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His arms tightened around me as he jogged up one hill and down the other side. “I’m sorry.”
“I soured my good memory. Sorry about that. Let me think of another.” I tapped my chin. “Oh, this is also a memory of my grandfather. He used to take me sledding in the winter. There was a big hill behind his house. Snow is cold and slippery. We’d lay on big pieces of cardboard and glide down the hill on the surface. It was a lot of fun.”
“If we had this cardboard, we could glide down these hills.” He nudged his chin to the one he’d started running down.
“We could. We have no cardboard or sled, though. But when we’re done here and we live together, we’ll find a way to do something similar.”
“I haven’t asked,” he said.
Some women would be insulted by that, but I knew Adone. He adored me through and through. “You didn’t have to ask. I’m offering myself to you, Adone. When we win, I want to go with you wherever you travel.”
His steps slowed as he reached the bottom of the hill. “Mate, you humble me.” Turning me in his arms, he kissed me, our mouths searing together in a kiss full of promise and heat.
He lowered me to my feet, and I hugged him. “It’s your turn to share a good memory.”
He stroked my face. “Everything is wrapped up in you, Summer. Everything. That’s all that matters.”
“We’ll make lots of good memories together.”
“We will,” he vowed. He took my hand and we started up the hill with Tumbles scooting ahead of us. “The mother of my brother, Tetryx, came from a wonderful land called Javire. In Javire, everything is beautiful, and the people are kind. There are no Shiedar invaders. The land is full of deep, purple rivers, and very high mountains capped with ice that remains all year round. He spoke of Javire’s lush valleys and dense forests, and of how wonderful it would be for us to one day travel there.” He frowned. “I’m not sure Javire is as perfect as he said.”
“It exists?”
“Oh, yes, it is there, across a wide sea. I believe he told us about it to give us hope. Our lives were truly horrible, and we wished to give up so many times. Then Tetryx would mention Javire and how we’d all travel to this land someday and live with his mother’s people. Things would be better.”
I wanted to hug him, but since we had to keep moving, I settled for putting my arm around him. “Lord Vunne was a terrible person.”
“All the Shiedar invaders are.”
“And they’re still living on your planet.”
He shrugged. “I need to ask Burmoot if he knows. He told us Tetryx killed Vunne.”
“He was free, but he didn’t go to Javire.”
Adone fed me a sad smile. “I believe he waits for me.”
“We’ll go together, then. All of us.”
“If that is what we wish.”
It must be nice to hold onto a dream throughout your childhood. Mine had wavered. First, I wanted to escape the commune to find my grandfather. Then I wanted to escape to avoid our leader’s strict teachings. Finally, I was desperate to escape the leader’s clutches. None of those goals were something I’d wished for all my life. Not like Tetryx and Adone’s Javire.
Would I ever have a goal I wanted more than anything to aim for?
I had Adone. He was so much more than enough.
We reached the top of the hill. While Tumbles rolled down the side and out onto a flat area, we stopped. Adone turned me to face him. He stroked my face with so much care, it made my heart ache. It should be impossible to care so much for someone when I’d only known him a short time, but from the moment I met him, I knew he was special. That sense of déjà vu that we’d met before hadn’t left me.
He was mine, and I was his, and nothing would ever tear us apart.
I should be frightened of following him to a new world. When I fled the commune, I knew it would be scary starting over. Instead of being alone in this new adventure, I’d be with Adone. He’d watch out for me, and I’d do the same for him.
We started across the flat area, following Tumbles.
The sand started swirling, and a hole opened.
Tumbles fell in, his yelp echoing up at us.
I dove forward, my fingers latching onto his bristly fur.
