AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head, pointing at us. “Earthling.” He pointed at his chest again. “Universa.”
Lexi giggled. “You are from a planet called Universa?”
He toggled his hand back and forth before nodding.
Ah, right!. “Your species is called Universa,” I blurted out.
He clapped his hands, his expression gleeful now that we understood.
My sister leaned forward. “So, where is your world? Or are you from here?”
He fisted both hands together, balancing the book in his lap. He bounced them around and then opened them wide, his arms going out to the side.
Lexi sat back, horror crossing her face. “Your world blew up? It’s now gone?”
He nodded.
We glanced at each other before she turned to stare back at him. “Well, if your world blew up but your brother went to Earth prior to it being destroyed, you can come back with us when we return. Then you can try to find him.”
He smiled, nodding as he put the book away.
I frowned. Wait... While he didn't speak English, he had understood us. Quite well, in fact. What Lexi had just said had been complex enough that he should have had trouble understanding her meaning. But he hadn't. How?
Glancing at my sister, I realized she hadn't picked up on that. She was studying the cave we were in now.
The strange man pulled out a sack what looked like green vegetables and brown tubers. He began scrubbing them, using the water sparingly.
Deciding to leave the mystery of how he could understand us so well for later, I realized I was starving. Hoping we might be able to share his food, I decided to contribute to the meal from our supplies.
I reached for a packet of freeze-dried stew and a small collapsible pot that was in my pack. Dumping the contents into the pan, I glanced towards the water pouch.
Noticing my gaze, he picked it up and passed it to me, curiosity filling his face. I added a bit of the water to the contents before stirring it in. Satisfied, I set it over the fire, using the miniature tripod that allowed it to hang above the heat.
Our new friend waited, watching everything I was doing. When I sat back to wait for the food to cook, he returned to cleaning his vegetables, before placing them on the metal grid to roast.
Exhaling, I stretched, cataloguing every ache and bruise. They would be gone by morning, given my lycanthrope genes, but right now I was stiff and sore from our ordeal.
I stared into the fire, my senses cataloging everything. My sister was resting, but I knew her mind was going over everything she had learned today as well. She had already decided we were staying here with this man. And that we would bring him back with us when we went home.
She was a trusting soul, but it came from being the vessel of a goddess.
Me? I would wait and see if he was worthy of that trust.
Chapter Two
Lily
I felt it when Soren left Earth. It was like a punch to my gut—visceral and sharp, like someone had carved a vital piece of my soul from me.
Dropping to my knees, my breath left my body in a whoosh.
Ravenal landed beside me, her arms around my shoulders.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?”
It seemed to take minutes for those words to filter into my brain and make sense. I slowly turned to look at her, my eyes wide in disbelief.
“You knew?” How could she betray me like this! “He had told you he was leaving?”
