Talia Jager

by Without Hesitation

  “Wishing I could heal like you.”

  My eyebrows arched. “Do you think I could give you some of my blood?”

  “No,” she said quickly. Too quickly. Maybe she really did think I was a freak. “No. Just find the herbs.”

  I hurried into the woods. My schooling had taught me a lot about plants, herbs, and healing, not only for Valinor but for other planets as well. I could only hope that it would apply on this planet. A little chitter caught my attention. Nero had followed me. He was scampering around to different plants like he knew what I was looking for. He stopped at one plant and chittered a little bit louder.

  “Yeah, that looks like one. Good job,” I said then gave him a good rub behind the ears. I found two more I thought would be helpful and ran back to Ever. She had maneuvered herself up against a tree. Using the bowl, I ground up the herbs and mixed with water to make a paste. After unraveling the cloth, I scooped up the paste and smeared it all over the bite. She winced. “Sorry.” I wrapped it back up and then took the last herb. “Eat it,” I ordered. “You’re not going to be able to walk on that leg.”

  “I can do it.”

  “Stop being ridiculous.”

  She let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll rest overnight and we can try in the morning.”

  I nodded, knowing that there was no way she was going to be able to trek on with this injury. “Let’s move away from the beasts a little and we’ll rest there.”

  We moved down the stream some so we didn’t have to look at the bodies. Then I gathered the necessary things to build a fire and within minutes had a flame going.

  “Hmm,” Ever hummed, as if she were surprised.

  “I might be the Empress, but they teach me all the skills too.”

  She cracked a smile. “Good.”

  “You have a beautiful smile.”

  Her cheeks tinted a lovely shade of pink.

  Instead of waiting until one of us had a nightmare, I gestured to the ground. Her eyes widened with surprise. She laid down first and I spooned her. Having her so close felt as right as it always did. I pressed my lips to the spot behind her ear and made my way down the side of her neck as I pulled her in a bit closer.

  “I’m a Splicer,” she said, letting out a long, shuddering breath.

  My hand froze. “A what?”

  “Your father wasn’t just dabbling in nanites. He was making cutting edge breakthroughs in many different areas. Your father created the Splicers.”

  This was the second time I’d heard that word. “I’m not sure what you mean. Like a species?”

  She scoffed. “Hardly. There aren’t a lot of us.”

  Suddenly images flashed in my mind from when I was on Caspar’s spacecraft. This is what he wanted. Information about Splicers. “Caspar…he questioned me about this.”

  “Did he tell you what Splicers are?”

  The memory was hazy. “He said my father took predator animal DNA and did something with it.”

  “They wanted to create better warriors. So they asked for volunteers to have their DNA spliced with that of a predator animal. It was their job to have children, called Second Generation Splicers. These kids were supposed to be protected and trained until they were old enough to be warriors and guards. Instead, the children were kidnapped.”

  Something in me clicked. “SGS. Second Generation Splicers. I remember when my parents were killed, people kept talking about SGS. I didn’t know what it meant then and nobody has brought it up since.” I grew quiet for another minute. “Caspar wanted to know about my father’s research.”

  “Caspar is the one who stole us from our families. He keeps our families on a planet somewhere and as long as we’re working for him, they stay alive and taken care of. He has been trying to replicate your father’s work for years. That must be why he wanted you. To find his research.”

  “I know nothing about his research. Nothing at all. I was a kid. Nobody’s ever talked to me about it.”

  The information about what my father became less important when I focused on what she was saying. She was a Splicer. Her DNA was joined with some animal DNA.

  Her head turned without warning. “Are you afraid of me now?” she asked in a whisper. Her gold eyes met mine.

  “What? No. I’m not afraid.” I wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Intrigued. What were you spliced with?”

  “Jaguar. I can run fast. I am strong, and have good reflexes. It’s why I wasn’t as cold as you in the snow and why I caught you when your foot slipped. I hear better than any humanoid, see better, smell better—”

  “Beautiful,” I whispered, tangling my hands into the soft hair at the nape of her neck..

  Slowly, like we were magnetically drawn to one another our mouths drifted together. I tentatively pressed my lips to hers, then unsure, I pulled back to judge her expression. She was smiling. There was nothing tentative about the second kiss. It was passionate and sure. The kiss deepened immediately and I knew it would leave me with bruised lips, but I couldn’t stop. Her lips parted and I took that as an invitation that left our tongues playing together.

  When we finally pulled away, both breathless, we stared at each other for a minute. If we weren’t stuck on a foreign planet, hungry and tired, and she wasn’t injured, I would have liked it to go much further.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Her brow furrowed. “For?”

  “Telling me. I know opening up isn’t easy for you.”

  “You make it easy.” She ran her thumb over my lips. “Can we sleep like this tonight?”

  Kissing her thumb, I answered, “Yeah.”

  I stayed awake as long as I could staring into her eyes. When I woke, we were tangled up in each other, and it was by far the best feeling in the galaxy. But as my eyes focused on her, I realized something was wrong. Her coloring wasn’t good and her breathing was labored. I put my hand to her forehead. She was hot. This wasn’t good. The beast’s bite must have venom in it.

