71. Edgar

Edgar"s muscles burned with fatigue as he and Yamanu carefully maneuvered the last stasis chamber into place, securing it with ropes and tarps on the truck. They had worked through the night, taking only a couple of breaks to eat and rest.

No one wanted to stay in the area longer than was necessary.

It had been a grueling twenty or so hours of seemingly endless loading and unloading cycles and going back and forth between the mountain and the makeshift base of operations. Even for an immortal, the strain was starting to take its toll, but it wasn"t the physical exhaustion that was weighing on Edgar and made each step feel like a Herculean effort. It was the gnawing sense of unease that had taken root in his gut and refused to let go.

Jasmine had given up on them.

She hadn"t said anything, but he felt it in his gut. She"d told him that she"d forgiven him and that everything was fine between them, but she sure as hell wasn"t acting like it was.

He needed to fix this and bring them back to how they had been. It had been so good, so easy between them. How could a few careless words cause such a profound change in her attitude? And how was he going to win her back?

The answer eluded him, slipping through his grasp like smoke on the wind. He"d even considered asking Yamanu for advice but was too proud to admit his failure.

Right now, he just wanted to be done and go to the hotel, where Jasmine and the other ladies were waiting for them in the restaurant. They were packing boxes with food for the road and for Aru and Negal, who had stayed behind.

Poor Norbu was still asleep but not on the grass back on the mountain. They had brought him with them on one of their round trips and put him in the tent he had brought to sleep in.

"Ready to head back to town?" Yamanu asked as he tucked the tarp under the stasis chamber so none of it was showing. "I"m starving."

"So am I," Kalugal said. "All that piloting was much more exhausting than I anticipated."

Edgar wanted to roll his eyes.

Piloting was all that Kalugal had done. He, Yamanu, and the gods had done all the loading, unloading, and refueling. Most of the extra fuel they had brought on the truck was gone, and the containers were stacked behind the two trucks they were using.

As they walked down the street, Edgar thought about the last item on their agenda: the pod. It had to be buried beneath a mountain of rubble and debris to ensure no trace of its existence remained. They couldn"t risk leaving even the slightest hint of alien technology to be found by humans.

As they entered the big tent, Edgar gazed over the place, searching for Jasmine and finding her with the other ladies, sitting next to a large table and a pile of packaged food.

She was so beautiful, so sexy, and so indifferent to him that it hurt.

"Hello, ladies." Yamanu strode to the table. "Is there anything we can shove into our mouths before going? I"m starving."

Gabi lifted a big platter with several dishes on it, which had been hidden behind the boxes, and put it at one corner of the table. "This is for you."

"Thank you." Yamanu pulled out a chair. "You are an angel."

Edgar walked over to Jasmine, and as he stood beside her, she had no choice but to look at him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi." He smiled. "I missed you."

She averted her gaze. "You should sit down and eat before Yamanu gobbles everything down."

"Yeah." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I should." He pulled out a chair next to Yamanu and tore open a packet of hand sanitizer that Gabi left for him next to his plate.

Dagor piled his plate and walked over to the other side of the long table to sit with Frankie, and Kalugal joined Yamanu and Edgar.

"What"s that?" He pointed at the shaptak.

"It"s a traditional Tibetan dish," Margo said. "It"s stir-fried meat made with ginger, cabbage, and other stuff that mostly uses spices, so if you don"t like a lot of spices, you should choose something else."

"I love spice." Kalugal piled his plate with the dish.

Edgar"s stomach rumbled, not caring that his heart was aching. It wanted food. Once Kalugal was done piling his plate, he took the serving dish from him and put some of it on his own plate.

"Listen," Yamanu said, wiping his mouth with the wet towelette Gabi had given him. "We"re about to head back to the mountain, and there will be a big boom. The townsfolk and Jasmine won"t hear or see a thing, but the rest of you probably will. Don"t get scared and don"t respond."

Jasmine"s brow furrowed. "Is it dangerous?" she asked. "The explosives, I mean. Are you going to set them off from a distance?"

"Of course," Kalugal said. "You have nothing to worry about. We will all be in the air when we detonate the mountain."

Jasmine nodded. "I thought so. I just wanted to make sure that you are safe." She glanced at Edgar and smiled, her concern for his safety making his heart soar with renewed hope.

Edgar, Kalugal, and Yamanu pushed to their feet when they were done eating. Dagor remained seated; his job was done, and he did not need to return.

Edgar walked over to Jasmine and pulled her into a hug, breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of her hair. She stiffened momentarily, her body tense and unyielding in his arms. But then, with a sigh that sounded almost like surrender, she relaxed, melting into his embrace with a softness that made his heart ache.

It wasn"t the enthusiastic response he had hoped for, but it was something.