Page 82 of Diamond

We don't make it too far into thetreesbefore we hear the argila braying loudly and making their way toward us. Roshan bolts right at Nasrin first and she digs her hands into his furry head and buries her face in his short neck.

Darya comes to me and I pet her distractedly, my eyes pinned on Nasrin, whose shoulders start to quake. The argila leaves my side and goes to Roshan and Nasrin, looking inquisitively at them.

While they are wrapped up in the embrace, I look at them with concern.

How is it that keeping this one woman safe is so much harder than taking care of an entire cloister? I've never been so terrified that something might happen to someone. Even my pain over Samke doesn't compare.

I never thought it was possible to have the same sort of bond as with Samke, let alone something deeper. Though the urge tohelp her work through her emotions is the same as if any brother was struggling before me. Is it possible to have a bond with a female?

Watching her break down like this in front of the animals, vulnerable and helpless in the face of something she couldn't have prevented, is painfully constricting my heart.

I can't let this happen again, but how can I stop it?

She is vulnerable; I have to come to terms with the fact that I might not be able to protect her from everything, even while promising that I'll die trying.

40

Rin

People underestimate the power of a good cry and an even better hug, and I realize now how much I needed both. From landing on this planet, I have found the same thing to be true here as on Earth: that one never knows where their situation will take them.

This planet has forced me to change in so many ways and I haven't quite come to terms with it.

After my cry, Kuret leads the argila and me to a stream hidden away behind a small gathering of trees and I wash the dust off myself, checking my wounds, pleased that most of them have closed, then checking Kuret.

There's no longer any questioning between us, or that weird awkwardness after we had sex; we simply let our hands roam, both needing the reassurance. It isn't sexual, both of us too emotional over losing Olivia, but it is deeply soothing.

The water and his touch seem to wash away a lot of the worry that's been weighing on me, and for the first time since climbing into that sinkhole, I don't feel so terrible.

We drink and begin walking, with the argila trailing behind us.

The silence between Kuret and me is loud, both of us weighed down by heavy thoughts.

My mind keeps wondering how Olivia is and if she's even alive. The thing that took her, though colorful, did not sound friendly. Just remembering it sends chills down my spine and it all feels worse now, because I had started to really like spending time with her.

After that battle, going with Olivia to meet up with Ree and stay in whatever "cloister" Kuret has been going on about this whole time doesn't sound all that bad. Although, I'm starting to wonder if that's what Ree really has planned after all now that I've met Olivia, or if it's just a matter of cultural misunderstanding.

There's certainly been plenty of that since I woke up here… five thousand years ago. My bones ache with how tired I am, but we keep walking.

Did I really lose Olivia to that bright-colored monster forever?

No. I can't accept that.

On Earth, it seems like the more colorful an animal looks, the deadlier it can be.

I do my best to clear my mind of those thoughts and turn to Kuret. "How are we going to find Olivia? Because it seems to me that we are back on the same track to find Ree again."

He has had a strange look in his eyes the past few minutes and is acting shifty. I don't know why, but I will definitely find out.

He doesn't face me when he speaks. "That is because we are. I can't risk having your life in danger while trying to rescue someone else."

His voice is stoic—more than I have ever heard and I know he is serious.

"So we are leaving Olivia to the hands of fate and whatever intent that dangerous creature has for her?"

Kuret stops in his tracks and I wait for him to look me in the eye and say yes. To convince me he is as heartless as the guy I thought he was when I saw him rip Tehlmar to shreds in the blink of an eye. "Nasrin, you have seen for yourself how unpredictable this place is. I need you to be safe in the cloister, so I won't worry about killing two women at the same time."

A cloister really is starting to sound amazing.