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“I look forward to it.Thenyoucan look afterme.”
Her smile was coy, but she said nothing as we reached our temporary camp and began the fire.After cooking the meat, I made certain Tori was full before I ate.Our next part of the journey would be difficult, and she needed her strength.
We would find Sahcor.The sooner, the better because the sooner we found Tori’s friends and she saw they were safe, the sooner I could have her all to myself again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
TORI
“Talk to me.”
I needed some form of distraction because the easiest way down the side of the cliff face to the beach was apparently a steep-as-hell wall.It was practically amateur rock climbing, facing the wall and working our way downward by finding nooks and footholds we could use.Vitri wrapped his vines around my waist and promised me he wouldn’t let me fall.
I believed him, but it was still difficult to concentrate.
“Are you afraid of heights?”he asked.
“No,” I said, a squeal escaping my lips as the rocks slipped under my fingers.Vitri’s vines tightened around my waist, and it was comforting but not enough.“I’m not afraid of heights as such.I handled your treehouse just fine.”I glanced down.“I’m afraid of being impaled on spikey rocks, though.”
“I won’t let you fall.”
I sighed, taking a few steps sideways on the narrow ridge to find another hold.“Talk to me anyway so I’m distracted.”
“Tell me about your home.”
“Too vague, Vitri.Ask me something specific.”
“Did you have a mate?”
I laughed out loud, managing a few more descending steps without fear while laughing at the growl that rumbled through his chest at my response or my lack of response.It was difficult not to laugh, especially after the hard time he’d givenmeabout jealousy.“No need to be jealous, Vitri.At leastmypotential suitors are galaxies away.”I remembered the asha and the way they had called with a seductive song.Scowling, I added, “Yours still sing to you.”
“I regret showing you the asha.”
“I regret not punching their beautiful alien faces in,” I mumbled.
Vitri chuckled before continuing, “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I had an ex… mate.”It sounded such an odd way to say it.“Boyfriend… we call them boyfriends and girlfriends or partners.So, I had an ex-boyfriend.”
“Do you miss him?”
I thought for a moment.“No, not him.I miss home, though.I miss my mother, even though she probably doesn’t miss me.”
“Why wouldn’t she miss you?”
“She doesn’t remember me.”
Vitri’s brow furrowed as he waited for me to climb on a flat surface next to him.When I got my footing, he placed his hands on my hips to steady me.“I don’t understand.”
I looked away, willing the tears to stay at bay and hating that they rose so readily simply because I’d spoken about her out loud rather than keeping her safe, locked in my private thoughts.“Sometimes, when humans get old, they lose their memory.It’s just one of those shitty things that happens.”
“Why does it happen?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed the words out.While this conversation was working to distract me, I was hating all the emotions it was stirring in my chest.“But it’s probably hereditary.”
The second the words left my lips, I regretted it.There was a brief silence as Vitri processed what I had said, and I grunted as I was yanked forward against his chest.“Will you forget me?”His voice sounded strained, and it pulled at something in my chest.
Wrapping my arms around him, I squeezed slightly.I was never one to lie purely to soothe the feelings of others—it just didn’t come naturally.But Vitricaredabout me for reasons I had yet to place, and I didn’t want to torture him with something that may never happen.“No,” I said, leaning into his hold.“I’ll never forget you.”
