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“I’m getting there, but those drugs were strong.”
“No kidding. One of the Siblet said you were lucky not to be killed. You wouldn’t stop fighting them, so they gave you a huge dose.”
“Of course, I wasn’t going to stop fighting. Your life was at risk.” His smile sent a warm feeling fluttering through her chest. “How about you? You holding up?”
“Other than needing a long soak in the tub, something decent to eat, and a good night of sleep, I’m fine.” Georgia rubbed her forehead. Apart from the headache growing behind her eyes. It was no surprise she was getting a tension headache, given everything they’d gone through.
Her banty nuzzled her cheek and gave it a swift lick.
She tickled his head. “We’re all going to be fine.”
Georgia felt a flicker of pride inside her. Their situation was lousy, but the crew would be here soon, so she wasn’t freaking out. She’d faced the Siblet head-on and hadn’t crumbled. It felt great to face her fears. And she knew the reason she hadn’t folded. It was because of Ash. He stood by her no matter what. He was always there. And... he loved her.
Was she brave enough to tell him she loved him, too?
Her foot caught in an exposed root, and Georgia stumbled, hitting the ground.
The banty alarm chirped and leaped off her.
She cursed and went to pull herself up. “Sorry, buddy. I missed my footing.”
Ash was immediately by her side, holding onto her. “Everything okay?”
“Fine. I just...” Georgia climbed to her feet and swayed. It felt like the world just tilted. She shook her head.
“Georgia, what’s wrong?” Concern crossed Ash’s face.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of an earth tremor. You don’t feel that?”
The banty alarm called several times and hopped up and down, his agitation clear.
Ash glanced around. “Nothing’s moving. Let’s take a break for a minute. You need to catch your breath.”
“We don’t have time to rest. We need to keep moving away from those mutant beasts. They may change their minds about coming after us.”
“They’re not following us. I’d be able to hear them if they were stalking us. Rest. We’ve got the time.”
Georgia leaned against a tree and sucked in air. Her headache was getting worse, and everything felt like it was tilting, as if she’d had one too many to drink.
“Did you get wounded when we were in the caves?” Ash said. “One of the mutant beasts didn’t scratch you? You don’t think you’ve been poisoned again?”
“I’d remember getting injured, and none of them got close enough to touch me. It can’t be that.”
“Roll up your sleeves. It only needs to be a small scratch, just enough to break the skin, so the poison gets into your system.”
Georgia pushed up her sleeves and let Ash check her back and legs for any sign of an injury. All the time, she was feeling increasingly sick and unstable.
He shook his head as he rolled down the leg of her uniform. “I don’t see anything. A few bruises, but you haven’t been scratched.”
“This is a different feeling to when I was poisoned. I feel like I’m going to pass out. What’s wrong with me?” Panic made her throat tighten.
“I don’t know. We’ll fix it, whatever it is. Come on. Let’s keep moving.” Ash lifted her into his arms.
“I can still walk.”
“Barely. I’m doing much better than you. Let’s keep going.”
The banty wasn’t missing out on a free ride and leaped high to land softly on Georgia’s chest.
