Chapter 8

We kept running until we could run no longer. Where we were, I had no idea. But the term safety probably applied. And at this point. That’s really the best I can ask for.

"Dalen," My voice is breathless, panting for air. "What are you even doing here?" How could he have possibly found me? It's not like Robert is some absolute moron who would leave a note or something. Especially if he wanted everything to go without a hitch.

“Robert left a note.” He drawled in response. Sometimes I hate the fucking Moro. They never really got tired. Stamina and Endurance are their best weapons and I don’t have it. He had barely broken a sweat.

Of course, he is. I forgot how dumb Robert can be. Well, he's dumb and he makes up for it with a whole bunch of muscle everywhere else. "Oh, well, in that case, Robert probably planned to ambush you and kill you."

“Yeah, I figured.” He replied, leaning against one of the dead trees near him. “That’s why I didn’t just come there on time. I had hoped to find a way to kill them all. I underestimated how many men Robert had.”

Squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath. “It is not a mistake that I will repeat.” Then he looked at me. “How did you escape?”

“Well, I found a blaster and squirreled it away for later. When most of the captors had left to get supplies I shot at one of them. I blew his head off in a bloody way that temporarily blinded the other one.” I emphatically explained to him. “Using his momentary distraction, I ran out. And that’s when you came in.”

Dalen held me close to him. “Let me heal you.” He whispered as he looked over my injuries. Seeing a large cut on my thigh that ran down to my leg, he pulled out his medical kit. “It’s not deep enough to warrant stitches. You’ll be better soon.”

I hissed in pain as he disinfected the wound and sprayed the herbal spray on it, the one that made my own bodies natural healing speed up. Then he put some stem cells in the area. It healed so quickly we could see it happening.

“What… What do we do now?” I asked him. This was his planet after all. He probably knew the best choice.

"Robert knows where our house is," Dalen said rubbing his temples as he tried to think. "We can’t just go home and think we are safe. On the other hand,” He looked around the forest. “This forest is much deadlier at night.”

I frowned as I looked around. “I can hold my own.” I asserted. Sometimes, he just forgot that I could fight for myself. Not that I blame him. Sometimes, I swear, he looks at me and only sees the crumpled, broken thing I was when we first met.

“I know.” Dalen gave me a hug. “You shouldn’t have to, though.” Frowning to himself as he weighed the decision in his head he nodded. “I slew a large poison-Dragon on the way here. It should have a cave that we can camp out in for the night.”

Poison-Dragon’s nests were, incredibly comfortable, is what I have learned. They steal the finest silks and cover their caves in them. It was san eye sore, as poison-Dragons are color blind, and thus, simply grab everything that their other senses like rather than doing anything else.

There was a small fireplace, that we could start up. In the center of the nest, were eggs. I didn’t like having to kill something ourselves, not anymore. I used to be a bounty hunter that did awful things, but I promised myself. I wouldn’t harm any other living thing. But this is about survival. And sometimes survival meant betraying your own morals.

"I was so worried about you," Dalen told me, caressing my cheek with his tongue while he was frying the eggs so we could enjoy our dinner. Maybe our last dinner. Our last night together. "But you are here so I don't feel so bad anymore. I know you will be okay in the end. I just know it. I love you so much."

I frowned at the way he spoke to me. He was such a kind man. I loved him so much and even if he doesn’t even know what is even going on, he wants only the best for me. “Don’t you mean we will be okay in the end?” I corrected him as I stared into his beautiful eyes. They glittered like diamonds and I can’t even focus most of the times, as I get lost in the depth of his soul.

“We can’t know that.” He replied tersely, brushing kisses all over my shoulders. “You will be safe. And that is all that matters to me. You will be safe and happy and you won’t have to run anymore.”

“No!” I yelled immediately. “That’s not good enough. What is the point of anything good happening for me if I can’t have you?” I felt my eyes fill with tears at the idea that he can’t even think of a way for us both to live. For the both of us to survive and stay happy together?

He took my hands in his, bringing them to his lips so he could kiss my knuckles. "It's not that I don't think it's possible. I would just rather you stay alive than end up trying to do too much so neither of us stays alive."

I wanted to say something else, but then I sighed. “This might… might be our last night together. Let’s not waste it bickering.” I told him, delighted at the way his face lit up at my agreement.

He doesn’t even know that I plan to sabotage his plan. One of us surviving and the other living? What kind of bullshit plan even is that? Of course, I was always an “all-or-nothing” kinda gal. Maybe that’s why I found his idea so ludicrous. He was always the sensible one, after all.

“I love you.” He spoke once we finished eating, interrupting whatever silly thing I was saying. His voice was reverent, soft as could be. Because he loved me. So much more than he loved anything else. “I love you so much that I think if I have to lose everything so you can have anything, I see that as more than a fair deal.”

I wrapped my hand around him. “If I don’t have you, I don’t have anything.” My lips searched for his as he doused the fire so we were in the darkness again, but we wouldn’t accidentally have the sheets catch on fire. “I want you.”

“No.” He pushed me away with a weak smile. “If this is how it’s going to happen…maybe even for the last time.” I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. “Let’s do it right.”

He kissed me so softly and held me so tenderly I felt like I was some kind of a goddess. Maybe that was the intention. Maybe he wanted us to go out with a bang.