Solaris

“Come on, we should keep moving.” Kaige reached out for my hand, and I let him take it. “We have to at least get to the other side of the river before we rest.”

“Okay,” I huffed. I had grossly underestimated what hiking through the Shadow Lands would entail. Strolling down a nicely paved sidewalk for a few hours was completely different than trudging through crumbling asphalt while avoiding metal debris every step.

We followed the river west, sticking as closely to its banks as we could. My calves were on fire and sweat poured off my brow. I slowed my pace so I could pull my hair up into a ponytail. The long curls were sticking to my neck and shoulders, trapping the heat in.

I glanced over at Kaige and noticed he looked as good as ever. He had barely broken a sweat. Was that a nocturne thing or just a future prince who trains daily thing?

“What?” Kaige eyed me curiously.

“Nothing.” I bit down on my lower lip and kept walking.

His dark eyes moved past me, focusing on a spot over my shoulder. He squeezed my hand and yanked me down to the ground. We ducked behind a tall cement pillar which now resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

“What did you see?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure. It was just a shadow, but I could’ve sworn I saw something move over there.” He pointed to an old decaying structure about a block away.

I strained my eyes to make out something. From the looks of it, it could have been a parking garage, but the top few levels had crumbled down on top of the first. “I don’t see anything.”

He squinted his eyes, still focused on the rubble. “It couldn’t be border patrol. We would’ve heard their plane.”

“And they wouldn’t be hiding out in some rundown garage. They would’ve come straight for us.”

“True.” He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “I must be imagining things.” He slowly tore his gaze away from the building. “Do you want some water since we stopped?”

“Please!” I’d wanted some for the past hour, but I didn’t want him to think I was weak. Now that we’d be spending an extra day here, I needed to conserve every bit of water I could.

He untied the canvas tarp and handed me a bottle of water then uncapped the synth for himself. I chugged a few mouthfuls and groaned in pleasure. A low growl reverberated from Kaige’s throat. I glanced up. His fangs had popped out and silver shown in his eyes as he drank the synth.

He finally noticed I was staring and put the bottle down, an uncomfortable smile curling his lips. “Sorry. That happens sometimes when I’m really hungry.”

“It’s okay.”

He lay out the tarp in front of us, and the aevitas berries rolled around. “You should probably eat some.”

My stomach let out a loud growl.

He laughed and offered me a handful. “They’re more savory than sweet. Kind of bitter actually.”

I popped a few in my mouth. The sharp acidity made my teeth chatter, and I grimaced. “I can’t believe this is what they use to make synth out of.”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty crappy substitute for the real thing.” His eyes narrowed in on my neck. He raked his hands over his face and let out a long breath. “I mean from what I imagine the real thing tastes like.”

Goose bumps sprang up over my arms. His eyes were smoldering silver again and burning desire scorched through the bond. I jumped up, completely forgetting we were supposed to be hiding. “We should probably keep going.”

He chugged down the rest of the synth and folded up the tarp. “We should.”

We trudged along for what felt like forever. Even with Kaige’s strong hand holding me up, I was quickly losing the battle. I hadn’t had a real meal in days and the night in the dungeon didn’t really count as quality sleep time. I gritted my teeth and forced my legs to keep moving. Each step felt like a hundred knives stabbing my feet. Even my comfy, worn in Converse were no match for this terrain.

“There!” Kaige pointed down the river, and I squinted to see what had gotten him so excited. “It’s another bridge.”

The little cement structure was much smaller than the one we’d passed a few hours ago. There was no way a car could fit; it was just wide enough for a person to cross over.

As we neared, I realized it wasn’t a bridge at all—at least not one meant for people to traverse. It was an aqueduct, running an iron pipe from one side to the other.

“You want us to cross this?”

Kaige’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the bridge. “It should hold us.”

Parts of the cement structure had disintegrated, revealing the rusty pipe underneath. The pillars seemed to be intact, but what did I know? I wasn’t an engineer.

“What if it doesn’t?” I stared down into the white-capped rushing water. It was at least fifty feet across and murky and brown. A chill scurried up my spine.

“We can keep walking, but it’s just taking us further out of the way. There must be a real bridge further along, but there’s no guarantee it’ll be in better condition than the first one.”

My feet screamed out a big “No!” at the idea of more walking.

“I can go first,” Kaige offered. “If it holds me, it’ll definitely hold you.”

I gulped. “Okay.”

He released my hand, and I followed him up to the aqueduct. He put one foot on the ledge and pushed his weight down on it. “Seems okay.” He slowly lifted his other foot and bounced up and down. It held.

“Be careful.” My stomach tightened. If anything happened to him…

“I’m going to go slowly so that I can be sure it’ll hold you, okay?”

I nodded. “You can swim right?”

He shot me a wink. “Of course I can, but just so you know, nocturnes hate water.”

Good to know. I vaguely recalled some old vampire myth I’d read about that.

I chewed on my lower lip as he took the first few steps, his arms held out for balance. It’s not like he needed it; he was as graceful as a tightrope walker. I held my breath for the next few seconds anyway. He leapt off the edge and landed on the other side in a cat-like crouch, and I released the breath I’d been holding. Was there anything nocturnes weren’t good at?

