Page 10

KAVAN

I heard them before I saw them—the crunch of human footwear against forest debris. Six, maybe seven of Hammond's hunters. They moved with purpose but lacked the quiet grace needed to truly hunt these woods.

"Selene," I whispered, squeezing her hand. "We must move. Now."

Her eyes met mine as the voices drew closer. Three rapid heartbeats gave me time to calculate our options. The patrols fanned out in a search pattern. With seismic instabilities to our west and Hammond's men closing from the east, our path narrowed to one choice.

"Hold on to me."

She barely nodded before I gathered her into my arms. Her weight registered as nothing—a stark reminder of human fragility despite their resilience. I tucked her close, her head against my shoulder.

"Close your eyes."

I ran. Not as a healer moving through the forest for herbs, but as a warrior on the hunt. My feet found purchase on surfaces no human could navigate. Each bound carried us five lengths forward, covering distance that would have impressed even my hunting brothers.

Selene gasped against my neck, fingers digging into my tunic. Her breath came in short bursts, yet she made no protest.

"I have you," I said, ducking under a fallen trunk.

The night forest blurred around us. What humans would see as darkness revealed itself to me in deep blues and purples. I registered each obstacle moments before reaching it, adjusting our path by instinct.

A shout rose behind us. They had spotted our movement. Orders echoed across their communication devices. The hunt intensified.

I veered north toward rockier terrain. Fewer hiding places, but the stone would hold no footprints.

"Can they track us?" Selene whispered, lips brushing my ear.

"Not if I do this properly."

The forest worked against us. A path I'd traveled two moons ago now lay blocked by boulders from recent tremors. I pivoted into denser brush. Thorns scraped my skin, but I shielded Selene from their reach.

Behind us, lights flickered through trees. The humans had deployed their artificial illumination—both advantage and disadvantage. They could see better, but we could track them more easily.

"There's a creek ahead. We'll use it to mask our trail."

The water ran cold and swift. I stepped from stone to stone, leaving no prints along the muddy banks. We followed its course until I found what I sought—a small waterfall cascading over moss-covered rock.

I tightened my grip. "Deep breath."

I leapt through the falling water, landing in the space behind. The cascade would mask our heat signatures from tracking devices. I set her down, steadying her when her legs wobbled.

"Are you hurt?"

Selene shook her head, water droplets flying from her short hair. "Just trying to process how fast you moved. That was... I didn't know Nyxari could?—"

"Most cannot," I admitted. "Not with such speed. But I trained as a warrior before becoming a healer."

Her eyes found mine in the darkness. "You keep surprising me, ."

"As do you." I glanced beyond the waterfall. "Their lights approach. We must continue."

I led her through a narrow passage behind the falls, one few would notice without precise knowledge of the terrain. The cave beyond provided shelter, but we couldn't linger. Hammond's forces would eventually find this place.

For three more hours we traversed Arenix's changing landscape. Where the forest floor once sloped gently, new fissures formed treacherous drops. Ancient paths vanished beneath fallen trees and freshly exposed stone. Even for me, the terrain proved challenging. For Selene, impossible without assistance.

I alternated between carrying her and guiding her by hand, choosing our route with the care of both healer and warrior.

As night deepened, Selene's pace slowed despite her determination. I needed to find shelter, somewhere defendable, somewhere to rest.

The cave system appeared before us like an ancestral gift. Carved by ancient waters into the mountain's flank, these caverns had served hunting parties for generations. I had tended wounds here, prepared kills for transport.

My relief died as we drew closer. Recent seismic activity had partially collapsed the main entrance, leaving only a narrow gap where once a hunting band could enter shoulder to shoulder.

"It is not ideal," I said, "but it will shelter us for the night."

Selene eyed the opening. "Will we fit?"

"You will. I may need to... adjust my approach."

She nodded. "Lead the way."

I guided her to the opening, instructing her on the safest path through debris. "Mind your head on that outcropping. The stone here breaks sharply."

Selene slipped through with surprising grace for one so exhausted. I followed, turning sideways to accommodate my broader frame. Stone scraped against my back. My tail caught on protruding rocks as I worked my way through.

Inside, dampness and chill greeted us. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness. The air carried mineral scents of wet stone and the faint musk of small creatures in the crevices.

"It's pitch black," Selene whispered, her voice echoing. "I can't see anything."

"I can remedy that." I moved to the inner wall where bioluminescent fungi grew. My fingers found the familiar texture—soft, slightly sticky. I pressed gently, encouraging rather than damaging the growth.

The fungi responded, releasing spores that glowed blue-green. The light spread as I touched more clusters, until the cavern illuminated enough for Selene to see.

The space revealed itself in the soft glow. Water pooled in depressions on the uneven floor. Jagged shadows stretched across rough walls. Far from the healing chambers I had hoped to show her someday, with their polished vashkai walls and carefully tended warmth.

"Not exactly five-star accommodations," Selene said with forced lightness.

