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He reached out with trembling hands, attempting to grip the lifeline I offered.
But the poison, combined with his exhaustion, made his movements slow and imprecise.
My heart sank as I watched him struggle, the vine slipping through his fingers again and again.
“No!” I cried, panic rising like bile in my throat. “You can do it, Talan!”
But even as I shouted words of encouragement, Krexar’s mocking laughter echoed through the jungle, growing closer and louder.
Time was running out.
Talan gave one last valiant effort, stretching his fingers and managing to grasp the vine.
But as he tried to pull himself up, his strength failed him.
He looked up at me, eyes filled with anguish, defeat, and love — a love that said he’d do anything to keep me safe, even if it meant the end for him.
He whispered, almost too softly for me to hear. “I love you, Riley.”
Tears blurred my vision as I watched him, powerless from my perch above. “I love you too,” I sobbed, knowing that our moments together were fleeting.
His grip on the vine slackened, and, heartbreakingly, I knew he was too weak and couldn’t climb.
* * *
Talan’s weary eyes met mine as he sagged against the base of the tree, his once-strong grip on the vine having completely given way.
There was an unspoken understanding between us: climbing was no longer an option.
I couldn’t just leave him there, not when every fiber of my being ached to be beside him.
I slid down the tree, nearly toppling over when I reached the ground, but strong arms — or rather, what was left of their strength — enveloped me.
We settled down, his back resting against the tree trunk, with me nestled in his embrace.
It was comforting in its intimacy, even as the sounds of the jungle threatened our solace.
“Remember when we first met?” I began, my voice barely above a whisper.
A faint smile touched his lips. “Handcuffed in the pod? It’s like we’ve met for the first timemanytimes.”
We laughed quietly, the shared memory a balm to our tense nerves.
In that moment, the world seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of us and the memories we’d crafted.
I snuggled closer to him, savoring the warmth of his body against mine, even as his temperature began to drop.
Talan sighed with contentment. “There’s nothing better than this. Time with you. Here. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine we came on a private trip.”
I smiled, laughed, and then the tears began to fall.
Talan was dying and there wasn’t a thing I could do to save him.
Suddenly, the ground trembled under us.
We held onto each other tighter as the familiar, dreadful sounds of the monstrous creature that once chased us approached.
Its guttural growls and the cacophony of snapping trees drew closer.
