As the weeks slipped by, Tara tried her best to avoid Rydel as much as possible. But he strictly made it a point that she joined him for dinner. He would mostly talk about the Scroll and the pieces of the puzzle that he was trying to figure out. She, on the other hand, quietly listened, avoiding him in every way she could. She wouldn’t even look at him, as she was scared her heart would falter . . . She stayed cooped up in her quarters all day, busying herself with reading charts and maps and the history of planet Ranus.

The only thing that unnerved her was the fact that staying away from Rydel didn’t make her feel any better. In fact, she had become more depressed. Every night she would dream of him . . . Dreams that haunted her made her restless with red-hot desire. She couldn’t sleep well at all and as the days went by, she became more confused, wondering what was happening to her. She had lost her appetite almost completely and there were dark circles under her eyes. She felt as though she had lost something precious, or someone she loved . . . 

She even visited the sick bay to see if she was falling sick, but her vitals were fine and she was in pretty good health. Gyree told her it was mere lack of sleep and suggested a sleeping pill. Tara took the pill the night before they landed on Ranus. She was totally unaware of the side effects. She woke up the next day with a terrible hangover. Tea didn’t help much, but it did enough to make her feel less groggy. She remembered what Rydel had said about this alien medicine. It was too strong for humans.

Rydel’s voice nearly made her jump as he entered the common room. She had just finished her breakfast and was about to leave when the Commander entered. She would usually schedule a time with Gyree so that she wouldn’t have to run into Rydel. She was still mad at him.

“Hey, Tara. I’m glad you are here,” he said, coming up to her. She stepped away from him, surprised that he acted as if nothing had happened. “We will be landing in a few hours. I will go out and look for the stone, and I might be gone a day or more. Stay in your quarters.”

“Can I come with you?” she asked him cautiously.

“No. It’s too dangerous. This is an alien planet, unknown to humans, and I don’t want to risk anything at this moment. Stay on the ship, Tara.” His voice sounded harsher than he had wanted to.

She nodded reluctantly.

He could see the effect of the unclaimed mating on her. She was torturing herself. Rydel gazed at her for a long time. His heart ached for her . . . To touch her again, to feel her soft lips on his, to hold her close . . . 

Tara felt her cheeks grow hot under his intense gaze. She turned around and walked out before he could stop her.

The weight on his chest grew heavier with the dull pain that was always present. His appetite gone, he walked back to his chambers and packed his bag, shoving the Scroll and the final map he had drawn inside. He checked to see that his dagger was in place and left the control room.

***

“Okay, Gyree, tell me the coordinates one more time. And give me a print on paper, please,” Tara said, looking over the holographic image on the screen in the Control room.

Ms. Dawson, the Commander needs to know where you are going.

“No, Gyree. Do me a favor. Do not tell Rydel where I am going. Okay? I want to surprise him,” she lied as she folded the printed map and put it in her bag.

Surprise? I do not understand.

“You won’t. I told you I am going to join him,” she lied again. “Just don’t tell him.”

They had safely landed two hours back and, according to Gyree, Rydel had left immediately. Now the coast was clear and Tara could escape to the Great City. Her stomach twisted again. She hoped to reach the city before nightfall and find a place to stay the night. All the info Gyree had given her told her it would take her four to six hours to reach the city by foot. And she would have to pass through the Dark woods to get there. If only Rydel had landed on the other side of the planet. She wouldn’t have to cross the forest. Rage washed over her.

Gyree had warned her that the woods were known to be unpredictable and she should stick to the path charted out for her. The climate was tropical and humid, and Gyree said the suit she wore on the ship would do as it was light and airy, though she suggested that Tara wear boots. Tara packed a small bag, stashing some snacks and bottled water inside. She then put on the boots. She found the ring she had stolen before leaving her master’s quarters. It was forged from a rare and precious metal and she could sell it and rent a decent lodging. She turned it over in her hand and put it in the bag. Then, she pulled her hood over her head. Slinging the bag across her shoulders, she checked the map Gyree had given her. She entered the decompression chamber.

