Chapter 12

The wilderness stretched out around them, untamed and dangerous. The storm had finally passed, but the air was hot and heavy with the scent of rain.

Taryn crouched down, examining a dent in the damp earth. "Someone tried to hide their passage, but the mud"s too fresh," he said.

Surviving in the wilds of Vasz wasn"t just about knowing how to hunt and fight, apparently. It was about knowing how to track, how to read the stories that the ground and the plants told. Rhys was a fish out of water here, surrounded by nothing but nature. "It just looks like more mud to me."

"It looks like good news," Taryn continued, standing back up. His eyes were bright and alive, even though his face was as inscrutable as ever. "It doesn"t matter how good at hiding they try to be. We"re on their tail now."

They set off again, deeper into the wilderness. As they walked, Rhys knew he should have been focusing on anything else: the other humans, the wilds around him, anything.

But he wasn"t.

The moment that he"d nearly had with Taryn kept replaying in Rhys"s mind. He"d been nearly lost in the strange desire to see how far he could push Taryn, the promise of pleasure just a breath away... and then Soren had to go and interrupt them.

But on the other hand… Rhys couldn"t shake another image from his mind: Krye"s eyes narrowed, lips curled back in a snarl as he advanced on him. The young Borraq warrior had looked at Rhys with an unsettling mix of hunger and menace.

In that moment, Rhys had been forcibly reminded of how alien and dangerous the Borraq truly were. For all of Taryn"s quiet restraint and the camaraderie Rhys had started to feel, they were still a species apart. Primal instincts simmered beneath the surface.

Would Taryn one day succumb to those urges as well?

Rhys stole a glance at the Borraq leader as they trekked through the forest. Taryn"s face was impassive, but Rhys could see the taut lines of muscle rippling beneath his golden skin with every purposeful stride. He suddenly felt very small, and very vulnerable.

Very human.

A trickle of sweat rolled down Rhys"s neck. His gaze drifted back to Taryn"s powerful form.

Taryn was a predator — and Rhys was all too aware that he was prey.

"Here." Taryn pointed.

Rhys looked up, roused out of the thoughts that had been filling his mind and clouding his senses. They"d reached a deep chasm. On their side, woods. On the other side, even more woods. Below them, a river, fast and churning.

And above the river…

"Oh, no way." Rhys planted his feet. "I"m not walking over that."

The bridge was little more than three thick lines of rope, strung together to span the chasm. One to walk on, two to hold. Taryn looked at Rhys, one eyebrow cocked. "It will be fine, as long as you don"t fall."

"Yeah, that"s the part I"m worried about!" Just the sight alone made Rhys"s stomach churn. "Can"t we just… find a way around? Or not go at all?"

"No." Taryn pointed. On the other side of the rope bridge, visible in the fresh mud, right where someone would step after crossing the bridge… was a distinct bootprint.

And in the distance beyond that, a city loomed on the horizon. Rhys could just see the metallic blur of it in the distance, catching the sun in bright rays.

"That"s where they"re going."

Taryn nodded, his expression grim. "Most of us live in our own territories. Low density populations make for poor targets. But in a city like that…"

Rhys groaned. "So that"s where we"re going, too."

"Yes."

Damn.

The bridge that spanned the chasm was like something out of a nightmare. It was just rope! Below them, the gap yawned deep, a dizzying drop down to the rushing water far, far below.

Rhys swallowed hard. "Are you sure there"s no other way around?" he asked.

Taryn"s gaze was as inscrutable as ever. "We"re the hunters. We follow the prey."

Of course. He had a point, but that didn"t make the sight of the bridge any less terrifying.

Rhys"s life had been full of risks, but none like this. He could wriggle out of most threats, making false promises, buttering up thugs with more greed than common sense, slipping from station to station, eluding loan sharks.

But there was no arguing with the deep, untamed wilderness that surrounded them.

The chasm was deep, and the bridge was the only way across.

