Defiance Rising (15 page)

“Are you stubborn enough to let me risk frostbite for you?”

I smirk at his challenge and am almost tempted to prolong it, but notice the slight shiver in his fingers.
 
I drop the smirk and submit silently.
 
“I’m really going to regret this,” I grumble as I lay down on my side and raise the sweater over my hip, exposing far more of my body than I care to think about.

Holding his hands together, Bastien lowers them over my side and breathes onto the snow, letting the water droplets clean my wound.
 
When he places the remainder of the snow directly onto the wound and I nearly moan with relief as it numbs the burning.
   

Bastien works with steady hands and complete confidence.
 
I wonder where he learned these skills but remember that he said his mother was a teacher.
 
Surely, she had some medical training when she worked in a school with children.

Dirt and blood stain the scrap of tan cloth he uses to clean around the wound.
 
I hiss and try to pull back, but his hand clamps down on my thigh, holding me firmly in place.
 

“I need you to hold still.
 
I don’t have much of this medicine left,” he says, as several drops of a cold liquid patter against my side.
 
I can feel it foaming, burning.
 
I groan, gnawing on my lip until the pain subsides.
 

“There,” he says, placing a new scrap of fabric over my side.
 
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Yanking the sweater back down over my hip, I rise gingerly to a seated position.
 
He stares openly at me, the slight sheen along his forehead unmistakable as his eyes follow my legs as I curl them back into my sweater.
 
“Do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

I curl my arms around my legs, careful to make sure none of my bare skin is showing.
 
“Pervert.”

He shifts back onto his knees and tosses the empty bottle into the darkened recesses of the cave.
 
“I’ve been called worse by girls far less appealing than you.”

“Girls?
 
What girls?”

His jaw clenches and for a moment, I think he might actually flee my question but he surprises me.
 
“You’re not the first person to wander into the City, Illyria.
 
Just the most recent.”

My mouth gapes open.
 
“Where did they come from?
 
Somewhere close by?”

He turns so that only his profile is accessible in the flickering firelight.
 
“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I want to press harder for details, but Bastien clams up completely.
 
I grit my teeth and shove aside my curiosity for now.

The stinging in my side subsides slowly and I realize I have yet to thank him.
 
My pride would seek to stop me, but my mother didn’t raise a heathen.
 
“Thank you, for tending to my wound, I mean.
 
I uh…I appreciate the gesture.”

Bastien looks at me from the corner of his eye.
 
“Well, that sounded rather painful for you.”

I chuckle and drop my head.
 
My drying hair falls over my face, hiding me.
 
I don’t know what it is about him that manages to confuse and infuriate me so easily.
 
I realize I don’t have the longest of tempers, but where Bastien is concerned, I’m locked and loaded.
 
“I’m not all that good with people.
 
In fact, I kinda suck at it.”

“No kidding.”

Grabbing the makeshift pillow, I launch it at him.
 
I wince and draw back my arm to protect the new wound etched into my chest.
 
He glances over at me.
 
“That’s quite a marking you have on your shoulder.”

My eyes narrow as I glare at him.
 
“And my chest?”

A smirk tugs at his lips.
 
“Actually, that one is far more interesting.”

I gasp and search the space for something else to throw at him.
 
Unfortunately, the pillow was my only ammo so I settle with glaring at him.
 

“Where’d you get those markings from?” He asks, daring to glance back at me.

My shoulders rise and fall with a halfhearted shrug.
 
“No clue.”

He laughs and turns to face me.
 
“Something else you suck at?
 
Lying.”

“Only to you,” I grumble, absently picking at a loose thread on Bastien’s sweater.
 

“Hmm,” he rubs his stubbled chin.
 
“I wonder why that would be.”

My thoughts disperse as he arches an eyebrow.
 
He inches closer, seriously invading my personal space.
 
I can’t breathe, can’t think.
 
He leans back, watching me fumble for a comeback, but every sarcastic retort abandons me during my time of need.

“You’re a very intriguing girl, Illyria,” he whispers, brushing a strand of hair back from my temple before he rises and moves toward the back of the cave.
 
His steps are purposeful, as if he’s actually trying to restrain the urge to sprint away from me.

I bury my head in my knees as I hear him riffle through his bag.
 
I groan, silently berating myself for failing miserably at our verbal sparring.
  

I’ve never met a guy before who challenged me at every step, sometimes actually besting me at my own game.
 