“Gyree, please unlock the main hatch,” Tara instructed the computer ten minutes later as she adjusted her breathing clip on her nose.

Ms. Dawson, you are ready to go out into Ranus's atmosphere.

The main ship’s doorway opened with a hiss. She walked down the walkway and stepped onto the ground. A whiff of warm, humid air hit her face. She staggered and took a deep breath. The air was really thick, and her legs felt like heavy iron rods. She walked a few steps further and the glare of the two suns blinded her momentarily. She lowered her head and looked down. The ground was bone white sand and rocks. She took out the map and looked for the woods. From east to west was a bare stretch of white land. And far toward north-west, she could see trees not very far off in the distance. That had to be the woods. The map indicated as much. Gyree had said that the ship was facing north and that when she stepped outside, she should walk twenty steps toward the right and then go straight. Then, once she reached the woods, the map would guide her.

Tara walked toward the right, counting her steps. Then she made her way toward the thicket. She was already panting, and each step seemed tedious. But she had to move on. So she trudged forward. An hour later, she reached the opening to the woods. She was breathing hard. She stopped and sipped water from the bottle she carried. Sweat had made her suit stick to her body in an annoying way.

As her breathing regulated, Tara looked at the trees. Gyree had called them the Dark Woods, and she had once wondered why. Now she could see for herself. The trees were all in hues of black, gray, or dull brown. Their barks were gnarled and twisted, and their leaves were no better. They were black – as if burnt – and some of them were dark blue or dark red – as if stained with blood.

Tara checked the time on her old watch. Gyree had helped her set it to Ranus’s time. She had taken off the band she wore while she was on the ship. She knew it was a COMM device and didn’t want Rydel to know she had escaped.

Her journey had only begun and her bones had already started aching. But she couldn’t stop and rest. She had to reach the city before nightfall. She had eight hours before sundown and she didn’t want to spend the night out there. The woods looked creepy enough in broad daylight. Consulting her map, she entered the path that ran through the trees.

The path wasn’t clear. It was lined with strange-looking gnarled roots, dead leaves, and other decaying plants. The worst thing was the smell. The moment she entered the forest, the air had become rancid. The stench was bad enough to make her gag. She covered her nose and mouth with her scarf and pulled the hood lower over her head. Sunlight barely reached the ground as the tall, thick trees blocked it out. Half an hour into the woods, a bout of coughing hit her hard. She unscrewed a bottle of water and took a few sips. The bout stopped a few minutes later, but her cough did not entirely go away. She started walking again, following the winding path.

A throbbing headache began to hammer at her temples. Great, she thought. She looked at the watch. Only two hours into the forest and she was ready to give up. What was she thinking? This was a bad idea. Not good at all . . . 

Rydel’s face flashed through her mind and sadness washed over her. She should have listened to him and stayed on the ship. She could never make it out of these woods. She would die inside the forest. But why was she thinking about him now? There was no going back. She hated him, and she had to get away from him before he took advantage of her, raped her . . . 

Tara, get a grip! He was not going to rape you or sell you as his sex slave. If he wanted, he could have done that the day he brought you onto his ship, the angry voice snapped in her head.

At that moment, she felt stupid and utterly alone. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as she had imagined him to be. He had not touched her – only kissed her. And what a kiss it was. It was as if she was the only woman he had ever wanted. She hated to admit to herself that she had enjoyed every moment of it. It left her craving more . . . Something she had never felt for any man. This unnerved her, scared her.

Her headache was getting worse, and it distracted her. She couldn’t focus on the path ahead as her vision blurred now and then. She started coughing as the air became harder to breathe. On reaching a clearing, she sat down under the nearest tree. Something was in the air – she couldn’t tell what. Her breathing clip should have filtered out the toxins in the atmosphere, but it wasn’t working.

Tara had never been off the station, so she didn’t know how she would respond to an alien atmosphere. Sipping water from her flask, she waited for the coughing to stop. She had never felt this lonely in her life . . . And she had a creeping feeling that she was being watched.