Rhys stepped closer to Taryn, seeking reassurance.

The knowledge that that was what he was doing… it sat uneasily in his stomach. He was getting too used to following along on this hunt, too used to being far from home, too used to navigating this alien world.

And worse — much, much worse — he was getting too used to Taryn.

The alien leader was like no man that Rhys had ever met. He was fierce and deadly, yes, but there was something more to him. A sense of honor that burned like a quiet flame, deep in his chest.

In his life in the stations and ships, surrounded by cramped corridors and metal, Rhys had never met anyone like him. Everyone had always been out for themselves — and Rhys himself was no different. If you wanted to survive, you had to take care of number one. Trusting anyone else was a recipe for disaster.

Taryn was different. Being around him felt different.

It was a feeling that Rhys didn"t want to examine too closely. He was a survivor, always thinking of his next move, his next strategy. The idea of feeling anything for a man who could snap him in half with a single blow… it was madness.

For the first time in his life, Rhys wasn"t sure of himself.

And that uncertainty was the most dangerous thing of all.

But as Taryn set one foot in front of the other and began to lead the way across the swaying, creaking bridge, that deep, unexpected dread only grew. "Rhys, follow me."

Rhys stepped up to the bridge, trying not to look down. "Jesus. Okay. Here goes…"

The rope creaked beneath his feet, and Rhys followed Taryn into the unknown.

The bridge swayed. The ropes squeaked and shook. Far below, the river roared furiously. Rhys"s heart pounded like a trapped animal. His breaths came quick and shallow, each one a struggle.

He couldn"t look down. He couldn"t look up. He couldn"t look anywhere but the air in front of him, staring out of wide eyes but seeing nothing.

Taryn was next to him, a reassuring presence. This was probably normal for Borraq. Hell, they probably did this as kids, running back and forth across chasms like it was a simple walk down to the canteen.

The feeling of being utterly out of his depth gnawed at Rhys, distracting him, filling his stomach with sickly dread.

Rhys wasn"t a Borraq. He wasn"t made for the wilderness, the sky, the world around him. He was just some useless piece of space trash, good for nothing at all, bringing everyone down around him—

He put a foot wrong.

His boot slipped, and then his weight followed it, leaving nothing but empty air beneath Rhys.

He let out a strangled cry as he fell, flailing, the sound lost to the rush of the wind and the roar of the water below.

The river hit him like a fist, cold and shocking. It swallowed him whole, dragging him down, down, spinning him in its dark embrace.

There were no swimming lessons in space stations.

His struggles were desperate, instinctual, the movements of a creature that had never been at home in the water. He clawed around him for the surface, his lungs burning for air, the world spinning and darkening around him.

It was cold. Colder than metal, colder than ice, as cold as the nightmares he"d always had about dying in space…

And then something strong seized him by the back of his shirt, hauling him upwards. Rhys burst from the water, gasping, the world a dizzying whirl. The river tried to tear him from the strong grip that held him, but the figure at his side was unyielding, a rock in the tumult.

Taryn dragged him towards the shore, the alien"s muscles bulging beneath his golden skin as he battled against the pull of the current. With a heave, he yanked Rhys"s weight up into his arms.

Rhys clung to Taryn, shivering and gasping, the world spinning. The spray of the angry river fell on his face, mixing with the cold sweat that covered him. His heart raced, a mix of shock and adrenaline. He was dizzy, disoriented, the world tilting and blurring.

Taryn was a predator, a fierce warrior, a creature to be feared. But in that moment, as he loomed above Rhys, his eyes blazing in his handsome face, his chest heaving, his body a thing of sculpted perfection beneath the river-soaked fabric of his clothes...

He was something else, too. Something out of old legends, something sent by the gods to toy with the hearts of mortals. He was a hero, a figure of unmatched strength and courage, a being that humans could only dream of.

Taryn was something out of myth, and he"d saved Rhys"s life.

Rhys"s breath came in ragged gasps. "You... you jumped in after me?"