"Five... stars?" I questioned.

"Human reference. Means luxury." She hugged herself against the chill. "This is more like half a star, but better than being caught by Hammond's goons."

I nodded, understanding her meaning if not the reference. "There is a chamber further in. It should be drier, at least."

We picked our way through the narrow passage to the inner chamber. Here, the tremors had left less impact. The room opened into a roughly circular space with a higher ceiling. Fungi grew more abundantly, bathing everything in ethereal blue light.

Selene stepped into the center, turning slowly. "It's actually beautiful, in a eerie way."

I checked for hazards and entrances that might need securing. When I turned back, she stood motionless, staring at nothing. Her composure, maintained throughout our flight, cracked before my eyes.

Her shoulders shook first. Then her hands rose to cover her face. The sound she made pierced deeper than any blade—a half-smothered sob of pure anguish.

I crossed to her in three strides. "Selene?"

"They're using technology they don't understand," she choked out. "Treating marked people like test subjects. Like we're not even human anymore. Like we're just... things to be studied."

I hesitated only a moment before drawing her against me. My arms encircled her smaller form, mindful of my strength. "I am sorry you had to witness such cruelty."

Her tears soaked into my tunic. I held her, one hand stroking her back as I would comfort a child in pain. But Selene was no child. She was a healer, a woman of science and compassion, forced to confront the darkness within her own kind.

"How could Hammond do this? They trusted him. I trusted him." Her fingers curled against my chest. "What if he succeeds? What if he convinces everyone that the markings make us dangerous? That we're contaminated?"

I had no easy answer. The fear she expressed mirrored concerns my own people had raised about the marked humans. Not that they were dangerous, but that they were changing in ways we did not fully understand.

"Those who seek power often create enemies where none exist," I said finally. "It makes their control seem necessary."

Her tears subsided gradually. She pulled back enough to look up at me, her face streaked and eyes reddened. Yet in that vulnerability, I saw strength—a refusal to be broken by what she had witnessed.

Our eyes held. Something shifted between us, like the air before a storm. Her pulse quickened; I could hear it. Mine answered in kind.

I raised my hand, hesitant, giving her time to pull away. When she remained still, I brushed my fingers along her cheek, tracing the faint silver lines appearing there. The markings responded to my touch, illuminating with subtle light.

Selene gasped softly. My own lifelines stirred, golden energy flowing toward my fingertips where they connected with her skin. The sensation surpassed anything I had experienced in healing work—a rush of awareness, of connection that defied explanation.

"What is happening?" she whispered.

"I do not know," I admitted. "But I do not wish it to stop."

Her gaze dropped to my mouth, then rose again to meet mine. I leaned closer, drawn by forces older than conscious thought. Our breath mingled in the cool cave air. The pull between us intensified with each heartbeat.

Her lips met mine in a kiss both tentative and electric. The contact sent waves of sensation through my entire body. My lifelines brightened, casting golden light that mingled with the silver glow of her markings.

The kiss deepened. Her hands slid up my chest to my shoulders, then to the nape of my neck. My arms tightened around her waist, lifting her slightly to better align our heights. Months of unspoken longing found expression at last.

When we finally separated, both breathless, I struggled to center myself. The healer in me counseled patience, care, consideration. But another part—the warrior I had suppressed for so long—roared with possessive desire.

Selene's fingers traced the lifelines on my neck, sending fresh currents of pleasure through me. "I've wanted to do that for weeks," she confessed.

"As have I." I captured her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm where the markings converged. "But we should rest now."

She looked startled. "Rest?"

"Dawn will come soon enough," I explained, though it cost me to be practical. "Hammond's hunters will not abandon their search. We will need clear minds to evade them."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. "You're right, of course. Logical as always, even now."

I smiled at her gentle teasing. "Not always. If I were truly logical, I might never have followed you to your settlement in the first place."

"Then I'm grateful for your occasional lapses." She stepped back, creating space between us, though her eyes promised this conversation was merely postponed, not ended.

I gathered what materials I could to create a more comfortable resting place—soft moss from the cave walls, my outer tunic for her to use as a covering.

"Rest," I urged her. "I will keep watch."

"You need sleep too," she protested.

"Nyxari require less rest than humans." A small stretching of truth. I would need sleep eventually, but tonight I would watch over her. "Please, Selene."

She relented, settling onto the improvised bed. I sat nearby, back against the wall, where I could monitor both her and the cave entrance.

"?" Her voice came softly through the dim light.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything."

Those simple words carried weight beyond their measure. I nodded, not trusting my voice to remain steady.

As Selene drifted toward sleep, I contemplated our path—a healer who had trained as a warrior, a human doctor marked by Nyxari patterns. Both caught between worlds, between duties and desires.

Now, with Hammond's forces hunting us and the planet itself unstable beneath our feet, we faced dangers I couldn't have foreseen when I first recognized her healing gift. Yet watching over her rest, I knew I would choose no different path, even without knowing what lay ahead.