Page 12

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Good To Know

*Ren*

T he soles of my feet ached as we closed in on the river late in the afternoon. “Really wish I would’ve been able to fix that rider right about now,” I muttered under my breath.

“You looked comfortable working with those tools.” Jalen grinned, and I tried to ignore how warmth spread through my chest at the slightest hint of a compliment he gave me.

“Fixing machines is my life. I’m the head mechanic on the Verne .”

“That’s impressive.”

I side-eyed him. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

He shrugged. “Guess it’s easy to fall back into thinking about Cassidy when I look at you. She doesn’t seem like the type who’d ever dirty her hands in an engine.”

I snorted. “Never. She’s always been more of a people person.” A pang of resentment settled in my chest. Maybe if I’d been more like her, my life wouldn’t have been so hard. I shook off the old regret. Now wasn’t the time to wallow about the past. “You sound like you know Cass pretty well.”

“Not quite. I only met her when Rhelt brought her back to Dionus to be his mate.”

I scoffed. “Fated mates. What a crock of bullshit that is.”

“What do you mean?”

After spotting how much his smile fell, I grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to dump on your way of life. The whole mate thing is just idiotic to me.”

“How so?”

I fiddled with the sleeve of my skinsuit. “Doesn’t it sound like something out of a kid’s story? You meet someone, and wham—you just know that stranger is the love of your life, who will always be by your side and never leave you. That’s how Cass described it to me.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Jalen asked.

“You can’t trust fate to find someone worthy of sharing your life with. It’s not how the universe works.”

Jalen blinked. “It’s how it works for Dionions.” He stated it so matter-of-factly, I knew he believed it.

“Sure it is.” I couldn’t explain how I knew not all Dionions were bound by the same ideals. Not without dredging up some memories I was desperate to keep buried.

“I don’t understand why it’s bothering you so much. Don’t you have a hairy male waiting for you back on the ship?” he said jokingly, though his tone wasn’t as laid back as usual.

The hell is he talking about? My brow furrowed. “What?”

“What did Arda call him… That’s right. Nicky-boy.”

A laugh startled out of me, and heat washed over my face. “Are you serious? You know Arda was talking out of her ass back there, don’t you?”

His face screwed up. “Talking out of her what ?”

I waved a hand. “It’s a figure of speech. It means she was so hopped up on your stupid trippy flower that she wasn’t making any sense.” I chuckled humorlessly. “I promise you, there is no hairy man in my bed.”

“Hm.” Jalen met my eyes, and a slow smirk spread across his face that sent tingles down my spine. “That’s good to know.”

My mouth went dry, and my mind blanked. Why is that good? He shouldn’t care about who’s waiting in my bed. Shit, maybe I should’ve let him keep thinking I had a man back on the ship. It would certainly make things easier if he thought I was off-limits. Wouldn’t it?

We rounded an enormous boulder, and a familiar sound suddenly became clear, wiping the disconcerting thoughts from my head. “Is that the river?”

“Sounds like it.” Jalen jerked his head forward, a blinding smile on his lips. “Come on.”

I followed him eagerly, ducking beneath a few low-hanging vines and around a pricker bush. All the while, the whoosh of running water grew louder. Finally, we wove through a stand of tall trees and emerged on the banks of an enormous river.

“ That’s what we need to cross?” Fear prickled the back of my neck. The river was so massive I had to squint to make out the far banks. I wagered we’d need to swim for at least an hour to make it across. What was worse, the current didn’t look calm. Not in the slightest. I spotted a few places where rapids whipped between rocks and even a steep drop-off downstream.

Jalen gestured for me to continue walking. “We need to follow it upstream. There’s a spot where it will be safe to wade once the moons rise.”

“If you say so.” Shivers racked my frame as I turned away from the rapids. We hiked in silence as the sun slowly sank below the tree line and shadows lengthened within the jungle.

I tugged at the neck of my skinsuit. “At least we’ll get to cool down a little. Is it just me, or is it getting hotter out here?”

Jalen’s eyes narrowed as he examined my face. “The day always cools when the sun starts going down. Are you feeling hot from exertion?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged, but I must’ve been hotter than even I realized. My legs wobbled, and I almost took a tumble into a bush.

Jalen’s hand shot out to steady me. I instinctively cringed back from his touch.

“Here.” Jalen pulled his hand away and offered me his water bottle. “Have a drink.”

“Thanks.” I accepted it gratefully and gulped a few mouthfuls, though it didn’t cool me as much as I would have liked. Heat radiated within me, like a furnace was trapped in my chest. As I handed the water bottle back, my gaze caught on my ankle. “I bet that’s the problem.”

Jalen asked, “What is?”

I lifted my leg, twisting it so I could show off the torn fabric at my ankle. “I forgot to mend this last night. My skinsuit must not be regulating my body temperature properly with this big rip.” I tugged my bag off. “I took Arda’s sewing kit before we left. I’ll stitch this up quick—”

“I’m afraid we don’t have the time.” Jalen smiled apologetically. “Not if we want to make it across the river tonight. Think you can rough it for a tad longer? I promise I’ll help you mend your clothing when we stop for the night.”

“You know how to sew?”

“I’m the self-reliant recluse, remember?” He grinned.

“How could I forget?” I shouldered my bag. “I can wait. Lead the way.”