my own.” She shivered, her eyes searching my face. “How were you so brave? I locked up.”

“I was as terrified as you. But I thought ‘what would my Imani do?’” I threaded my fingers with hers. “And you would have done that. In town. You did do that.” She knew everything I needed, from how to deal with me when I was moody, how to care for me when I was struggling, and how to make me laugh. How to bring me the most exquisite pleasure and say words to make me squirm. She made me feel more worthy and valued than I had ever dreamed, so why wouldn’t I wish to do the same for her? I would spend my whole life showing her just how perfect she was.

“True.” As she stood, she pressed her lips to my forehead. “You did good, kitten.”

Warmth curled through me, my brow tingling where her lips had touched.

She kissed me.

I’d pleased her. I’d protected her—and I’d been good at it. If I had to run through blasterfire and fall down many more rocky crevasses to be with her, I would.

Though I fervently hoped this was the only time.

“We should head deeper in. Let me send a comm, let them know we’re okay,” Imani said, then quieter. “I hope they are.”

“They are experienced fighters,” I said, trying not to think too hard about it.

I checked through my beaten, scuffed pack while she sent her comm. The extra medpack Daiytak had thrown in was crushed, some of the medsprays useless.

Imani kicked a stone across the cave. “Shit. There’s no signal here.”

“None at all?”

“No.”

I checked my own devices; both showed a void in the network. But one message notification glowed. Shohari.

“We have to get moving.” Imani swallowed, and something in her face sent unease skittering through me. “I saw her. Stalker. The mast exploded and broke the dome, and… she got in.”

Spines of Kri. We really had escaped with only moments to spare. “Then let me care for your injuries, and we can find somewhere to settle in for a few days.”

“What about you? You got beat up more than me.”

I ignored her, cleansing her cuts, covering the worst ones with nanofused dressings, and administered an analgesic medspray.

“Okay, now you.”

I gave myself one of the unbroken medsprays and packed everything else back into my bag. “We need to save what’s left. I’ll be fine. Now let me check this comm and we can go.”

As I read my sister’s message, cold sickness spread through me.

“What is it?”

“Rokharu can’t get proof it was Mother. There’s nothing he can do.” I’d take in the detail later, but with the battle, the fall, the ache in my bones inside and out, it was all I could do to attend to our immediate predicament. The bounty hunter was still too close. Whatever worry this news might bring, it was not for now.

Imani took my hand. We picked our way through the tunnels, my datapad tracking our path and mapping the cave system as we went. The tunnels were pretty, crystals in various colours threading in veins through the rock, predominantly blue crystals covering the ceiling wherever I shone my torch. Our footfalls echoed as we walked, the tunnels seeming to amplify even the sounds of our breaths. The narrow passageway opened out into a cavern. I pulled to an abrupt halt, taking in the vista before me. “Fate… Your pictures did not do this justice.”

I tucked her into my side, and we stared in silence. A marvel. A wonder. A treasure trove hidden under the surface with high ceilings and crystalline pillars. Green moss in all different shades covering rocky overhangs. And above, radiant plants, limning everything in a subtle golden glow.

“Isn’t it beautiful? There’ll be more like this. We should keep moving,” Imani said, voice hushed.

We walked for an hour in close, humid air. As we passed into a higher section, this one with sparse purple crystals studding the walls and ceiling, Imani’s comm chirped.