She looked around. Every tree looked the same. The only difference was that the darkness had increased in her part of the woods, and she could hear whispers all around her. Shivering, she hugged herself, coughing now and again. Far overhead, the dim sunlight peeked through from among the branches. She blinked, wondering where the path was leading ahead. She couldn’t remember which direction she had entered and consulted the map again. She must have strayed from the path she had initially taken. The woods were playing tricks on her mind. She ignored the wave of panic that rose inside her as her stomach knotted.

Suddenly, it grew darker. Her vision blurred again. She blinked, trying to focus, but the stench seemed to strengthen. She had to get out of there, had to go on . . . She couldn’t stay there . . . Fatigue tugged at her bones, and she wanted to sleep. She didn’t even realize it when the darkness took over as she plunged into oblivion.

Tara lay on the thick forest floor, unconscious. The long, gnarled arms of the roots of the tree silently crept over and under her body, snaking around her waist and binding her to the ground. The thing that seemed to be the tree was preparing to devour her.

***

Rydel pressed the comm button on his wristband.

“Gyree, what is my current location?” he asked the computer.

Commander, you are headed west. The next turn is 100 yards away, 46-75 southwest.

“Thank you, Gyree.” He was on the right track. He had been to such planets many times before, and with the help of Gyree, he was trained to follow the right path and avoid danger. He was also in the Dark woods and was heading back from the cave where he had found the stone. It wasn’t hard to find once the map led him to the exact location. It was dark blue in color and the size of a small crystal ball.

“That looks good,” he said, rechecking the coordinates on the map he had on his device, which was a small, flat, square computer. He had scanned the final map he had drawn into the computer, which helped him with the navigation. “How’s Tara doing? Keep her company until I get back.”

Commander, Ms. Dawson left the ship two and a half hours back.

Rydel stopped short. “WHAT!?” Rydel yelled. His head reeled as rage thrummed inside his blood. “Gyree! I told you not to let her go,” Rydel said through clenched teeth.

Commander, she said she was going to join you and give you a surprise. She even told me not to tell you.

Surprise . . . ? It was a shock to him. “What do you know about surprises, Gyree? She hoodwinked you, get it?” He was moving faster now as the darkness closed in. Stupid, stupid woman! What was she thinking? He should have turned off Tyree's empathy center. And he should have known that Tara might try to escape. But it had never occurred to him. Did she find him so despicable that she wanted to get away from him by putting her life in danger? The thought made him wince.

I am sorry, Commander. I do not understand the reason for your anger.

“Forget it, Gyree. Just give me her location. Have you been tracking her?” he asked, jaw clenched. His breathing was labored as he moved on, his dark leather boots making crunching sounds as he stepped over broken bones and rocks on the ground.

No, Commander. She left her COMM band on the ship. I do know where she is headed, though, and I can trace her through her heat signature. It will take a while.

“Where is she headed? You better find her, Gyree!” Rydel said in a cold voice.

She took a path heading north into the Dark Woods. I did warn her, Commander, but this was the only route to the Great City to which she is headed.

Panic rose like bile in his throat. Fuck! That was the most dangerous part of the forest she had taken.

“Okay, Gyree. Find her now and lead me to her. Send me the new coordinates to her location.” Rydel made his way through the woods and came to a clearing. “And stay with me.”

I’m on it, Commander.

Rydel could hear the whispering in the trees. It gave him a chill just thinking of his mate all alone in the alien woods. The place was a death trap for an inexperienced woman like her. His tail swished nervously as he waited for Gyree to give him Tara’s location. He should have bound her before leaving the ship. His hands clenched into fists as he clasped his bag tightly. What if she were already dead? His mate, dead. The thought drove him mad.

His comm beeped and he pressed it with two fingers. “Gyree,” he said and waited.

Commander, I have found Ms. Dawson. I’m transferring the coordinates to your device.

“Is she okay?” Rydel asked, his heart thudding in his chest.

I can still sense her heat signature, which is faint. But she is not moving, Commander.