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“You will fly with Sulat,” Tariq told her. “I will carry the equipment.”
He moved close enough to his anrik to clasp his shoulder. “Take care of her. I will do my best to keep up.”
“You will keep up. If we’re doing this, we do it together.” She caught both their hands and drew them in close. “It’s too soon for this conversation, but since we’re about to do something completely inadvisable, I’m going to say it anyway. I don’t love you yet, but it’s inevitable. So, let’s get this over with and go back to living a nice, safe life together.”
Tariq pretended not to notice the way Jody’s hand shook or the slight tremor in her voice as she spoke. “Together,” he repeated, making the word into a vow.
“Together. Always,” Sulat said.
Five minutes later, the three of them headed out into the storm.
This flight was nothing like the last time she’d flown with Sulat. There was no warm summer breeze, no stars overhead, and no pretty lights twinkling below.
The wind shrieked around them like a living thing, battering them with gusts that tore at her clothes and skin and pummeled her with rain. The straps that linked her harness to his were so slick she couldn’t keep hold of them. Though maybe that was because her fingers were so cold she couldn’t feel them anymore.
Lightning raced across the sky like streaks of white fire, leaping between the clouds. The brilliant light blinded her, and the rain made it difficult to see anything in the all-consuming darkness. But she kept her eyes open anyway. Tariq was somewhere out there, though she never saw him for more than a second at a time. Sometimes he was above them, only to appear below the next time she caught a glimpse of him.
Peals of thunder boomed and cracked so loudly they shook them both.
Speaking was impossible, but Sulat would touch her face from time to time, the only comfort he could offer while he struggled to navigate the maelstrom.
The rain lightened after what felt like an eternity, allowing her to see a little better. A distant flash of lightning danced on the horizon, providing enough light for her to see Tariq. He flew to their right, his head bowed against the wind.
When he dropped into a sudden dive, she cried out in fear, reaching out as if she could somehow stop him from falling. She cried out again when Sulat followed him, rushing toward the ground and a tiny cluster of lights.
Lights! Was that the shuttle? Please be the shuttle. Please, please, please.
They landed in the same clearing as the shuttle, both males stumbling as they impacted the muddy terrain.
Jody tried to unfasten the harness straps, but her hands were like ice blocks, and she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. They’d outfitted her as best they could for the weather, but their boots and gloves were too big and would have been more hinderance than help.
“You holding up?” Sulat asked as he pulled off his gloves to get to the straps.
She ignored his attempts to free her and pulled herself up to kiss him.
“Cold. Wet. Thankful to be back on th-the ground.”
He kissed her back, his lips as cold as hers, though the touch of his mouth helped to warm her in ways that had nothing to do with skin temperature.
“And to think I used to storm-dive for fun. My younger self was an idiot,” he said.
“For fun?” she asked. “What about that ordeal was supposed to be the fun part?”
“I can’t remember,” Sulat admitted.
Tariq appeared, lugging the gear he’d carried. “Me either. Let’s get inside and out of this fraxxing awful storm.”
The moment she was free of the harness, she ran to Tariq and threw her arms around him. “You’re okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine, zurya.” He leaned down to kiss her, one hand sweeping the sodden mess of her hair out of her eyes.
“We did it. And I never want to do that again.”
“Agreed.”
A shaft of warm, welcoming light streamed out of the darkness, and Tyran’s voice called over the noise of the storm. “You’re all insane, and I’m grateful. Now, please hurry.”
“Royal gratitude sounds good,” Sulat muttered as they stumbled toward the shuttle. “Do you think it comes with better pay?”
