Fingers tip my chin, forcing me to look back at Aehako. His gaze is intense and I can’t look away.
“I am interested in you. All of you. Your sad eyes, your soft smiles, your tears, your courage, and your worries. I am at your side now, and I will be at your side until you tell me to leave. I do not need a khui to tell me who is the mate for me. You are mine and I will take every moment with you as a gift.”
“But what about—“
“If my khui resonates for someone else? I will not let it.” He grins, utterly confident. “My heart is for you and you alone.”
“That’s not how it works, Aehako.”
“That is how it will work for me,” he says, ever stubborn. “And if your khui should resonate for another, I will send you to his arms with gladness for your happiness.”
Hot tears prick my eyes. The knot in my throat prevents me from speaking, but if I could, I’d probably just gurgle a few insensible words about what a good man he is. Because he’s the best.
“You were mine the moment you landed on this planet, Kira,” Aehako says. “It does not take a khui to tell me that. Nor will I let anyone take you from me. So, come, we shall remove this shell from your ear and free you from worry, and then you will fall into my arms and lick every inch of my skin to show me your appreciation.”
A choked giggle escapes me.
“There, that is better, Sad Eyes,” Aehako says. He tenderly touches my cheek. “Now, we should go. We have a lot of ground to cover before it grows dark.”
• • •
If I thought Haden and Aehako would set an easy pace for us because we’re humans and a bit frailer than they’re used to, I’m dead wrong. They make sure we’re bundled well against the cold winds, check our snowshoes, and then set a breakneck pace through the ridges and valleys of the snow-covered land. I huff, my breath freezing against the furry scarf that covers the lower half of my face, and I’m walking so fast it feels like I’m jogging. In snowshoes.
It’s ridiculous, but even Harlow is walking faster than me, so I can’t complain. I just do my best to keep up with the others.
The height of the aliens – along with the different makeup of their broad, spread feet – means they don’t have to use the snowshoes like we puny humans do. They slow me down and make every step feel like effort. Before the cave has even disappeared from sight, Aehako jogs back to me, plucks my pack off my back, and then gives me words of encouragement so I will keep up.
If all it took were determination, I’d be at the front of the pack. Instead, I’m at the back, and it just gets more difficult as the storms pick up and snow pours from the grey skies. I put my head down and march on, grimly determined to keep up with the others. Georgie said the ship was only a day or so away from the tribal caves, so it can’t be that long of a journey. I just need to suck it up and keep moving.
We pause after a few hours to eat. Haeden has killed a critter of some kind with his sling, and the two men cut raw bits off of it and offer them to us. I’m not used to eating my meat au naturel but Liz has assured me before that it’s fine. And again, Harlow is eating quietly so I feel like I can’t be the one to demand a fire. So I gag the warm, bloody bites of food down. It’s fuel, I remind myself. Fuel that is desperately needed, because I suspect my ‘tank’ is going to be on empty before the day is over.
Once food is eaten, we get to walking again. Aehako drops down beside me, and his steps seem impossibly slow. “Are you well?”
“I’m hanging in there,” I assure him. I feel like a putz for being so slow, what with him carrying my bag and his, but I’m having a hard enough time as it is.
He nods and gives me a quick squeeze over my fur-covered shoulders, and then paces ahead at his regular, fast gait.
Hours pass and my world becomes nothing more than placing my feet in the path that Harlow’s snowshoes have trod ahead of mine. I’m no longer aware of the cold, or the travel. I thought coming to the tribal caves the first time was exhausting, but now I’m remembering how much of the time we were carried, too weak to walk. I kinda wish someone was here to carry me now. The snow continues to pour forth from the skies, making it nearly impossible to see further than a few feet ahead. I don’t know how the guys can tell where we’re going, but we seem to be heading in a straight line. That’s encouraging. I think.
A hand touches my arm. “Kira?”
I look up and realize that the scarf over my mouth has frosted to my face, and my teeth are chattering. “W-wh-what?”
It’s Aehako, his big face concerned. He pulls his hood back from his horns, and he looks no more bothered by the weather than if it’s a rainstorm and not the Snowpocalypse. “Come,” he says, pulling me against him and wrapping a supporting arm around my waist. “We’re near a cave. Come.”