"Save your breath," Taryn growled. "Hold on to me."

The river tried to tear Rhys from the alien"s grip, but Taryn was unyielding. With powerful strokes, he swam through the raging current, dragging them both towards the distant shore.

It was a battle against the elements, a struggle against a force that cared nothing for the desires or strengths of the two tiny creatures that fought within its embrace. The river fought back, but Taryn was a warrior, and he was more than a match for any foe. His eyes blazed with a determination that dared the very elements to stand in his way.

And then, with a final, desperate surge, he hauled them both up onto the rocky shore.

Rhys lay there, shivering wildly, the world spinning around him. He was colder than he"d ever been in his life. The water had been shockingly cold, leaving him with a bone-deep chill, a terrible knowledge that his body was losing warmth at a speed that it couldn"t hope to match.

He"d once heard that freezing to death was a peaceful way to go. As the cold crept through his limbs, as his fingers and toes grew increasingly numb, as his body began to tremble uncontrollably in a desperate bid to generate heat, he knew that that were nothing but a comforting lie.

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

The world spun, his vision darkened, and then he was being hauled upwards into Taryn"s arms once more. The alien was carrying him away from the river, his powerful form a rock-solid anchor for Rhys"s delirious senses.

Rhys"s teeth chattered, the sound lost in the roaring of the rapids. He was freezing, shaking, half-delirious.

A fire sprang into life as Taryn finished his work, and then he turned his attention back to Rhys. He stripped off Rhys"s sodden clothes, moving quickly and efficiently. Rhys was too far gone to feel any embarrassment. He was shivering so violently that he could barely even feel the touch of Taryn"s hands against his naked body as the alien picked him up.

"You need to get warm," Taryn said. There was a raw edge to his voice. "I need to get your body temperature back up as quickly as possible. Gods, you"re so small…"

Rhys"s chattering teeth prevented him from truly hearing Taryn"s words. He could only stare up at Taryn, his vision swimming, the deep, dark heart of the forest spinning around him.

The fire was a blessing, heat seeping into Rhys"s chilled limbs. But even as the warmth tried to chase away the cold, there was something missing. Some deep chill had sunk into his bones, and no matter how close he edged to the flames, he couldn"t shake it.

Before he knew it, Taryn was kneeling beside him, the alien"s fierce green eyes filled with unmistakable concern. With a swift movement, he tugged off his own soaked clothes. In the flickering light of the fire, his golden skin was a sight to behold, his muscles rippling as he moved.

Taryn lay down beside Rhys, pulling him against his body, and Rhys yelped. Taryn"s body seemed like a furnace against Rhys"s chilled form. The alien ran hot, his skin like a living thing, his heat seeping through Rhys"s frozen numbness to chase away the deep chill that the fire couldn"t touch.

The alien had saved Rhys"s life twice over, and now he was offering his own body heat to do it again.

Rhys"s rational mind told him that this was a terrible idea. His body told him something else entirely. As the deep chill in his bones slowly receded, another kind of warmth filled him. It was a heady mix of gratitude, desire, and something else that he didn"t want to examine too closely.

Taryn"s hand settled against Rhys"s chest, holding him close, the heat of his touch filling Rhys with warmth. With a deep breath, Rhys relaxed into the embrace, drinking in the alien"s body heat. With a shivering sigh, he snuggled against Taryn"s warm, firm form.

"You"re a strange creature, human," Taryn rumbled, his voice deep in the intimate space between them. "You"re always getting yourself into trouble."

"H-hey, what can I say? Trouble finds m-me. I think it"s got a crush."

Taryn let out a huff of amusement. "Focus on getting warm. We"ll deal with everything else in the morning."

In the embrace of the alien"s warmth, with the deep chill in his bones finally banished, Rhys was all too happy to obey. He closed his eyes and drifted off, the crackling of the fire at his side and the deep, steady beat of Taryn"s heart the only things in the world.