I don’t know what is wrong with me tonight.
 

“What are you doing?” I ask, searching for him in the darkened recesses of the cave.

“Getting dressed.
 
You’re welcome to watch if you like.”
 
I can sense his smug grin before I look up to see it firmly seated on his handsome face.
 
He walks back toward me, his movement fluid, confident.
 

“Where did you get that shirt?” I hiss, staring wide-eyed at the three red moons emblazoned across Bastien’s chest.

He glances down at the black shirt.
 
“Stole it off one of those Squaddies back in the City the night we were attacked.
 
I don’t think he needed it as much as I did.”

I stare at him, my suspicion not quite abated.
 
“How’d you get free?”

“I pretended that I saw you down the street and yelled for you to run.
 
One of them loosened his grip to yell into his radio.
 
Felt good to knock him out.”
 
His lips pull into a satisfied smile.
 

“So that’s how you got out of the City,” I mutter, mentally filling in the rest of the blanks.
 
“You snuck out with the enemy.
 
Clever but very foolish.”

“What can I say?” He grins, sinking down beside me.
 
“I live for danger.
 
I’ve been living with that scum my entire life.
 
They may think they’re smarter than me, but I never back down from a fight.”

“Me either.” I toss him a wry grin.
 
“Sounds like we both have a hero complex.”

His eyebrow rises.
 
“A what?”

“It’s what my friends always say I have.”
 
I drop my voice to mimic Toren’s gruff tone.
 
“A hero complex describes a person’s insatiable need to seek out danger for the purpose of making themselves feel good about their efforts.”

Bastien snorts and nods.
 
“Yeah, that sounds about right.
 
Guess we have more in common then you thought, huh?”

My smile falters as I watch him.
 
I can’t imagine what life would be like living day by day completely alone.
 
I wonder how many nights Bastien risked discovery just to go to the factory rooftop to watch the Caldonians below.
 
I don’t think I could last long without having anyone to speak to?

I sigh and hold out my hand.
 
He eyes me suspiciously.
 
“Take it,” I say.

His fingers wrap around mine and I pull him close, ignoring the pain in my side.
 
“Out here, the only people we can trust are the ones closest to us.
 
You saved my life, Bastien.
 
I owe you my trust.”

At first, he looks taken aback.
 
I don’t blame him, because I’m shocked myself, but then a slow smile spreads along his face as his fingers tighten.
 
His grip tightens on my forearm and I can feel his unspoken gratitude.
 
“Don’t make me regret this,” I warn as I release his arm and sit back.

He nods.
 
“This probably isn’t the best time to crack a joke then, huh?”

I snort, shaking my head.
 
“I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

His eyes seem to glow blue, mirroring the flames nearby, as they search my face.
 
“You look exhausted.
 
Why don’t you get some rest?
 
I’ll head to the lake to grab your clothes and be back before sunup.”

I ease back onto the blanket and let him place the pillow beneath my head.
 
“Will you be ok without me for a while?”

I’m confused by how this sarcastic rogue can turn into someone so compassionate, so completely unpredictable, in the blink of an eye.
 
“I made a tornado tonight.
 
I think I can take care of a few aliens.”

I anticipate his smirk before it appears.
 
As I nestle down into the blanket, I try not to ponder how I’m able to predict his smiles or lashing sarcasm.
 
Maybe it’s because I am too much like him.
 

“That you can,” he says as my eyelids droop.
 

A heaviness falls over me like a weighted blanket, warm and secure.
 
My ears prick at the sound of scraping and I open my eyes to see him beating the fire with his boots, snuffing out the glowing embers at the fire’s edge.
 
The cave falls into darkness.

His footsteps shift toward the cave opening and I see his figure silhouetted against the sky.
 
“Hey!”
 
He turns back.
 
I hesitate, feeling foolish.
 
“Be careful.”

“Always,” he says and disappears into the night.
 

Thirteen

Soft light rouses me from a restless dream.
 
I groan, wishing I could cover my face and go back to sleep, but the aches and pains spanning the length of my body refuse to be ignored.
 
I open my eyes and stare up at the ceiling.
 
The dull gray appears brighter in the late morning light.

My gaze trails down the walls and I set about surveying the cave.
 
It is bigger than I first thought.
 
What I assumed to be the back of the cave is really a corner.
 
The light from the entrance is dim, but it’s enough to see that the space narrows into a passage.

“I wonder if this somehow connects up with our cavern system.”
 