  I sat up and examined her wound. It was red and pus leaked out. “Ever?”

  She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. “Kaci.” Her voice was weak and by the look in her eyes I could tell she knew something was wrong. “If I turn into…one of them…kill me.”

  “Ever…”

  “Promise?”

  It was obvious she needed to hear it. “Promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I have to think.” I paced around the fire, turning away from her, so she wouldn’t see the fear in my eyes. When I turned back, her eyes were closed and Nero was cuddled up next to her.

  I knelt down beside her and straightened the blanket. Her eyes fluttered open again. “I’m going to find something to help you.”

  Her hand shot out and grabbed mine. “Don’t go.”

  “I’ll be back. I need you to stay alive.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “No. I want a promise.”

  She gave me a slight smile. “Promise.”

  I kissed her forehead and then took off into the forest.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Akacia

  THE VENOM WAS KILLING EVERLEIGH, That much I knew. I didn’t know how to stop its effects and or how long she’d live.

  Something chattered behind me. I turned and found Nero following. Kneeling down, I said, “You want to come? I need to find something to help Ever.” I wiped the tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand. “I have to help her.”

  Nero jumped on my shoulder and I continued through the forest, trying to find anything I could use. It wasn’t just an infection. This was venom from some freaky beast. How was I going to cure that?

  I combed through plants, trying to find something that might work.

  A bolt of lightning struck nearby. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled.

  That was all that I needed. I shrunk down next to a tree while the storm boomed around me. I watched the way it was going, worried about Everleigh, and was relieved that it wasn’t headed toward her. Whe
n it was done, Nero hopped off my shoulder and ran ahead. “Hey! Nero! Come back!” I chased after him.

  Suddenly I found myself surrounded by wet, glowing fungus-like organism. Nero ran around in a circle and then back to me.

  “Are you trying to tell me that this will help her?” I asked him like he was going to answer me which was ridiculous. But it was even more ridiculous that he chittered like he actually was answering me. I nodded, rubbed his head, and began collecting the glowing stuff.

  Snarling sounds brought my hands to a stop. I looked up and through the trees. Four beasts chased a large four-legged animal through the woods. I considered my options. I could stay where I was and hope they wouldn’t find me. I could run and hope they wouldn’t notice. But if they did, I’d lead them back to Ever and she couldn’t fight back. I looked up. I could climb. Get in the tree and wait for them to go.

  That was what I had to do.

  Quietly, I climbed up high enough to be hidden. Nero sat with me and we waited. The beasts attacked the animal with a vengeance. My stomach clenched at the sight and I looked away. We waited there for too long while they ate. Maybe I should have run? What if she died while I was up in this freaking tree?

  Tears slid my face and I clamped my mouth shut so the beasts wouldn’t hear me. Nero buried himself in my chest like he knew what I was thinking.

  Finally the beasts finished. My breath hitched when it looked like they were going to head toward Ever, but something caught their attention and they took off the other way.

  I climbed out of the tree, finished collecting the glowing fungus, and raced through the forest back to camp. My heart thudded in my chest the closer I got and almost stopped when I saw her. Ever’s color was grayish and she didn’t look like she was breathing.

  No.

  I rushed to her and fell to the ground. I put my hand on her chest and released a breath when I felt her exhale. I took all the glowing fungus-like stuff and piled it in front of me.

  “Ever? I’m here. I’ve got the stuff.” Having no idea what I should do with the fungus, I decided to do it all. First, I opened her mouth and shoved some in.

  Then, grabbing the bowl, I took off to the stream, filled it with water and hurried back. I dribbled a little in her mouth. I mixed some of the fungus into the water and poured as much as I could down her throat. After getting more water, I made up a paste and smothered it on top of the bite.

  That was all I could do. I sat down and held her hand. Nothing seemed to happen. No quick miracle cure.

  “Don’t die. I forgive you. I wanted to hate you, but instead I fell in love with you. So please don’t die.”

  The words surprised me, but they were the truth. I loved her. I was mad at her for what she’d done to me. Unbelievably mad, but I loved her. Didn’t you forgive the ones you loved?

  Night fell and Ever didn’t die, although she came very close. She did take an extremely long time to recover. Her color seemed a little better and when I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, I lay next to her and let them close.

  I woke before daylight and put more paste on the wound. Her coloring was normal and her fever gone. She stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

  “Hey,” I whispered.

  “You saved me. You could have left me, but you didn’t.”

  My eyes were wet. “Of course, I saved you.”

  “Why?”

  Because I love you. “You saved me. Now we’re even. I told you that you wouldn’t turn into one of them.”

  “I’m glad you were right.”

