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I don't know where she is, but I won't give up this night until I’ve found her. Until I face her and hold her. Skin to scales, as Freck said.
The handle pulls against me as another patron tries to enter while I'm trying to leave. I’m already in the process of jerking the door open before I realize there’s someone there, and we collide in the entryway.
“Hey!” The voice pulls at my memory. It’s her.
“Hey,” she repeats, and her face softens when she sees my face. It's the biggest hint I've had yet that the battle for her heart is still fair game. Then her brow furrows as she looks me square in the face. “You’re here.” There’s a hint of something guarded in her voice, perhaps almost suspicious.
I can feel my own soft smile spreading across my features as we stand in the doorway, blocking traffic and not even caring. She’s excited to see me, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. Even if she’s hesitating.
It’s enough to make me a little bit giddy deep down. It feels unfamiliar and foreign to me, but also nice.
“You’re here,” I return, mimicking her. “I was starting to think I came here tonight for nothing.”
She grins, and it feels like my muscles are melting.
Finally, someone pushes past us on their way inside, jolting us out of our little trance. She starts to move past me to enter the bar, but I grab her arm.
“It’s so crowded in here. You’re not working tonight, right?”
It occurs to me, seeing her standing there in a nice top and neat synth trousers, that she might be free for the night. Finally, the chance to close the gap between us and that oversized bar. Linus was right, in his idiotic way. I needed to seal my claim on this human, once and for all.
“No. But I thought I might catch a drink before bed.”
“In this noisy hellhole? How about we get out of here?”
“Anywhere you had in mind?”
“You’re the local. Take me somewhere.” Her face brightens as she leads me from the bar back into the street.
It’s not exactly a romantic scene. We’ve been building up defensive measures for the town for weeks, dreading an Alliance attack at any time. Between the steel girders and sandbags lining the streets, I take Sophia by the low of her back to escort her through the rugged terrain.
She certainly knows her way around Sintaca, weaving us through back alleys and empty houses. After a bit, we make it to the edge of the concrete barriers on the outskirts of town.
“Can we be here?” Hesitating with one leg over the barrier, I look up and see Sophia has nearly disappeared into a line of trees.
“Come on, soldier,” she hollers over her shoulder. There’s a bright energy to her voice that has me captivated. Following my siren deeper into the dark, we come upon an open area.
“I can’t see anything,” I confess, reaching for her in the still night air. “I don’t have a light.”
“You don’t need one.” The anticipation in her voice has me excited. “Just wait a second.” We don't have to wait very long as a quiet hum takes over the trees around us.
“First, the sound,” she says quietly to the hum. “Then the sight.”
Lighting up the air like a million lanterns, the eyes of tree-dwelling creatures begin to glow in unison. “They’re Ixsies. Don’t they look like stars?”
“Whoa.” I see what she means now. The little creatures flicker in the darkness like the night sky. “Beautiful. Like you.”
Turning to face her, I slide my arm around the small of her back, my heart pumping with joy when she doesn't shove me away. Then I remember her face from before, the look she gave when she saw me in Drago’s.
“You thought I was up to something tonight, didn't you? What was it, Sophia?”
“It's stupid, don't worry about it.”
“No, tell me, I want to know.”
“I did think you were maybe looking for another girl. Someone new to flirt with since I wasn’t working tonight.” She tries to turn her face away from me, but I can't let her. Illuminated by the light of the Ixsies, she’s the most beautiful thing for miles.
“Impossible.” With my arms snug around her waist, I pull her from her feet and kiss her fervently. “I have what I'm looking for. She’s in my arms where she belongs.”