I pace the floor for a few minutes, unnerved by the amount of time Bastien has been gone.
 
Maybe he got lost trying to find my clothes, or maybe he ran into that patrol of guards. My stomach churns at the thought of him in trouble.

A draft near the opening of the cave reminds me of my need for clothing.
 
As warm and cozy as this sweater is, I would kill for a pair of pants right about now.

I turn and zero in on Bastien’s bags.
 
I rationalize that it’s not technically stealing since he obviously confiscated his clothes from the aliens.
 
My need for decency outweighs my morals so I dash for the bag and peek inside.

What I find in the depth of the bag brings tears to my eyes.
 
I carefully remove a small, ratty brown teddy bear and clutch it to my chest.
 
Did this belong to a sister perhaps?
 
Or maybe someone he knew from the City.
 

I run my fingers over the bear’s black nose where the felt is nearly worn off.
 
One eye is missing and the other is scratched and dirty.
 
A small puffed heart dangles from its hand broken like the rest of this messed up world.

Tears dampen my lashes, but I swallow my emotions and try to remain detached.
  
Growing up in the rebellion has taught me one very important lessonpain is good fuel for fighting.
 
Living in the commune has never been easy.
 
The sense of community, of belonging, was never something I wanted.
 
I like my space, my privacy.
 

I like to keep people at a distance.
 
Apart from Aminah and Eamon, I’m pretty much a loner.
 
I prefer the solitude of the woods over the hectic cave life.
 
Out there I am free to be me.
 
No judging, no editing my thoughts to make people feel comfortable, no emotions.
 
It’s just the way I like it.
 

I poke down through the middle of the bag and search for a pair of pants. Small boxes tinkle as they shift, but I don’t stop to inspect them.
 
I brush my fingers against soft material and pull it free.
 

Holding up the black pants, I examine the foreign material up close.
 
It is soft to the touch but looks to be as durable as leather.
 
It will do.
 
I dig deeper and pull out a matching black shirt.
 
It will drape my slender frame like a tent, but it’s better than nothing.
 

I eagerly lift Bastien’s sweater over my head and lay it across the blanket, the cold nipping at my bare skin as I reach for the shirt.
 
Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me and I turn in surprise.
 

“Bastien!” I scream as I scramble to cover my near nakedness.

His head whips up, eyes widening as he comes to an abrupt halt.
 
I can see the indecision in his eyes as he takes a step back.
 

“Go!”

He turns and jogs back outside, tossing my clothes toward me over his shoulder.
 
“Guess that one was kinda my fault,” he calls from just outside.

I run my hands over my face and release a nervous laugh.
 
“Just don’t peek!”

I scramble along the cave floor and snatch up my clothes, wincing at the damp still clinging to the worn fibers.
 
I look back toward the alien clothes and groan.
 
If I’m going to be warm, I know I have to wear them.

I pull on the pants, amazed at how warm the thin material is.
 
I snag a bit of rope from Bastien’s bag, wind it around my waist, and tuck in the billowing shirt.
 
I roll up the sleeves and pat myself down.
 
“You sure know how to make a statement,” I grumble as I head for the cave entrance.

Lifting my arm to shield my eyes from the noonday light, I discover that Bastien has fled from the cave.
 
“Over here,” he calls.

I squint, fighting to adjust my vision to the brilliant, cloud-free day.
 
I reach out a hand to steady myself as I approach the large rock he’s perched on.
 
Instead of connecting with rock, my fingers grasp something firm and warm.
 
Forgetting about the glare, my eyes pop open as I realize that my hand has fallen rather high on Bastien’s thigh.

“Hi.”
 
He grins as heat stains my cheeks and I wrench my hand back.

“Hi yourself.”
 
I wipe my hand on my pants and hoist myself up beside him.
 
“Where have you been?”

“Foraging,” he replies, holding up a handful of winterberries.
 
My stomach growls obnoxiously as I cup my hands.
 

The instant the last berry plops into my hand; I toss back my head, emptying the handful into my mouth.
 
The soft flesh bursts with flavor as I chew, savoring the sweet taste.
 
“Thanks.”

He looks down at the remaining berries and offers them to me.
  
“Go on.
 
You need them more than I do.”

I hesitate, torn between wanting to snatch them from his hand and remembering to be a decent human being.
 
It’s a tough struggle with my stomach growling so loudly.
 
“Seriously?”

He grabs my hand and rolls the berries into it.
 