  “Me too. Then I wouldn’t get to do this.” I leaned forward and captured her warm lips. The kiss was soft, yet deep and demanding. She made a noise, part whimper, part moan. I pulled on her bottom lip with my teeth before pushing my tongue into her mouth. My heart was hammering so hard I wondered if she could hear it. I didn’t want to overdo it because she still needed to recover, so I pulled away leaving a wide grin on her face.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Everleigh

  THE VENOM WAS GONE OR neutralized or whatever, but my leg was still injured and I was weak. We decided to stay where we were for another night.

  During the day, Akacia did all the things that I had done since we crashed here. She was just as capable as I was of surviving. I had jumped into being the leader because she was royalty and I didn’t think she knew what to do. Boy, had I been stupid.

  Telling Akacia everything was more than a little difficult for me, but I was glad to have done it. At first I wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but she barely blinked an eye. It was like it didn’t matter to her at all to learn that I had animal DNA in me. That fact alone would scare off most people. Throw in that I had been abducted and worked for a bad man, she should be running far away. But she stayed.

  Akacia was lying on her back looking up at the clouds. “That one looks like a face,” she said, pointing.

  “What?”

  “The clouds. They take shapes. You just have to use your imagination to see what they are. Try.”

  I looked up at the clouds in the orange sky. “They’re clouds. Puffy, white clouds.”

  “Look further.” She pointed at one. “It’s a heart.”

  I looked at where she pointed and maybe, if I squinted just the right way, I could see a heart. I was so used to being in space, that seeing clouds from below was weird. Either that or I lacked an imagination. Maybe both.

  “Tell me more about your travels,” she said.

  “Like what?”

  “Where have you gone? What have you seen?”

  I started off telling her about flying the ship around the universe. How I’d seen hundreds of stars and planets. The different space stations that I had visited. I told her about meeting new people and how no two places were the same. How everything was different and mysterious. “Sometimes we go down to a planet to explore it. See what resources it offers. There have been times where we find awesome ones and times that were downright scary.”

  “Scary?”

  “Pools of lava with out of control, shooting lava balls. A planet with an atmosphere so green you can see the poisons lingering. Ground like quicksand that sucks you in so fast, you don’t have time to scream.”

  Her eyes were wide in horror. I felt a little guilty.

  “There are beautiful planets, too. Those with colors you never knew existed. Foods you never knew could taste so good. Meadows filled with the most beautiful flowers.”

  “You’ve seen so much.”

  “I never get to spend a lot of time at these places though.”

  “Because of Caspar?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you do all these jobs for him and in turn he lets your family live?”

  I nodded.

  “You rescued me. You went against him.” Her blue eyes bore into mine. “Your family—”

  “Probably dead.”

  She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, they were wet. “Why? Why did you come for me?”

  All the feelings that I felt for her came rushing at me. “Because…because you’re you.”

  Her breath hitched.

  “When we get off this planet, what will happen?” she asked.

  “I’ll get you home.”

  “What will happen to you?”

  I looked back at the clouds. “A bear.”

  She followed my gaze. “I’m not letting it go.”

  “He’ll kill me.” I sighed, not wanting to think about it, but not wanting to keep anything from her either. “He’s probably killed my family, my crew, and their families. If he finds me, he’ll kill me.”

  “So we have to kill him first.”

  My eyes darted back to her. “No. There’s no ‘we’ in this.”

  “Like hell there isn’t.” She sat up and pulled me toward her with a sense of urgency. Her eyes flashed with anger and despair. Not waiting a second longer, her mouth crashed down on mine. I couldn’t hold back and let myself succumb to her kiss.
/>   Vulnerable.

  I was vulnerable in her arms.

  Yet, I felt safe.

  She made me feel safe and loved. Something I had never felt before. My eyes pricked with tears and my chest swelled to the point of bursting.

  I had figured out her tells. When her hand was tangled in the back of my hair, like it was right now, she was trying to figure out what to do next. I took the lead, moving my lips to her neck, under her ear, over to the dimple on her cheek, and then back to her mouth. My hand slipped under her shirt and she gasped at the feel of my skin against hers. The kisses were long and slow, as if we had all the time in the world to do nothing more than kiss.

  She pulled away, a little out of breath, and said, “Tell me again, how there’s no ‘we’ in this.”

  “Kaci…”

  Her face lit up in a wide smile.

  “What?”

  “I love it when you say my name.”

  “Kaci,” I said again. “I just got done saving you. I’m not putting you in harm’s way again.”

  “Ever, you’re the reason he had me in the first place. I still struggle with that. With my feelings. But, there’s one thing I know, he’ll never stop coming after either of us as long as he’s alive.”

  “There’s nothing we can do about it right now.” If we did make it off this planet, then I needed to get her safe, and go after Caspar myself. I needed revenge for everything that he’s done. I was done with being his slave.

  I lay in between her legs that evening with the stupid monkey-like animal curled up in my lap. I almost brushed him off, but Akacia made some ‘aw’ sound and it melted my heart a little. She was becoming attached, naming him and all.

  She traced my eyebrows, my ear, and then down my jawbone. “How did you get this scar?”

  I ran my finger over it. “Caspar.”

  “In training?” she guessed.

  “No.” It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

  “If it’s too personal—”