“You’re turn.” Kaige shot me a grin.

Of course, he’d made it look so easy. I climbed up onto the cement structure and peered down over the edge. Rushing brown water whooshed underneath me, the sound of lapping waves rolling across my eardrums. A part of me wanted to crawl across, but I refused to look that stupid.

I took a step, planting my foot in the center of the two-foot span of concrete. The rushing water had splashed across it, leaving sections slick. Other parts had crumbled away to reveal rusty metal piping underneath. I tried to avoid stepping on those. The concrete I trusted, the pipe not so much.

Every muscle in my body was tense as I traversed the narrow bridge. My calves burned from the strain, my feet shrieking in protest from the blisters.

“You’re almost there.”

I lifted my gaze to Kaige’s. He leaned over the wall, his navy eyes intent on mine. I took another step, and the concrete crumbled underneath my foot. My leg shot out to the side, the worn treads of my Converse no match for the slippery walkway. I splayed out my arms but caught onto nothing but air.

Freezing water cocooned me in its icy embrace. My lungs contracted, and a scream tore out of my lips. I gagged as brackish water filled my mouth. I kicked and thrashed trying to pull myself to the surface, but the current was too strong. I broke through the white caps just long enough to see the murky sky above and inhale a quick breath, then I was sucked under again. My legs felt like deadweights dragging me down. Hot pokers stabbed at my lungs, the burning sensation suffocating me.

Darkness blanketed my vision, and I stopped thrashing.

Strong arms wrapped around my body and yanked me out of the icy water. I coughed and spluttered, spitting out a small pool of brownish liquid. Bleh. My head felt like it was still underwater. My vision and hearing were hazy, like I was in a bubble. Dark navy eyes filled my line of sight, and my heart rate doubled. The burning in my lungs subsided, and I inhaled a deep breath. I lay on the ground, gripping the hard earth on either side of me. My teeth chattered.

“Solaris! Are you okay?”

From the panicked look on Kaige’s face, I realized he’d been shouting my name for a while now.

My throat was raw. “Yes. I’m okay,” I croaked.

He pulled me into his arms and squeezed. I buried my face into his chest, trying to absorb his warmth. My body trembled; an icy chill had invaded every inch of me and wasn’t letting go.

Kaige ran a hand through his hair, pulling at the ends. “Gods, Solaris. You could have died! You have to be more careful.”

And just like that I snapped out of the fog. “Excuse me?” I pushed out of his embrace. “It’s not like I tried to drown. Swimming in frigid water isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”

He curled his fingers into a fist. “I know. I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s just…if anything happened to you.”

Raging silver pupils raked over me, and he pulled me back into his arms, pressing me against his body. A fire ignited in my belly and for a second I wasn’t so cold anymore.

“We have to get you out of these clothes.”

“What?” I narrowed my eyes.

He rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “I don’t want you to freeze to death after all of this.” He scanned the area and I followed his line of sight. Nothing but crumbling buildings and metal wreckage as far as the eye could see.

Kaige scooped me into his arms and sped toward a rundown building a few yards away.

“Where are we going?”

He ticked his head toward the dilapidated structure. “I need to get you warm. I can build a fire, and we can rest there for a few hours while your clothes dry.”

“What am I going to wear in the meantime?”

He grinned mischievously. “Don’t worry about that.”

The cityscape zipped by my periphery in a blur. Seconds later, Kaige pushed through a door and lowered me to the ground. We were in a small nook with cement floor and three walls surrounding us. The fourth wall had been blown out, letting in a bit of light. I looked up at the cracked façade and frowned.

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“These buildings have been here for a hundred years. I doubt they’re just going to decide to collapse on us today.”

The way my luck had been lately, I wouldn’t discount the possibility. I carefully leaned back against the cool cement.

Kaige pulled his shirt up over his head, and I popped back up. Smooth muscle covered his torso, his abs finely sculpted. He was even more perfect than I remembered.

His lip curled up into a grin as he regarded my ogling. Hanging his shirt on an exposed nail, he pointed at my top. “You have to take that off.”

“What am I going to wear?” I couldn’t just hang out with my top half exposed like he was.

He bent down and unwrapped the tarp then dumped the berries and bottles on the floor. He handed it to me with a smirk. “How about this?”

I stared at the dirty, worn material which would cover half of my torso at best. “Seriously?”

“It’s the only thing we’ve got.” He turned toward what used to be the entrance of the building and stared into the nothingness. “Stay here. I’m going to try to find something to get a fire going.”

I skimmed the perimeter; there wasn’t a tree in sight. What was he going to use as kindling? “Okay,” I muttered.

As soon as he was out of the building, I tugged off the clingy wet top and wrapped myself in the tarp. My gaze trailed his finely muscled body as he walked away. His gait was smooth and fluid, almost hypnotic. My head bobbed, my eyelids straining to stay open. I leaned back and brushed the hard wall, my arms wrapped tightly around my midsection. Before long, my lids gave up the fight and blissful darkness fell over me.