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These woods had been my favorite place in the world. Those summer vacations had been one of the few times I’d ever had my mother’s undivided attention. The demands of her job had always weighed heavily upon her. The population constraints built into our biology might have done wonders for preserving the natural beauty of Zaar, but they also kept the Zaarn weaker than the more prolific species. We had no colonies, only this one world. My mother’s work as a senator always walked the fine line of helping our people as much as possible using any resources we could sell or barter to cement alliances.
If enough of the banished Zaarn sent to Roam had mates among the Hyoo-mons, we could change all of that. If we were cross-fertile, we could even claim a planet and put the Zaarn on a more even footing.
Ifwe could get the people of our home world to ally with us.
I huffed out an irritated breath. Too many ifs. I hated it. I wanted certainty for my crew.
I wanted certainty for my mate.
The ground, which had appeared flat when flying over it, rose and fell in gentle, wood-covered hills around us. I kept us to the shallow valleys as much as possible to reduce the amount of elevation climbing Vivv-Ee-Aan’s short legs would need to do.
We startled a family of polpuffs, who cheeped in alarm as they rolled under a bush. The small mammals looked like little balls of blue fur, meant to blend into the needle-covered forest floor.
“Oh, they’re so cute!” Vivv-Ee-Aan crouched, trying to see under the bush. Then her head snapped toward the kreecat. “No, if you eat one, I donotwant to watch.”
“It’s not worth it,” I said to the feline. “There’s very little meat under all that fur.”
My mate picked up a downed branch, swishing it back and forth on the ground. “If you want to chase something, chase this.”
Max hunkered down, his back feet dancing back and forth for a moment. He sprang, his body lengthening in the air into a graceful arc. Landing with all four paws on the heavily needled branch, his weight yanked in from her hand.
Vivv-Ee-Aan’s delighted laugh rang through the air, piercing my heart with its perfection. It spoke not of amusement or incredulity but of pure joy.
Her smile looked radiant, and I longed to bask in its glow for an eternity.
But we weren’t safe.
Also, the sun had dipped, cooling the air. It might have been spring, but at this latitude that meant warmth only during the days. Tonight would be cold, and I needed to find us shelter.
Far sooner than either of them wished, I called them away from their play.
As we hiked deeper into the forest, the memory of my mate’s laugh continued to ring in my mind, the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
The last of the daylight teased the darkening sky with streaks of orange and purple. Almost none of it penetrated the canopy of the grivwood trees, and I heard a muttered hiss from behind me as Vivv-Ee-Aan stumbled over another obstruction.
“Enough.” I spun around. “I will carry you.”
“I can walk!”
“Of course you can walk,” I said. “But you obviously can’tsee.”
She glared at me, which I could perfectly well see since Zaarn had superior night vision.
I held up my hand. “How many fingers?”
Her eyes narrowed, searching the space around me as if she couldn’t even see my hand, let alone my fingers. Then the kreecat bounded up to her side with a mrrr.
A grin split her face as she said, “Three.”
“You cheated,” I said. “You used your bond with the kreecat.”
“Since there weren’t any rules, I didn’t cheat.” Triumph filled her tone as she leaned over and scratched his chin. “I simply made smart use of what resources I had.”
As much as I admired her intelligence and cunning, I still said, “Unless he’s going to walk by your side and tell you where to place every single footstep, it’s not good enough.”
“You’re right.” She sighed and straightened. “I just hate feeling helpless. And the last few days…” A vulnerable look crossed her face, one that highlighted the delicacy of her features.
I hated that look. It was so very wrong on her, the opposite of the fierceness I loved.
