Page 14 of Fool's Gold

At last, a flickering holographic sign caught my eye—Medical Bay. The door control stubbornly refused to respond to Kaelith's commands until he aimed a vicious kick, the metal groaning in protest before sliding open with a hiss.

We stepped inside, and I froze.

Examination tables lined the chamber, their surfaces stained and marred. Ominous equipment loomed in the shadows, their purposes sending a chill down my back as flashes of memory assailed me—Landar's cruel laughter echoing through rooms too similar as he subjected hapless captives to his depraved whims.

The tortured screams. The sickly-sweet stench of fear mingling with the tang of spilled blood. Landar's cold eyes glittering with sadistic glee as he toyed with his victims' minds, bending their wills until they broke.

I shuddered, hugging my arms tight against the sudden onslaught of horrific recollections. Kaelith must have sensed my distress, his head whipping around to pin me with that crimson stare.

"What is it?" His deep voice sliced through the shadows, that predatory edge lending an unconscious threat.

I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat. How could I burden this fierce warrior with the echoes of my own nightmares? He would see me as weak, pathetic—unworthy of the fragile trust he had begun to place in me.

I shook my head, forcing a tight smile. "Nothing. Just...bad memories."

Kaelith's eyes narrowed, but he didn't press the matter, instead he began securing the perimeter, those sharp senses no doubt scanning for any lingering threats.

Once satisfied, he turned that penetrating gaze back on me. "We'll rest here for a while. Eat, regain our strength before pressing on."

I nodded mutely, sinking onto a relatively clean exam table and accepting the ration bar he tossed my way. Despite my apprehensions about this place, fatigue had settled deep into my bones—the relentless journey through the derelict station had drained me far more than I realized.

Perhaps some rest would help banish the phantoms nipping at the corners of my mind.

Kaelith prowled the chamber in silence, securing loose equipment and double-checking the exits. Though his face remained an inscrutable mask, the taut lines of his body radiated a predatory strength that should have set me on edge.

Instead, an unfamiliar warmth bloomed in my belly as I watched him work, admiring the fluid grace of his movements. There was a feral beauty to this Vinduthi warrior, from the rippling muscles beneath his gunmetal gray skin to the sweeping curve of those small horns jutting from his temples.

When at last he settled across from me, those burning red eyes met mine—and in their depths, I glimpsed a similar conflict churning beneath the surface. An unspoken tension crackled between us, its weight somehow both exhilarating and terrifying.

I dropped my gaze, heat creeping up my neck as I focused on the ration bar's bland taste. Yet even as I chewed, my attention drifted, drawn inexorably back to Kaelith.

The way his tongue flicked out to wet those full lips, the sharp points of his canines catching the low light. The rise and fall of his broad chest with each steady breath. The sinuous shift of corded muscle beneath his skin as he shifted his weight, those striking blue markings rippling in mesmerizing patterns.

When his gruff voice broke the silence, I started, flushing deeper at being caught staring so brazenly. "You should rest while you can, Gemma. We have a long way yet to go, and you haven't regained any strength."

I nodded jerkily, scooting back on the exam table and drawing my legs up. Tucking myself into as small a ball as I could manage, I fixed my eyes on the far wall, trying and failing to calm the thunderous pounding of my heart.

Sleep did not come easily. Every time I felt the tenuous threads of slumber tugging at my consciousness, visions of Landar's depravities would yank me back into wakefulness with a strangled gasp. The air seemed to thicken around me, the shadows taking on sinister forms as the weight of past torments closed in.

I fought to keep my breathing even, to push the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind. But with each passing moment, the memories grew more vivid, more inescapable—until at last, a scream tore from my lips, raw and anguished.

Then strong arms were around me, a solid warmth enveloping my trembling form as a low, rumbling voice murmured soothing words in my ear. My fingers tangled in fabric, clutching Kaelith to me like a lifeline as he cradled me.

"Easy, easy," he hushed, the vibrations of his voice reverberating through me. "You're safe, Gemma. I've got you."

Harsh, ragged sobs shook my body as the dam finally burst, every scrap of terror and pain I'd bottled up pouring forth in a torrent. Yet Kaelith didn't pull away, didn't rebuke me for this show of weakness. He simply held me tighter, one hand stroking my hair in a gesture of surprising tenderness.

Slowly, gradually, the storm passed, leaving me limp and drained in his embrace. When at last I found the strength to lift my head, I found myself caught in Kaelith's smoldering gaze, his face mere inches from mine.

His features were unreadable, yet something burned in those crimson depths—a banked intensity that sent a fresh tremor of longing through my veins. My breath caught as he leaned fractionally closer, his eyes drifting down to my parted lips with unmistakable hunger.

Then I was surging up to meet him, fingers tangling in the soft hair at the nape of his neck as I crushed my mouth to his in a desperate kiss.

A low growl came up from Kaelith's chest, the sound resonating through me like the purr of a great predator. His arms tightened around my waist, dragging me flush against the hardness of his body as he returned the kiss with a ferocity that stole the air from my lungs.

I moaned into his mouth, reveling in the velvet rasp of his tongue, the graze of those wicked fangs against my lips. This was madness, reckless abandon—yet in that moment, I craved his touch more than my next breath.

Our lips parted with a gasp, our harsh pants mingling in the charged air between us. Kaelith's shoulders heaved, those blazing eyes devouring me from mere inches away.