“I insist.”

I know I should feel guilty about taking his food, but I don’t.
 
Well, not really.
 
There is a slight twinge, but I choose to ignore it the instant the berries pop in my mouth.
 
“Thanks.”

He smiles and leans back.
 
I follow suit, wiping the berry juice onto the side of the rock.
 
“Why are you out here?”

“Just needed some time to think.”
 
He stretches his arms out before tucking them behind his head.
 

“About?”

“You.”
 
He rolls his head to face me.
 
I blink, shocked by his direct gaze.
 
“What happened last night?”

I clasp my hands in my lap and dangle my feet over the edge.
 
“I was ambushed not too far from our camp.
 
We got word that the Caldonians were on the move and we wanted to see what they were up to.”

“We?” His brow arches.

I nod and turn away.
 
“My friend Eamon was with me.
 
We got separated when the Squaddies attacked.
 
I’m not sure what happened to him.”

Bastien is silent as I take a deep breath and continue.
 
“I wasn’t familiar with the territory so I was forced to run.
 
I thought I’d made it, but an alien found me.”

His arms clench beside me.
 
“Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I say, staring up into the sky.
 
My eyes have adjusted to the brightness and now I can see large puffy white clouds dotting the blue sky.
 
The weather has been so unpredictable lately.
 
I suppose I should enjoy it while I can because once winter hits, it’ll be gloom for several months.
 
“He tried to save me, actually, but then one of those spider things showed up and shot at me”

Bastien jerks upright, turning to stare down at me.
 
“You were hit by a laser?”

“No,” I hedge, looking beyond his ear instead of meeting his gaze.
 
“I sort of…caught it.”

His mouth falls open.
 
“Caught it?”

I sigh and sit up, curling my legs under.
 
“Apparently I can do that now, too.”

Running his hands through his hair, Bastien lets out a deep breath.
 
“Did anything else happen?
 
Other than the tornado?”

I shake my head.
 
“No, I don’t think” I cut off and eye him suspiciously.
 
He’s not looking at me now.
 
Something is off.
 
“What are you digging for, Bastien?”

He scratches his stubbled chin and purses his lips.
 
“I, uh…something happened to me last night.”

I turn my entire body to face him, my knees pressing against his thigh.
 
My stomach clenches with worry when he refuses to look me in the eye.
 
“Tell me.”

He stares out into the woods.
 
From here, I can see the lake in a small valley below.
 
The water ripples in the sunlight, stunningly peaceful, but I know appearances can be deceiving.
 
“Something came through the woods last night.
 
It was like a force field, invisible but very real.
 
It knocked me out when I was hunting beside the lake.”

I dig my fingernails into my palms as I fight the wave of nausea that rolls through my stomach.
 
I have a bad feeling about this.
 

“When I woke up I felt…different.”

“Different, how?” I press.

He shrugs.
 
“I don’t know.
 
I can’t really explain it.
 
Just…stronger I guess.”
 

“So you haven’t noticed anything else?” I lean forward, trying to judge the expression on his face, but he remains infuriatingly blank.

“Well, there was one thing”

I hold up my hand.
 
“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”
 
He tilts his head and searches the woods around us.
 
I already know that the voice I heard didn’t come from the woods.
 
The birds are still singing in the trees.
 
If we were about to be attacked, the birds would have fled to the skies.

“I don’t know,” I frown, chewing on my lower lip.
 
I know if I tell him I thought I just heard a voice calling my name he’s going to think I’m crazy.
 
“Probably just the wind.”

Bastien leans over and presses his hand to my forehead.
 
I flinch back, but he holds me still.
 
“No fever, but you need to regain your strength.
 
You almost died last night.”

I know that he’s right.
 
Although I do feel better, I’m certainly not in top form.
 
“I don’t have time to rest,” I grunt as I slip down off the rocks.
 
Pain reverberates up my legs as I start toward the cave.

“Wait!” he calls after me.
 
I hear him land with a thud and then rush to catch up.
 
“Where are you going?”

“Home.
 
They will have search parties out looking for me now that the sun is up.”

He grabs my arm and spins me around.
 
“I can’t let you wander through the forest on your own.”

“Then come with me.”
 

“That’s the second time you’ve invited me home with you.”
 
He grins.
 
His grip loosens on my arm, but I notice he doesn’t let go.
 
“A guy might start to think you’re up to something.”

I laugh.
 
“You know, I almost like you like this.”