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“I’ll have to take your word for it,” she raises a perfectly arched, ebony brow at me before wandering toward the pool. "Is it safe to swim?"
"Of course." Without another word, I walk to the pool edge and strip. Diving in, I swim to the center then turn and curl my fingers to beckon her into the water. "Come on in, starfire. It's perfectly safe. Plus, there’s something else I want to show you.”
Her face heats with color. "I already saw your something."
I chuckle, the sound strange to my ears, and I can’t recall the last time I heard it. "Not my cock, silly female. I'll be showing you that later. What I want to show you is over there." I point toward the arched opening leading out of the cave and beyond.
Cora hesitates for a moment, but then slowly begins to shed her clothes. My eyes feast on her curves as she steps into the pool. I meet her in the middle, and together, we swim to the lip as the sun is slowly sinking in the sky, painting Zeva in an array of warm golds and purples.
We reach the lip of the pool and Cora’s eyes widen in wonder as she follows the point of my finger. Over the edge, a crystal cascade gently spills, creating an elegant torrent of liquid stars that pours into a network of shallow pools dotted all the way down the mountainside.
All around us, the setting sun casts its gentle golden rays, bathing the lush valley in a warm and inviting glow. Jagged peaks of the mountain ranges surrounding the valley cut across the horizon like the teeth on a serrated blade until the last rays disappear over the tallest peak.
"How did you ever find this magical oasis?" Her breathless utter floats away on the breeze as soon as the words leave her lips. Had I not been studying her profile in the waning light, I might not have known she’d spoken.
"Purely by accident." I tell her the story of how I was being chased by Bioti after stealing my current ship. I had flown through the asteroid field, knowing I could lose them in the whirling debris. “There aren’t many who are brazen enough to fly into danger.”
“I can believe that,” she grins.
“Once I lost the Bioti, I needed a place to lay low for a few days and stumbled upon this solar system and found Zeva to be habitable. It’s charted as a world with no higher lifeforms and no viable resources worth mentioning.”
“You’re kidding? The whole planet is a valuable resource. It would make for the perfect lover’s retreat.” Cora sweeps her hands through the air. “You could make more of these cave houses with pools and rent them out.”
I give my head a firm shake. “Solitude is what drew me here and kept me returning. I found this cave on one of my hikes and closed it off in the unlikelihood of intruders and made it my home."
“Don’t you get lonely on a planet all by yourself?” she asks, her gaze shadowed with a hint of sadness.
“All Mavericks are solitary.” My lips curl in a repentant grin, knowing that after I return her to Earth, I will know loneliness for the first time.
"Really? Why?"
"Given our vocation, it's safer for us to remain apart rather than to be gathered in one place in case one of us is found. No need to get everyone killed at once. We are all wanted males, constantly hunted for our various crimes. Some worse than others,” I say, my sivot half stirring anxiously over the mere thought of being parted from her. “Are you hungry?"
"A little."
“Stay and swim while I prepare the last meal of the day.” I recoil from the emotional turmoil she causes within me by retreating to the opposite side of the pool.
Qhix’s comment bangs around inside my skull. What will I do once I fly her to Earth? Can I simply let her go? It isn't in a Kaul’s nature to be separated from his mate. Kauls mate with only one female over the course of a lifetime, and once knotted and mating seed is spilled inside the womb of a chosen female, it means forever.
I heft myself out of the water, grab a towel from the basket, wrap it loosely around my hips on my way to the purifier, and contemplate just how bliked I am.
* * *
CORA
The water envelops me, cool and inviting, as I glide through the pool's depths. It's so clear, I can see the smooth rock bottom. The pool is a natural formation fed by trickling water that glides down the sheer rock wall from an unseen source somewhere inside the mountain. The sensation of weightlessness tugs at my heartstrings, reminding me of days long gone when I was home on Earth. I can't help but smile as I come up for air.
The pool is sublime, as if it was meticulously hewn out of the mountainside. I swim to the edge and look out over the forested land below. A thin cascade of crystal-clear water pours over the side, flowing into a series of pools along its descent until it reaches the bottom.
I pull deeply of the sweet air, admiring the setting sun leaving a vibrant palette of oranges, pinks, and purples in its wake. A flock of colorful birds soars across the horizon, their tiny wings flapping in unison. In the far distance, several planets can be seen twinkling in the darkening sky.
Zeva is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. I swallow back the guilt that threatens to drown me. Guilt over asking Navik to risk his life again to take me home, and guilt over the temptation to ask him if I can stay.
What a conundrum I’ve found myself in. If I stay on Zeva with Navik, that would mean I would never see my mom again, but it would also mean Navik would remain safe.
"Is the pool to your liking, starfire?" Navik's voice floats over from where he's cooking us a meal over a smokeless fire pit in the center of a rock ledge the size of a large patio. He peers over one mighty shoulder, his muscular back turned toward me.
"It's amazing," I reply, pushing wet strands of hair from my face. My body is alive with newfound freedom, an emotion that has been scarce since my abduction from Earth. "Thanks for bringing me here, Navik."
