Page 25 of Lunar Desires
His knees buckled. I caught him before he hit the ground, lowering with him.
He sat with his legs outstretched, shoulders hunched. “I’m so sorry,” he moaned.
“Is something broken?” I asked again. He kept telling me not to worry, but how the hell was that possible? Look at him, for God’s sake!
“Ribs, I think. Back’s in bad shape. The head…” He grimaced. “Think I might have a concussion or something.”
“You poor thing. How did you even get this far?”
He winced again. “For you.” He closed his eyes. “Go on without me.”
In one moment, his words were touching. In the next, they pissed me off massively. “Shut up.”
His eyes shot open. “Sorry?”
“Shut up and let me think. Anyway, the soul bond won’t let me leave you behind.”
“I—”
“Let me think!” I snapped.
He didn’t get to say anything likethatto me. No giving up on my watch, thank you. Yeah, I may have wobbled back there with Dad, but ninety-nine percent of the time I didn’t suffer quitting.
Never give up hope.
Never let anyone dull your sparkle.
Dad…
Was the figure really my dad?
Anguish plus extra shots of determination were a weird combination. But I soldiered on, set to get us both out of here while carrying the weight of the Dad stuff.
Pingwent an idea.
If I did go on ahead, maybe I could bring him with me using the bond. It could go the other way, of course, the rules of who popped up where were not exactly clear. But it was worth a try.
“Wait there,” I told him.
“Riley…”
“Don’t argue. Wait.”
He kept his gorgeous lips obediently zipped.
“I keep going straight, right?” I asked.
He nodded.
Ugh. I hated leaving him, but I wasn’t about to hang around in this tunnel and pray for a miracle.
I broke into a jog, my heart pounding in my ears.
Everything will be okay.
The tunnel curved right slightly before becoming a long, straight stretch again. I kept checking for these quarter mile indicators. I spotted nothing and picked up speed, running on spike after spike of adrenaline.
But the echoing voice of the blue figure spoke louder in my head.
