7. Jade

7

JADE

Zeleck looks at me with sadness. "Life has a way of destroying hopes and dreams. When that happens, we must grieve and move on. When enough time passes, and if we are fortunate, the gods will bless us with new dreams."

"What if I don't want new dreams?"

"Like you said, Terrans are adaptable," he says gently. "The addition of you and your friends to our tribe is a blessing for the Rakuis. Even though it was not your choice to come here, your arrival has given my tribe new hope for the future and the ability to dream once more."

I can tell he's speaking from experience, and I don't want to dismiss his pain, but I'm not ready to give up on leaving. "Rakuium might be the key to making my dream come true, Zeleck, and I'm not ready to give up on that. At least, not yet."

"Would making a life here really be so bad?"

"Maybe not…especially if we find some Rakuium. If I can't leave, maybe we could use it to modernize the village and create better weapons to protect the tribe."

Zeleck's brow furrows, and he shakes his head. "Those are the pursuits that led to the downfall of our homeworld. The Elders would not approve."

Frustration surges through me. "Rejecting progress based on fears of the past is why your people still live like barbarians. How many lives would have been saved during the storm and sickness a decade ago that took so many of your women if your tribe had been open to developing modern medicines?"

Zeleck whirls on me, his eyes blazing with an intensity that steals my breath. "You do not need to remind me of all that was lost during that terrible time. I live with the memories every day of my life."

Who did he lose to leave such deep, painful scars? Now is not the time to ask him, but his outburst of anger is my cue to back off.

"My people live in harmony with nature," Zeleck says, his anger back in check. "We take only what is necessary to survive and accept loss as part of the gods' plan for us. We have food, shelter, and faith in the gods and each other. It is a simple life filled with simple pleasures. If that makes us barbarians, so be it. What more do we need?"

Scraping by at the mercy of the elements and whatever predators come along, and putting your trust in a divine plan concocted by imaginary "gods" is not my idea of harmony.

"I've never been a person of faith, Zeleck. Being abandoned at birth and growing up in the welfare system doesn't exactly foster belief in a higher power."

"Yet the gods have given you a second chance to forge a relationship with the female who conceived you," he says softly. "Ah-lan-uh regrets abandoning you and longs for forgiveness. Can you find it in your heart to give her another chance? To open your mind to the possibility that she is a gift from the gods…and embrace the mother you never had?"

Damn. Older and wiser Zeleck sure knows how to tug at my heartstrings. "I don't know." I start walking again. "But I'll give it some thought."

Alana and I are both technology geeks and our sessions in the tech lab were some of my happiest moments aboard the Educator . Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to stop punishing her for something that happened over 20 years ago when she was young, like me. If Zeleck and I find some Rakuium, maybe she'd be interested in working with me to unlock its potential.

Pleased by my response, Zeleck smiles and my stomach does little flip-flops. Then, the sound of muffled voices wipes the smile off his face.

Zeleck tenses beside me, his hand shooting out to grip my arm in a silent warning. We both freeze, straining to pinpoint the direction of the voices. He pulls me behind the gnarled trunk of an old-growth tree while we peer through the foliage.

The unmistakable forms of rogue aliens tromping through the underbrush, weapons at the ready, come into view. Rogues have no tribe or loyalty. Stranded on the planet like us, they are enemies of the Rakui and, by extension, the Terrans.

Zeleck's lips graze my ear, and a little shiver runs through me. "We must remain hidden and wait for them to pass."

Nodding mutely, I allow him to cover my body with his, pressing us together so we both stay behind the tree. The rogues' guttural voices grow louder as they approach, with two of the men arguing about where a flock of gryzen went.

Hunters looking for the large, chicken-like birds that are a food staple on UD237 is better than rogues hunting for us.

When the aliens pass, and my heart stops pounding from fear, I become acutely aware of Zeleck's hard body at my back and tamp down the urge to wiggle my ass against his groin. I curse my TEASE for putting thoughts like this in my mind.

I turn to face him and he backs away. "Do you think they'll come back?" I whisper.

"It is possible. Yet this is the area where we should begin our search. We must find a way to keep the rogues away from us."

Just my luck that our search area happens to be a rogue hunting ground. Drawing a shaky breath, I give a reluctant nod. We're on this quest together, and I'm not about to give up before our search has even started.

I swallow hard and force myself to focus. "Got any ideas?"